Hepatic portal vein at a glance
- What it is
- The hepatic portal vein carries nutrient-rich blood from the gut and spleen to the liver.
- Location
- It forms behind the neck of the pancreas, at about L1-L2, from the superior mesenteric vein and the splenic vein, ascends in the hepatoduodenal ligament and divides into right and left branches at the porta hepatis.
- Function
- It delivers venous blood from the digestive tract, pancreas, gallbladder and spleen to the liver sinusoids.
- Body system
- Cardiovascular · single, midline structure
- FMA ID
- FMA50735 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- It provides about three-quarters of liver blood flow.
- The inferior mesenteric vein most often drains into the splenic vein, but may join the superior mesenteric vein or their junction.
- It is about 8 cm long.
Clinical relevance
Portal hypertension causes varices at portosystemic anastomoses, ascites and splenomegaly.
Structures next to the hepatic portal vein
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Pre-hepatic portal vein · cardiovascular
- Cystic duct · digestive
- Common hepatic artery · cardiovascular
- Hepatic artery proper · cardiovascular
- Trunk of gastroduodenal artery · cardiovascular
- Celiac artery · cardiovascular
- Celiac trunk · cardiovascular
- Gastric artery · cardiovascular
- Diaphragm · muscular
- Inferior vena cava · cardiovascular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Hepatic portal vein (FMA50735). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
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