any of a group of veins that transports blood from the liver to the inferior vena cava, which carries the blood to the right atrium of the heart. In its ascent to the heart, the inferior vena cava passes along a groove in the posterior side of the liver, and it is there that the hepatic veins join it. The blood transported by the hepatic veins comes not only from the liver itself but also from most of the abdominal organs. This blood flows to the liver by way of the portal vein.