"The portal venous system refers to the vessels involved in the drainage of the capillary beds of the GI tract and spleen into the capillary bed of the liver."
"A portal venous system is one in which veins connect two capillary beds; or in other words drain one organ/organ system and pass into another organ/organ system rather than being directly returned to the heart. The hepatic portal vein is the only portal system many are aware of. However, there is also a hypophyseal portal system which passes blood from the hypothalamus to the anterior pituitary 1. Therefore, strictly speaking the system draining the GI tract and passing to the liver should be termed the hepatic portal venous system to distinguish it from the less well-known hypothalamic-pituitary portal system."
"A portal venous system is one in which veins connect two capillary beds; or in other words drain one organ/organ system and pass into another organ/organ system rather than being directly returned to the heart. The hepatic portal vein is the only portal system many are aware of. However, there is also a hypophyseal portal system which passes blood from the hypothalamus to the anterior pituitary 1. Therefore, strictly speaking the system draining the GI tract and passing to the liver should be termed the hepatic portal venous system to distinguish it from the less well-known hypothalamic-pituitary portal system."