78 ANATOMY OF THE RAT 



united anteriorly, and are in contact with the diaphragm. 

 Posteriorly, the fissure extends upward, sometimes reach- 

 ing the region of the inferior vena cava. The right lobule 

 passes upward to the right of this vein, the left lobule to 

 the left. The median lobe is fastened in this region to 

 the vena cava. Very little, if any, hepatic glandular tissue 

 connecting this lobe with the rest of the liver, is visible 

 in a gross dissection. 



The left lateral lobe is immediately behind and at the 

 left of the median lobe of the liver. It attaches to the 

 other lobes of the liver only at its dorsomedial angle, and 

 here merely by its ducts, blood vessels, and connective tis- 

 sue. The anterior surface is strongly convex, the posterior 

 surface is concave and rests against the stomach and in- 

 testines. The lobe is thick near the center, tapering to 

 a thin edge peripherally. The right side pushes in between 

 the median and right lateral lobes. 



The right lateral lobe lies behind and at the right of the 

 median lobe. A vertical transverse cleft divides it into two 

 almost completely separated lobules, one anterior, the other 

 posterior. A bridge of hepatic tissue crossing the dorsal 

 side of the inferior vena cava connects the two lobules 

 with one another and with the caudate lobe on the left 

 side of the abdomen. The posterior lobule is frequently 

 annexed to the caudate lobe by a strip of hepatic glandu- 

 lar tissue crossing the ventral surface also of the inferior 

 vena cava. Both lobules attach to the right surface of the 

 vena cava. Aside from the glandular bridges mentioned 

 above, a gross dissection fails to reveal connections of he- 

 patic tissue with the other lobes of the liver. The anterior 

 lobule is thick near the center, thinning out toward the 

 sharp peripheral edges. Its convex anterior surface fits 

 into a concavity near the right border of the median lobe. 

 The right lateral surface rests against the diaphragm. 



