The cystic duct are variable in length, course and site of termination. A knowledge of the variable anatomy of the cystic duct and cysticohepatic junction is important in biliary surgery, because failure to recognize anatomic variations may result in a significant ductal injury. Magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) is a recently developed technique that demonstrates the biliary tree noninvasively and without injection of contrast material. Anatomic variants of the cystic duct and cysticohepatic junction that may increase the risk of bile duct injury in biliary surgery are frequently identified with MRC. MRC will be a noninvasive and a useful technique in the diagnosis of anatomic variants of the cystic duct and cysticohepatic junction.