hepatic vein

n.

Any of the veins that carry from the liver the blood collected from the hepatic artery and portal vein and that terminate in three large veins, designated right, middle, and left, that open into the inferior vena cava below the diaphragm.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.