H4 VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY 



Study the hepatic portal and its branches. It is a short, wide 

 vein which lies in the mesentery and enters the left lobe of the 

 liver. Near the point where it enters the liver it is joined by the 

 branch of the abdominal vein just mentioned. The hepatic portal 

 receives numerous branches, called the intestinal veins, which lie 

 in the mesentery and come to it from the small and large intestines. 

 It receives also the splenic vein from the spleen, the two large 

 gastric veins from the stomach, a gastroduodenal vein from the 

 stomach and duodenum, and a number of small pancreatic veins 

 from the pancreas. The anterior portion of its course is through 

 the pancreas. 



Exercise 19. Draw a semidiagrammatic sketch showing the hepatic 

 portal system, together with outlines of the organs with which it 

 enters into relations. 



The Renal Portal System. This system is made up of veins from 

 the hind legs, the dorsal body wall, the kidneys, and in the female 

 the oviducts; it is joined with the abdominal vein by the pelvic 

 veins, which have just been observed, and with the kidneys by the 

 renal portal veins. 



Two veins, the femoral and the sciatic, collect the blood of the 

 hind leg on each side of the body. The femoral is the larger of 

 these. It is a large vein which appears on the ventral surface of 

 the leg, where it divides into two branches. The larger of these 

 is the pelvic vein, just mentioned ; the other is the external iliac. 



The sciatic vein lies on the back of the thigh. It passes forward 

 and joins the external iliac. The vein so formed is the renal portal, 

 which runs forward to the outer margin of the kidney at its 

 hinder end. The vein then continues within the kidney, close to 

 its lateral margin, and gives off numerous branches, which break 

 up into capillaries in the kidney. At about the middle of the kid- 

 ney a vein comes from the side and joins the renal portal. This is 

 the dorsolumbar vein ; it collects blood from the dorsal body wall. 

 In the female a large number of veins from the oviduct also enter 

 the lateral margin of the kidney and join the renal portal vein. 



Trace the abdominal vein back and find the pelvic veins. Follow 

 one of the pelvic veins back to the base of the leg, where it will be 



