THE STOMACH AND SPLEEN 225 



sufficiently to display its contour and divisions, as follows: 



(a) The greater curvature (curvatura ventriculi major), its 

 convex posterior surface. 



(b) The lesser curvature (curvatura ventriculi minor), the 

 contracted, concave anterior surface. 



(c) The main portion or body of the stomach (corpus ven- 

 triculi). It lies for the most part to the left of the median 

 plane. 



(d) The cardia or area of junction with the oesophagus, largely 

 concealed by the lesser omentum (2c, p. 226), a delicate 

 sheet of peritoneum extending from the cardia to the liver. 

 Through the semi-transparent omentum it is possible to 

 to see the pale-coloured osesophagus, which lies dorsal to it, 

 approaching the stomach from in front and after careful 

 examination the omentum maybe torn to reveal these parts 

 more clearly. 



(e) The fundus, a sac-like expansion of the stomach to the left 

 of the cardia. 



(J) The pyloric limb (pars pylorica) forms the right portion of 

 the organ. 



(g) The pylorus, the point of communication of the stomach 

 with the intestine (duodenum). It is marked by an annular 

 constriction, preceding which is a greatly thickened muscu- 

 lar portion of the pyloric limb, known as the pyloric an- 

 trum (antrum pyloricum). 



2. Raise the posterior portion of the stomach and turn it forward. 

 Note on the dorsal surface of the greater curvature at the left 

 side a flat elongated body, the spleen (lien). It has sometimes 

 a pale coloration in the embalmed animal , where the large amount 

 of contained blood has been washed out by the preserving fluid, 

 but is dark red in life. On the right side of the artery of the 

 spleen, enclosed in the peritoneum, will be seen a diffuse, brown- 

 ish, glandular mass, a portion of the pancreas. Trace the course 

 of the peritoneum from the dorsal abdominal wall to the liver, 

 as follows: 

 (a) A broad fold of peritoneum, the mesogastrium, connects 



