THE ABDOMEN 749 



are taking a course downwards and outwards, and deeply by the 

 genito-crural nerve, which is taking a similar course. In this part 

 of its course the right duct has the inferior vena cava near it on its 

 inner side, whilst the left duct has the aorta on its inner side, but at 

 some little distance. The ureter next crosses the terminal part of 

 the common iliac artery (or the commencement of the external 

 iliac), after which it enters the pelvic cavity, the right ureter being 

 crossed by the lower part of the root of the mesentery proper, and 

 the left by a portion of the pelvic meso-colon. In the pelvis the 

 lureter passes downwards and forwards in front of the internal iliac 

 artery to the outer wall of the pelvis, lying beneath the peritoneum, 

 and crossing internally the obturator vessels and nerve, and the 

 obliterated hypogastric artery. It subsequently passes inwards to 

 the bladder, being crossed internally by the vas deferens. Having 

 arrived at the lateral or ureteric angle of the bladder, it commences 

 to pierce the vesical wall anterior to the upper free end of the 

 vesicula seminalis, being here about 2 inches distant from its fellow, 

 and about ij inches from the base of the prostate gland. It now 

 pursues an oblique course through the wall of the bladder, lying in 

 it for about | inch, and it finally opens into the interior by a very 

 small slit-like aperture placed obliquely at one angle of the base 

 of the internal trigone, where it is distant from its fellow and from 

 the urethral orifice by about ij inches. In the female the ureter, 

 in its pelvic covu^se, passes along the side of the cervix uteri and 

 upper part of the vagina. 



Varieties. — (i) The pelvis may be absent, its place being taken by two, 

 or three, tubes. (2) Double Ureter. — ^The foregoing tubes may remain 

 separate for some distance beyond the hilum, or even as low as the 

 bladder, thus giving rise to a double ureter. A triple ureter is extremely 

 rare. (3) Dilated Ureter. — This condition is liable to result in such cases as 

 urethral stricture, enlarged prostate, and vesical calculus. 



For the structure of the ureter, see Index. 



Suprarenal Capsules or Bodies. — The suprarenal capsules (adrenals) 

 are two in number, right and left, and are situated in the epigastric 

 region. Each is compressed from before backwaj-ds, and broad from 

 side to side. It is set upon the superior extremity of the correspond- 

 ing kidney, to which it is bound by connective tissue. Each cap- 

 sule encroaches upon the adjacent parts of the anterior surface 

 and internal border of the kidney, the left being mainly situated 

 upon the internal border. The dimensions of the organ are so 

 variable that they can only be stated approximately as foUows : 

 the height is about ij inches, and the breadth rather less than 

 2 inches. The weight, on an average, is about 2 drachms. 



The right capsule is rather smaller than the left, and is triangu- 

 lar. It is wedged in between the diaphragm and the jxtsterior 

 surface of the right lobe of the liver, and its surfaces are anterior and 

 posterior, the former having an inclination outwards, and the latter 

 inwards. The anterior surface, close to the inner border, is in contact 

 with the inferior vena cava, and elsewhere it is related to the pos- 



