DIGESTIVE GtANDS. 2 19 



where the capsule, and therefore the liver, is in direct 

 apposition with the lower surface of the diaphragm. 

 The blood supply of the liver consists of the hepatic 

 artery, and a branch of the celiac axis, and the portal 

 vein, formed by the junction of the splenic and supe- 

 rior mesenteric veins. The portal vein is by far the 

 larger vessel. These vessels accompany the bile- 



Fig. 165. Section through liver of pig, showing chains of liver-cells 

 (Bohm and Davidoff), 



duct, and wherever one branches the others do, even 

 to the finer terminations between the liver lobules. 

 The duct, vein and artery form the ventral border 

 of the foramen of Winslow. Their relation at this 

 place is, bile duct to the right, artery to the left, and 

 vein between and behind the other two. This rela- 

 tion is an important one in the surgery of these parts. 



