Definition

Noun: A vena hepatica is a vein that collects deoxygenated blood from the liver and empties it into the inferior vena cava, the large vein that returns blood to the heart.

Usage

The term vena hepatica is used in medical and anatomical contexts to specifically refer to the hepatic vein(s). It is a precise, formal term. * The surgeon carefully avoided the vena hepatica during the procedure. * A blockage in the vena hepatica can lead to serious liver complications.

Advanced Usage

• Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG): A clinical measurement derived from pressures in the portal vein and the vena hepatica, used to assess portal hypertension.
  • The patient's HVPG, measured via catheterization of the vena hepatica, was elevated.

Variants and Related Words

• Hepatic vein: This is the more common English term for vena hepatica. The two terms are synonymous in medical English.
  • The hepatic veins drain blood from the liver lobules.
• Hepatic (adjective): Pertaining to the liver.
  • Hepatic function, hepatic artery.

Synonyms

• Hepatic vein

Related Anatomical Terms (Not Synonyms)

• Portal vein: A vein that carries blood the liver from the gastrointestinal tract and spleen, unlike the vena hepatica which carries blood the liver.
• Inferior vena cava: The large vein into which the vena hepatica empties.
• Hepatic artery: The artery that supplies oxygenated blood to the liver.

Noun

1. a vein that drains the liver; empties into the vena cava