Hepatic portal system
- ICSE Class 10, Unit 3 Human Anatomy and Physiology
The hepatic portal system is the route that takes blood from the stomach and intestines to the liver first, before it returns to the heart.
Most veins carry blood straight back to the heart. This one does not. The hepatic portal vein collects blood from the stomach and intestines. That blood is full of digested food. The vein takes it to the liver. Only then does the blood leave the liver by the hepatic vein and go on to the heart.
Why the stop at the liver matters:
- The liver stores extra glucose as glycogen, so blood sugar does not jump after a meal.
- It removes or changes harmful substances before they reach the rest of the body.
A small example
You eat a plate of rice. The starch is digested into glucose and absorbed in the small intestine. The glucose travels by the hepatic portal vein to the liver. Some is stored there. The rest goes on by the hepatic vein.
Where marks go
The 2025 ICSE Biology paper asked for four terms in order, starting from the stomach. The answer is stomach, hepatic portal vein, liver, hepatic vein. In CISCE's report on the 2025 Biology paper, examiners note answers that swapped the hepatic vein with the hepatic portal vein. Others placed the portal vein before the stomach.
A memory aid: "portal" means a gate, and the gate is into the liver. The hepatic vein is the way out. The order carries the mark, so read what the question asks for.
Sources
Facts last checked against these sources on 30 September 2026.
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