1084 UROGENITAL SYSTEM. " 
the colon and the duodenum are bound down to the kidney by the peritoneum. In 
addition to the struetures mentioned, some portion of the ileum, or of the jejumun, 
is often found in contact with a small part of the right kidney. 
In front of the extreme upper and inner part of the left Aidney is the inferior 
portion of the left suprarenal capsule; while at a lower level the upper part of the 
Suprarenal area Suprarenal area 
Gastric area 
—Splenie area 
Pancreatic 
ivea 
Hepatic ¢ 
Jejunal area 
Colie area 
Duodenal 
Colic ¢ 
Tee ————— 
Iliac crest—-———e 
i 
\ . 
| [ae crest 
| 
Fic. 730.—THeE KIDNEYS AND GREAT VESSELS, viewed from the front. The drawing was made, before 
removal of the organs, from a specimen in which the viscera had been hardened iz situ. The dotted 
lines mark out the areas which were in contict with the various other abdominal viscera. 
left kidney is in contact with the stomach and pancreas. The suprarenal capsule 
and the pancreas are bound down to the kidney by connective tissue, but the 
stomach is separated from the part of the kidney with which it is in apposition, by 
the lesser sac of the peritoneum. The part of the kidney in actual contact with 
the stomach is usually a small, somewhat triangular area situated above the level 
at which the pancreas crosses the left kidney. The renal surface of the spleen is 
related to the anterior surface of the left kidney in its upper and outer part, the 
two organs being separated by a part of the general peritoneal cavity, except along 
the area where spleen and kidney are connected by the heno-renal ligament. The 
anterior surface of the lower end of the left kidney is related, towards the inner 
side, to a part of the jejunum, and towards the outer side to a part of the splenic 
flexure of the colon. 
The right and left colic arteries, or their branches, as they pass outwards to reach 
the colon, are often related to the anterior aspects of the corresponding kidneys. The 
splenic artery proceeds in front of the left kidney (Fig. 735). 
The anterior surface of a kidney, which has been hardened in situ, is, like the 
posterior surface, not uniformly rounded, but marked by a series of impressions 
corresponding to the different structures which lie in contact with it. In the ease 
of each kidney, the most prominent region on the anterior surface lies below the 
level of the middle of the kidney, and corresponds to the thickest part of the 
organ. From this prominence on the anterior surface a series of more or less 
flattened planes slope away towards the borders of the kidney. These flattened 
areas are the impressions formed by the viscera which he in front of the kidney. 
In the case of the right kidney, three impressions can usually be distinguished — 
on the anterior surface. One occupies the whole of the upper part of the organ, 
