THE ABDOMEN. 



153 



and jaundice results. In this condition operation is 

 dangerous, as the time of coagulation of the blood, nor- 

 mally five minutes or less, is much delayed. Gall-stones, 

 formed largely of bile pigments and cholesterin, some- 

 times collect in the gall-bladder, where they cause irrita- 

 tion and may give rise to empyema of the gall-bladder. 

 The stones vary in size from a pea to a hen's egg and 

 when small may be very numerous. 



The Pancreas. Another accessory organ of diges- 

 tion is the pancreas, the abdominal salivary gland, as 



Head of Tc 



FIG. 57. The pancreas, spleen, gall-bladder, etc., showing their relations. 

 (After Sobotta.) 



it is sometimes called on account of its close resem- 

 blance to the parotid gland. This is a grayish-white 

 racemose gland, six and a half inches long by one and 

 a half inches wide and one inch thick, lying behind 

 the stomach on a level with the first and second lumbar 

 vertebrae and shaped like a pistol with its handle toward 

 the right. In an emaciated person it can be felt. The 



