1. The Hepatic Portal System
Chapter 22

2. 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

3. The Hepatic Portal System
Figure 22.26
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