THE METHOD OF MAKING POST-MORTEM EXAMINATIONS. 29 



upper and inner border of the kidney, to which they are loosely attached 

 by connective tissue. On the anterior surface is an irregular fissure, 

 called the hilus, from which the veins emerge. The size of the adrenals 

 varies considerably, but in the adult the average vertical diameter is from 

 3.2 cm. to 4.5 cm., the transverse diameter about 3.2 cm., and they are 

 from 4.2 mm. to 6.4 mm. in thickness. They weigh in the adult 4 to 8 

 grams. . They are relatively larger in children than in adults. They are 

 composed of a cortical and a medullary portion, the cortex forming a yel- 

 lowish shell around the dark-red or brown medulla. They are enclosed 

 in a connective-tissue capsule, from which fibrous processes extend in- 

 ward, dividing the gland into a series of irregular chambers. Those in 

 the cortex are mostly elongated, giving this portion a striated appear- 

 ance, while those in the medulla are polyhedral. It is in these spaces 

 that the parenchyma cells lie. The adrenals readily decompose ; the 

 inner layer of the cortex may soften and break down, so that the outer 

 zone forms a sort of cyst filled with reddish-brown broken-down sub- 

 stance. Hypertrophy, tuberculosis, and cheesy degeneration, fatty de- 

 generation, and tumors are to be looked for. 



PRESERVATION*. The adrenals should be hardened in Orth's fluid, or in strong 

 alcohol. 



The Spleen. This organ has, when removed from the body, the gen- 

 eral shape of a flattened ellipsoid, most curved on its external and pos- 

 terior surface. It is situated in an oblique position on the left side of 

 the stomach, and between its cardiac end and the diaphragm. The 

 vessels are given off from its inner surface, which is crossed by a more 

 or less well-marked vertical ridge. The point of emergence of the ves- 

 sels is called the hilus. Its long diameter extends from the seventh inter- 

 costal space to the eleventh rib. Its upper portion is separated from the 

 ribs by the lungs ; its lower portion by the diaphragm. 



It is, according to Vierordt, on the average, from 12 to 13 cm. long ; 

 from 7 to 8 cm. broad, and about 3 cm. thick. Its average weight is 

 about 171 grams. The dimensions of the spleen as given by Krause are 

 somewhat greater than the above. But its measurement and weight 

 vary considerably within the limits of health. It is in these respects 

 the most variable organ in the body. In old age the average weight 

 gradually diminishes. 



The spleen is enclosed in a fibrous capsule covered with peritoneum. 

 The parenchyma is formed of blood-vessels and fibrillar connective tissue, 

 and of a soft, dark-red pulp in which are embedded whitish spheroidal 

 or elongated bodies, the glomeruli, or Malpighian bodies. In the normal 

 human spleen the glonieruli are usually hardly perceptible to the naked 

 eye, but sometimes they are very plain. Sometimes the fibrous strorna 

 is very apparent, sometimes not. 



The size, consistence, and color of the organ vary a good deal within 

 normal limits; it may soften in decomposition. Thickenings of the cap- 

 sule and abnormal adhesions are very common, and often occur without 



