This oxygendepleted venous blood is rich in substances absorbed and secreted by the gut. these afferent blood vessels then branch throughout the liver in association with the bile ducts and form the portal triads (consisting of the portal veins, hepatic arteries, and bile ducts). Eventually, blood from both the hepatic artery and the portal vein drains into the hepatic sinusoids, which surround sheets of liver cells, or hepatic plates