THE PERTfONEUM 



1257 



from the sides of the bladder to the rectum and sacrum. These folds are known 

 from their position as the rectovesical or sacrogenital folds. The peritoneum of 

 the anterior pelvic wall covers the superior surface of the bladder, and on either 

 side of this viscus forms a depression, termed the paravesical fossa, and limited 

 externally by the fold of peritoneum covering the vas deferens. The size of this 

 fossa is dependent on the state of distention of the bladder; when the bladder is 

 empty, a variable fold of peritoneum, the plica vesicalis transversa, divides the 

 fossa into two portions. On the peritoneum between the paravesical and para- 

 rectal fossi-e the only elevations are those produced by the ureters and the internal 

 iliac vessels. (b) In the female, pararectal and paravesical fossae similar to those 

 in the male are present; the outer limit of the paravesical fossa is the peritoneum 

 investing the round ligament of the uterus. The rectovesical pouch is, however, 



TRANSVERSE 

 MESOCOLON 



GREATER 

 OMENTUM 



LESSER SAC 

 FORAMEN OFWINSLOW, 

 WITH ARROW PASSED 

 THROUGH IT 



PANCREAS 



THIRD PART OF 

 DUODENUM 

 TRANSVERSE 

 COLON 



MESENTERY 



SMALL 

 INTESTINE 



POUCH OF 

 DOUGLAS 



divided by the uterus and vagina into a small anterior uterovesical and a large, 

 deep, posterior rectovaginal pouch or pouch of Douglas. The sacrogenital folds 

 form the margins of the latter, and are continued on to the back of the uterus to 

 form a transverse fold, the torus uteri nus. The broad ligaments extend from the 

 sides of the uterus to the lateral walls of the pelvis; they contain in their free margins 

 the Fallopian tubes, and on their posterior surface the ovaries attached by the 

 mesovaria. Below, the broad ligaments are continuous with the peritoneum on 

 the lateral walls of the pelvis. On the lateral pelvic wall behind the attachment 

 of the broad ligament, in the angle between the elevations produced by the 

 diverging internal and external iliac vessels, is a slight fossa, the ovarian fossa, 

 in which the ovary normally lies. 



