he·pa·tic por·tal sys·tem

a venous portal system in which the portal vein receives blood via its tributaries from the capillaries of most of the abdominal viscera and drains it into the hepatic sinusoids.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

hepatic portal system

the part of the BLOOD CIRCULATORY SYSTEM of vertebrates in which blood from the alimentary canal is taken through CAPILLARIES in the liver before transport to the heart. Such a system of veins allows some materials absorbed from the gut to be stored or filtered out during passage through the liver.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005

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References in periodicals archive

Penetration through splanchnic capillaries allows access to the hepatic portal system, at which stage motility decreases and feeding begins.

This is an ancient disease that may have had historical consequences for affected populations

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