The blood vessel which carries blood from the alimentary canal to the liver is the?

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks which vessel carries blood from the alimentary canal (gut) to the liver.

Step 2: Explain the concept After digestion, absorbed nutrients such as glucose and amino acids enter the capillaries in the villi of the small intestine. This blood does not go straight back to the heart. It first passes through the liver, which:

• regulates blood glucose (converts excess glucose to glycogen),
• removes or detoxifies harmful substances,
• processes amino acids (deamination, urea formation).

A vessel that begins in capillaries and ends in capillaries (gut capillaries to liver sinusoids) is called a portal vein. So the vessel linking the gut to the liver is the hepatic portal vein.

Step 3: Check each option

• A. Hepatic artery: supplies the liver with oxygenated blood from the aorta. It does not come from the gut.
• B. Hepatic vein: carries blood away from the liver to the vena cava. This is the wrong direction.
• C. Hepatic portal vein: carries nutrient-rich blood from the alimentary canal (intestines, stomach, spleen) to the liver. Correct.
• D. Mesenteric artery: carries blood from the aorta to the intestines, the opposite direction.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is **C.

Tip: Remember the direction of each liver vessel:

• Hepatic artery = oxygenated blood to the liver
• Hepatic portal vein = food-rich blood from the gut to the liver
• Hepatic vein = blood out of the liver

"Portal" means a gateway, and here it is the gateway from the gut to the liver.