FIGURE 2.

Illustration of direction of flow of nutrients from the gut and ligand exchange in the capillaries. (a) Circulatory system showing direction and flow of nutrients from the intestine through the heart and lungs. Fluid therapy to the periphery of unbound HSA will flow to the heart and then is concentrated in the lungs and may make many circulations before re‐entering the liver . HSA entering the liver is charged with ligands before circulating. Thus fresh, unbound HSA could be introduced into the hepatic portal vein using standard techniques as described in the discussion. (b) At the capillary level, concentrations, and therefore delivery of ligands (FFA – free fatty acids), are determined by relative concentrations across cells. Competition exists to maintain equilibrium and any outside element such as SARS‐CoV2 will interfere with this balance. (From Johnson et al., 2020 – reproduced under the Creative Commons Licence.) (a) modified from pikissuperstar freepik