532 PELVIS BLADDER. 



pany the ureters : hence the morbid sympathies which exist between tne 

 kidney, the ureter, and the testicle : and by the communications with the 

 solar plexus, with the stomach and diaphragm, and indeed with the whole 

 system. In the intimate structure of the kidney, the nerve-fibres are, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Toynbee, continuous with the nucleated cells of the paren- 

 chyma of that organ. 



PELVIS. 



The cavity of the pelvis is that portion of the great abdominal cavity 

 which is included within the bones of the pelvis, below the level of the 

 linea-ilio-pectinea and the promontory of the sacrum. It is bounded by 

 the cavity of the abdomen above, and by the perineum below ; its internal 

 parietes are formed, in front, below, and at the sides, by the peritoneum, 

 pelvic fascia, levatores ani muscles, obturator fasciae, and muscles ; and 

 behind, by the sacrum and sacral plexus of nerves. 



The Viscera of the pelvis in the male are, the urinary bladder, the pros- 

 tate gland, vesiculse seminales, and the rectum. 



BLADDER. 



The Bladder is an oblong membranous viscus of an ovoid shape, situated 

 behind the ossa pubis and in front of the rectum. It is larger in its ver- 

 tical diameter than from side to side ; and its long axis is directed from 

 above, obliquely downwards and backwards. It is divided into, body, 

 fundus, base, and neck. Tjje body comprehends' the middle zone of the 

 organ ; the fundus, its upper segment ; the base, the lower broad extre- 

 mity which rests on the rectum ; and the neck, the narrow constricted por- 

 tion which is applied against the prostate gland. 



This organ is retained in its place by ligaments, which are divided into 

 true and false ; the true ligaments are seven in number, two anterior, two 

 lateral, two umbilical, and the urachus ; the false ligaments are folds of 

 the peritoneum, and are four in number, two anterior and two posterior. 

 The anterior ligaments are formed by the pelvic fascia, which passes from 

 the inner surface of the os pubis, on each side of the symphysis, to the 

 front of the bladder. The lateral ligaments are formed by the reflexion 

 of the pelvic fascia from the levatores ani muscles, upon the sides of the 

 base of the bladder. The umbilical ligaments are the fibrous cords which 

 result from the obliteration of the umbilical arteries of the foetus ; they pass 

 forwards on each side of the fundus of the bladder, and ascend beneath 

 the peritoneum to the umbilicus. The urachus is a small fibrous cord 

 formed by the obliteration of a tubular canal existing in the embryo : it is 

 attached to the apex of the bladder, and thence ascends to the umbilicus. 

 The false ligaments are folds of peritoneum ; the two lateral correspond 

 with the passage of the vasa deferentia from the sides of the bladder to 

 the internal abdominal rings, and the two posterior with the course of the 

 umbilical arteries, to the fundus of the organ. 



The bladder is composed of three coats, an external or serous coat, a 

 muscular, and a mucous coat. The serous coat is partial, and derived 

 from the peritoneum, which invests the posterior surface and sides of the 

 bladder, from about opposite the point of termination of th-e two ureters 



