(portacaval shunt) 1. a surgical technique in which the hepatic portal vein is joined to the inferior vena cava. Blood draining from the abdominal viscera is thus diverted past the liver. It is no longer widely used in the treatment of *portal hypertension. 2. any of the natural communications between the branches of the hepatic portal vein in the liver and the inferior vena cava.
Direct intercommunication of the branches of two or more veins or arteries without any intervening network of capillary vessels. The term also describes the surgical joining of two hollow blood vessels, nerves or organs such as intestines to form an intercommunication.... anastomosis
a thick-walled blood vessel that connects an arteriole directly with a venule, thus bypassing the capillaries. Arteriovenous anastomoses are commonly found in the skin of the lips, nose, ears, hands and feet; their muscular walls can constrict to reduce blood flow or dilate to allow blood through to these areas.... arteriovenous anastomosis
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