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Multiple Choice

In Budd-Chiari syndrome, the occlusion occurs in which vessels?

Budd-Chiari syndrome is defined by obstruction of the liver’s venous outflow, which is through the hepatic veins draining into the inferior vena cava. When these veins are blocked, blood cannot leave the liver properly, causing hepatic congestion, hepatomegaly, and ascites. The portal veins bring blood into the liver, so their occlusion would produce portal hypertension from a different mechanism, not the outflow obstruction seen in Budd-Chiari. The hepatic artery supplies arterial blood; its blockade would cause ischemia rather than venous congestion. Sometimes the obstruction can involve the suprahepatic portion of the IVC as part of the outflow tract, but the essential vessel involved is the hepatic veins.

Budd-Chiari syndrome is defined by obstruction of the liver’s venous outflow, which is through the hepatic veins draining into the inferior vena cava. When these veins are blocked, blood cannot leave the liver properly, causing hepatic congestion, hepatomegaly, and ascites. The portal veins bring blood into the liver, so their occlusion would produce portal hypertension from a different mechanism, not the outflow obstruction seen in Budd-Chiari. The hepatic artery supplies arterial blood; its blockade would cause ischemia rather than venous congestion. Sometimes the obstruction can involve the suprahepatic portion of the IVC as part of the outflow tract, but the essential vessel involved is the hepatic veins.