Portal Venous System/Liver Flashcards
The portal venous system drains what structures?
GI tract, spleen, pancreas, and gallbladder
All nutrients except what kind pass through the portal system to the liver?
Fats
What picks up the fats that bypass the liver?
Lymphatics of the small intestine (lacteals)
What is the pathway of the portal venous system?
Abdominal organs (GI tract, spleen, pancreas, gallbladder) –> Tributaries of the portal vein –> Portal vein which divides into right and left branches –> liver sinusoids –> Inferior vena cava via the hepatic veins
What is unique about the portal vein?
It has right and left branches, while veins usually have tributaries
What does the caval venous system drain?
Everything the portal system does not
What is the blood flow of the caval venous system?
Body wall and organs –> tributaries of the superior and inferior vena cava –> superior and inferior vena cava
What forms the portal vein?
Formed behind the head of the pancreas by the union of the splenic and superior mesenteric vein
What are the tributaries of the portal vein?
Splenic vein, superior mesenteric vein, left gastric vein, paraumbilical veins
What are the tributaries of the splenic vein?
Short gastric veins, left gastro-omental vein, pancreatic veins, inferior mesenteric vein
What are the tributaries of the inferior mesenteric vein?
Left colic vein, sigmoid veins, superior rectal vein
What forms the inferior mesenteric vein?
Sigmoid vein and superior rectal vein
What are the tributaries of the superior mesenteric vein?
Jejunal and ileal veins, ileocolic vein, right colic vein, middle colic vein, right gastro-omental vein, pancreaticoduodenal veins
What vein of the portal system accompanies the ligaments teres to the umbilicus?
Paraumbilical veins
What is cirrhosis of the liver?
A condition characterized by the destruction of hepatic cells and their replacement by fibrous tissue and fat
What is unique about the paraumbilical veins?
Only tributary of the portal vein that doesn’t accompany artery of the same name
How does portal hypertension occur with cirrhosis of the liver?
The liver becomes nodular and hard, therefore constricting the portal vein at the porta hepatis
What are the causes of cirrhosis of the liver?
Alcoholism, hepatitis, chronic obstruction of the bile duct, or congestive heart failure
What is portal hypertension?
Abnormal elevation of pressure within the portal system, often due to cirrhosis of the liver
What vein is compromised in portal hypertension?
Portal vein
What happens to blood flow during portal hypertension?
Due to the portal system’s lack of valves, the blood flow is reversed and bypasses the liver leading to back-ups in the caval system where portal-caval anastomoses occur
What happens to these portal-caval anastomoses during back-ups due to portal hypertension?
Veins can become varicose and may rupture
What are varicose veins like?
Dilated, tortuous, and thin-walled
What are the three sites of portal-caval anastomoses?
Distal esophagus, around the umbilicus, rectum/anal canal
What veins make up the portal-caval anastomosis of the distal esophagus?
Caval = esophageal, Portal = left gastric
What veins make up the portal-caval anastomosis around he umbilicus?
Caval = superficial veins of the anterior abdominal wall, Portal = paraumbilical
What veins make up the portal-caval anastomosis of the rectum and anal canal?
Caval = middle and inferior rectal, Portal = superior rectal
What is the obstructive sign of portal hypertension at the distal esophagus’s portal-caval anastomosis?
Esophageal varices