Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
pages 680
| The Hepatic Veins (vv. hepaticæ) commence in the substance of the liver, in the terminations of the portal vein and hepatic artery, and are arranged in two groups, upper and lower. The upper group usually consists of three large veins, which converge toward the posterior surface of the liver, and open into the inferior vena cava, while that vessel is situated in the groove on the back part of the liver. The veins of the lower group vary in number, and are of small size; they come from the right and caudate lobes. The hepatic veins run singly, and are in direct contact with the hepatic tissue. They are destitute of valves. |
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FIG. 591– The portal vein and its tributaries. (See enlarged image) |
| 4. The Portal System of Veins |
| The portal system (Fig. 591) includes all the veins which drain the blood from the abdominal part of the digestive tube (with the exception of the lower part of the rectum) and from the spleen, pancreas, and gall-bladder. From these viscera the blood is conveyed to the liver by the portal vein. In the liver this vein ramifies like an artery and ends in capillary-like vessels termed sinusoids, from which the blood is |