Does the hepatic portal system form capillary beds?
Does the hepatic portal system form capillary beds? If so, is the capillary bed coordinated with that of arterial capillaries?
What review paper might I look in?
The portal system does form capillary beds as the larger veins make their way to supply individual hepatocytes. There are arterial capillaries as well, however the liver only derives 15-20% of its incoming blood supply from the hepatic artery. All the blood that enters the liver is drained by the hepatic veins to the inferior vena cava. Thus hepatic arterial capillaries and capillaries originating from portal circulation supply blood that is then drained by capillaries that coalesce to the hepatic vein. This blood then travels onward to systemic venous circulation via the IVC.
