Circulatory system the areas above the heart) and the inferior vena cava (roughly speaking from areas below the heart). These two great vessels empty into the right atrium of the heart. The heart itself is supplied with oxygen and nutrients through a small "loop" of the systemic circulation and derives very little from the blood contained within the four chambers. The general rule is that arteries from the heart branch out into capillaries, which collect into veins leading back to the heart. Portal veins are a slight exception to this. In humans the only significant example is the hepatic portal vein which
Blood islands plasma, beginning 3 weeks after fertilization. Blood formation inside the embryo proper begins around 5 weeks after fertilization in the liver, and at the twelfth week in the spleen, red bone marrow and thymus. Blood islands have been seen in the area vasculosa in the vitelline veins and arteries, and in the dorsal aorta. Blood islands Blood islands are structures around the developing embryo which lead to many different parts of the circulatory system. Blood islands arise external to the developing embryo on the umbilical vesicle, allantois, connecting stalk and chorion. They are also known as Pander's islands or Wolff's