After passing through the sinusoids, the blood collects in a number of short hepatic veins, which drain into the inferior vena cava just before the inferior vena cava penetrates the diaphragm and enters the right atrium of the heart.
Normally, vascular beds drained by the hepatic portal system interconnect, through small veins, with beds drained by systemic vessels, which ultimately connect directly with either the superior or inferior vena cava.