MCAT Question A Day - 1/19/14 - Answer!

The hepatic portal system sends venous blood to the liver from various organs in the abdominopelvic cavity. Based on your knowledge of liver function, which of the following does not require direct venous blood flow to the liver?

A. Transport of absorbed nutrients from the small intestine

B. Transport of pancreatic hormones

C. Transport of filtered blood from the kidney

D. Transport of RBC metabolites from the spleen

The correct answer is (C). The renal vein, carrying blood that has already had some of its wastes removed in the kidney, returns its contents directly to the inferior vena cava. All of the other choices involve subsequent functions of the liver involving the hepatic portal system.

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