H2 Life and Health 



the side of the large intestine a short distance beyond the 

 beginning of the latter. A blind pouch, or dilated pocket, 

 is thus formed at the place of junction, called the caecum. 



The large intestine passes upwards on the right side 

 as the ascending colon, until the underside of the liver is 

 reached, where it passes to the left 

 side as the transverse colon, below the 

 stomach. It there turns downward 

 as the descending colon, and making an 

 S-shaped curve, the sigmoid flexure, ends 



* * " .Li 



.-v? * * * . in the rectum, 



V**;;I:rr; IBS. The Vermiform Appendix. 



" ***** * * Attached to the caecum, and completing 



FIG. 56. Sectional View its blind end > is a worm-shaped tube, 



of Intestinal Villi. about the thickness of a lead pencil, and 



(Black dots represent the fr m thre6 tO f Ur lncheS lon S' Called 



glandular openings.) the vermiform appendix. It is of no use 

 in man, but in many of the lower ani- 

 mals it is much larger, and serves as an important digestive 

 pouch. This tube is of great surgical importance, from the 

 fact that it is subject to severe inflammation, often resulting 

 in an internal abscess, which is always dangerous and may 

 prove fatal. 



Inflammation of the appendix is known as appendicitis, a 

 name quite familiar on account of the many surgical opera- 

 tions performed of late years for its relief. 



f 170. The Liver. The liver is a large, reddish-brown organ, 

 situated just below the diaphragm and on the right side. 

 It is the largest gland in the body and weighs from fifty 

 to sixty ounces. 



The liver is almost wholly covered by the ribs. In tight 

 lacing it is often forced downward, out from the cover of 

 the ribs, and thus becomes permanently displaced. As a 

 result, other organs in the upper abdomen and pelvis are 

 crowded together and also become displaced and distorted. 



