In human anatomy, the hepatic portal system or portal venous system is the system of veins comprising the portal vein and its tributaries. The other portal venous systems in the body are the renal portal system, and the hypophyseal portal system. Structure Large veins that are considered part of the portal venous system are the: Hepatic portal vein Splenic vein Superior mesenteric vein Inferior mesenteric vein The superior mesenteric vein and the splenic vein come together to form the actual hepatic portal vein. The inferior mesenteric vein connects in the majority of people on the splenic vein, but in some people, it is known to connect on the portal vein or the superior mesenteric vein. Roughly, the portal venous system corresponds to areas supplied by the celiac trunk, the superior mesenteric artery, and the inferior mesenteric artery. Function The portal venous system is responsible for directing blood from parts of the gastrointestinal tract to the liver. Substances absorbed in the small intestine travel first to the liver for processing before continuing to the heart. Not all of the gastrointestinal tract is part of this system. The system extends from about the lower portion of the esophagus to the upper part of the anal canal. It also includes venous drainage from the spleen, pancreas and visceral fat. The benefit of first-pass metabolism, whereby substances absorbed from food in the gut pass through the liver before entering the systemic circulation, is to use the liver as a shield (a first line of defense) between (a) the food, its toxins (whatever they may be), and its metabolic intermediates/metabolites (such as ammonia) and (b) the rest of the body's tissues, including the brain. The necessity of such a system is demonstrated by what happens when the system breaks down, as seen when advanced hepatic fibrosis in cirrhosis leads to hepatic encephalopathy in the brain owing to the blood being loaded with ammonia and other substances not conducive to brain function. Blood flow to the liver is unique in that it receives both oxygenated and (partially) deoxygenated blood. As a result, the partial gas pressure of oxygen (pO2) and perfusion pressure of portal blood are lower than in other organs of the body. Blood passes from branches of the portal vein through cavities between "plates" of hepatocytes called sinusoids. Blood also flows from branches of the hepatic artery and mixes in the sinusoids to supply