Page 623 - Atlas of Histology with Functional Correlations
P. 623
SECTION 1 Liver
The liver is one of the largest digestive organs and is located in a very strategic
position. All absorbed nutrients and liquids from the intestines enter the liver
through the hepatic portal vein, except the complex lipid products, which enter
and are transported in the lymph vessels. The absorbed products percolate
through the liver capillaries called sinusoids (Fig. 16.1). Nutrient-rich blood in
the hepatic portal vein is brought to the liver before it enters the general
circulation. Because venous blood from the digestive organs in the hepatic portal
vein is poor in oxygen, a hepatic artery from the aorta supplies liver cells with
oxygenated blood, forming a dual blood supply to the liver.
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