102 



PERITONEUM. 



fibres which shorten the passage, and by the contraction of its cir- 

 cular fibres successively from above downwards ; vomiting is pro- 

 duced by the contraction taking place from below upwards. 



VISCERA OF THE ABDOMEN. 



The cavity of the abdomen is divided into nine different regions, by the 



drawing of parallel lines 

 F'g- 83. vertically,^ 3 through the 



anterior inferior spinous 

 processes, and intersect- 

 ing them with two other 

 parallel lines drawn 

 transversely^* over the 

 crests of the ilia, and 

 over the most prominent 

 part of the costal carti- 

 lages. We thus have 

 three regions arranged 

 above, three in the mid- 

 dle, and three below. 



Those of the upper 

 row are termed the epi- 

 gastric,^ in which are 

 the left lobe of the liver, 

 and a portion of the sto- 

 mach ; the right hypo- 

 chondriac^ contains with- 

 in it the right lobe of the 

 liver, while the left con- 

 tains the spleen, a portion 

 of the stomach, and the 

 liver. The middle row 

 contains the umbilical,'' 

 in which are the small 

 intestines, and on cither side the lumbar regions ;» the right lumbar 

 region contains the right kidney, and ascending colon ; while the left 

 contains the left kidney and descending colon. 



The lower row contains the hypogastric region,^ " in which is a 

 portion of the small intestines and bladder, and on either side the 

 iliac fosscB;^^ the right of which contains the coRcum or caput coli^ 

 and the left contains the sigmoid flexure. 



PERITONEUM. 



The peritoneum is a thin, transparent membrane, lining the 



cavity 



