Physiology

Special Circulations The Liver The unusual nature of the hepatic circulation has been emphasized by recently acquired evidence103 that the oxygen supply to the liver may constitute the dominant factor determining whether shock becomes irreversible. It has been stated that the liver depends in large measure on portal blood for its oxygen,104 and that increasing the oxygen content of portal blood by transfusion of arterial blood into the portal circulation protects the recipient against death from shock.105 This view is in keeping with the classic anatomic opinion that the portal circulation is the major source of blood for the liver . . .