What is the difference in function between the hepatic artery and the hepatic portal vein?

Answer 1

The hepatic portal vein transports blood high on glucose concentration and amino acids from the small intestine to the liver while the Hepatic vein transports deoxygenated blood from the liver to the heart and remaining glucose and amino acids to the rest of the body.

Answer 2

Typically for most organs, an artery takes freshly oxygenated blood into an organ from the heart, while a vein takes the de-oxygenated blood away from an organ back to the heart.

The liver is an exception. The hepatic artery supplies oxygenated blood to the liver from the heart. The hepatic vein takes away deoxygenated blood from the liver back to the heart. However, the hepatic portal vein takes blood from digestive organs (intestines, colon, etc) and deliver the newly absorbed nutrients from food to the liver for further processing (metabolism). Therefore the liver is one of the few organs that has a 'dual-blood supply' simply because it receives blood from the heart (hepatic artery) and from the digestive organs (hepatic portal vein).

There is another vessel inside the liver that does not carry blood (bile duct). The liver produces a substance called bile, which is used to help break down and digest fatty foods. The bile duct carries bile secreted from the liver and delivers it to the gallbladder, which stores most of the bile in the human body until it's needed when we eat food that contains fat.

Answer 3

Hepatic Vein carries de-oxygenated blood from the liver to the Inferior vena cava (Heart) while the Portal vein carries de-oxygenated blood from the intestinal tract (Ileum) to the liver.

The hepatic portal vein accomplishes two tasks; namely, it supplies the liver with metabolic substrates and it ensures that substances ingested are first processed by the liver before reaching the Systemic_circulation. After draining into the liver sinusoids, blood from the liver is drained by the Hepatic_vein.

In Human_anatomy, the hepatic veins are the Blood_vesselthat drain de-oxygenated Bloodfrom the Liverand blood cleaned by the liver (from the Stomach, Pancreas, Small_intestineand Colon_(anatomy)) into the Inferior_vena_cava.

Answer 4

presence of semi-lunar valves