[Pressure topography of the portal vein system and its clinical implications].

Pressure topography of the portal vein system was investigated in 10 healthy dogs and 26 patients with portal hypertension. The pressure in all of the tributaries of the portal vein was significantly higher than that of the portal trunk in healthy dogs, with the pressure of left gastric vein being the highest. The normal pressure gradient and the hepatopetal blood flow were evidently shown. In case of portal hypertension, the pathophysiologic pressure topography of the portal venenous system was miscellaneous with the pressure of left gastric vein being lower than that of the portal trunk in 41.7% of the 26 patients, a phenomenon suggestive of effective decompression of the portal vein by the development of esophagogastriv varix.