ductus venosus, the vascular channel in the fetus passing through the liver and joining the umbilical vein with the inferior vena cava. Before birth it carries highly oxygenated blood from the placenta to the fetal circulation. It closes shortly after birth as pulmonary circulation is established and as the vessels in the umbilical cord collapse and become occluded. See also ductus arteriosus, foramen ovale.
