Ductus Venosus Shunt in the Embryo

I also took an independent study this past semester to work on some pen and ink illustrations.  This is one of the illustrations I created in that class.  I used Corel Painter to create this illustration, which depicts the ductus venosus shunt in the embryo.

The ductus venosus shunts blood from the umbilical vein directly to the inferior vena cava and then into the heart.  This allows oxygenated blood coming from the mother to bypass the liver and travel directly to the heart,where it will be pumped to the rest of the embryo’s body.  After birth this shunt will close and become the ligamentum venosum.

~ by leah0klein on December 20, 2011.