In a healthy person the blood glucose level in the hepatic vein fluctuates much less than that in the hepatic portal vein. Explain why.

Firstly, blood glucose in the hepatic portal vein increases after a meal and this is due to the hepatic portal vein transporting blood from the gut to the Liver. Therefore, blood glucose will increase as food is digested and glucose absorbed by the gut. If after a meal, the blood glucose levels are too high, glucose molecules will be converted to glycogen molecules in the Liver in a process known as glycogenesis. If at any point, the blood glucose are too low, these glycogen molecules are broken down in the Liver back to glucose in a process known as glycogenolysis. The hepatic vein is responsible for transporting deoxygenated blood from the Liver back into the circulation after it has been filtered by the Liver.