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The Hepatic Portal System
Chapter 22
Hepatic Portal System
• The liver is the only digestive organ drained by the
inferior vena cava
- blood leaving the capillary beds supplied by the celiac and
superior and inferior mesenteric arteries flows into the veins
of the hepatic portal system
- a blood vessel connecting 2 capillary beds is a portal
vessel and the network is a portal system
• Venous blood that absorbs nutrients from the small
intestine, parts of the large intestine, stomach, and
pancreas flows directly to the liver
- regulates levels of nutrients and amino acids in the
circulating blood
The Hepatic Portal System
Figure 22.26
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