After passing through myocardial capillaries, blood enters small myocardial veins, which come together to form the major cardiac veins. All three major cardiac veins join to form the coronary sinus, which is an enlarged vein on the posterior surface of the heart that collects and holds venous blood from the myocardium during ventricular systole before returning it to the right atrium. The cardiac vein drains the anterior portion of the ventricles as it transports blood to the coronary sinus; it follows first the sulcus, then the sulcus. The vein arises in the area supplied by the cardiac marginal artery and follows the coronary sulcus to the posterior surface of the heart. The cardiac vein drains the posterior portions of the ventricles and lies within the posterior sulcus. Additionally, there are several anterior cardiac veins that drain directly into the right atrium.