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portal vein

American

noun

Anatomy.

the large vein conveying blood to the liver from the veins of the stomach, intestine, spleen, and pancreas.

portal vein British

noun

any vein connecting two capillary networks, esp in the liver ( hepatic portal vein )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of portal vein

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

portal vein

In healthy mice, the team detected 111 metabolites enriched in the hepatic portal vein and 74 in peripheral blood.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 14, 2025

This contrast suggests that genetic background plays a central role in shaping which metabolites appear in the hepatic portal vein.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 14, 2025

The liver and intestines are directly connected via the portal vein, a blood vessel that transports nutrients absorbed in the intestines directly to the liver.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 25, 2024

Absorbed nutrients in the blood are carried into the hepatic portal vein, which leads to the liver.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

Big cysts of the ovary may during the growth of the pregnant uterus press upon the portal vein, or the diaphragm, or they may burst or cause sepsis.

From Essays In Pastoral Medicine by ?Malley, Austin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023