The hepatic duct is the channel that carries bile from the liver to the common bile duct, which leads onward to the duodenum. The right and left hepatic ducts drain the liver’s two lobes, joining to form the common hepatic duct; this meets the cystic duct from the gallbladder, becoming the common bile duct that delivers bile — via the ampulla of Vater — into the small intestine when fatty food arrives. Surgeons know this anatomy intimately: gallbladder removal demands precise identification of the cystic duct to avoid injuring the hepatic ducts, whose damage causes devastating bile leaks. Blockage of the ducts by gallstones or tumours produces the obstructive jaundice of “surgical” liver disease.