The sinusoids and bile canaliculi neighbor each other in the liver. The sinusoids are capillary-like vessels that the blood is conveyed to the inferior vena cava by the hepatic veins. Bile is produced in the liver by the hepatocytes and secreted into thin channels called bile canaliculi located within each hepatic plate. The canaliculi are drained peripherally by bile ducts that in turn drain into hepatic ducts that carry bile away from the liver. As a result, blood travels in the sinusoids and bile travels in the opposite direction so blood and bile never mix in the lobules of the liver under normal conditions.