Meaning & use
hepatic vein
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Meaning
nouncountablemedicaltechnical
One of several large veins that carry blood away from the liver and into the main vein leading to the heart.
Grammar: Usually plural, hepatic veins, since there are three main ones; they leave the liver, they do not enter it.
Patterns
- blockage of the hepatic vein
- blood in the hepatic vein
Blood leaves the liver through the hepatic veins and flows to the heart.
A clot in the hepatic vein can cause swelling of the liver.
The surgeon took care not to injure the hepatic vein.
Word forms
| plural | hepatic veins |
|---|
Common combinations
- hepatic vein thrombosis
- Hepatic vein thrombosis blocks blood flow out of the liver.
- blockage of the hepatic vein
- Blockage of the hepatic vein is a rare but serious problem.
- the hepatic veins drain
- The hepatic veins drain into the inferior vena cava.
- hepatic vein pressure
- Doctors measured the hepatic vein pressure.
- an enlarged hepatic vein
- The scan showed an enlarged hepatic vein.
Synonyms and how they differ
- liver vein
- This is a plain, informal name for the same vessel and is not used in medical writing.
Word family
Commonly confused: hepatic vein or hepatic portal vein? hepatic vein or hepatic artery?
hepatic vein vs hepatic portal vein
The hepatic portal vein carries blood from the gut into the liver, while the hepatic veins carry blood out of it.
hepatic vein vs hepatic artery
The hepatic artery brings fresh, oxygen-rich blood to the liver, which is the opposite direction from the hepatic vein.
Practice
Which vessel carries blood away from the liver toward the heart?
Choose one answer.
The hepatic vein drains blood out of the liver. The portal vein and hepatic artery bring blood into it, and the renal vein serves the kidneys.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hepatic vein”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.