THE LIVER 1189 



forming the superior portion of the posterior abdominal wall. It is deeply indented 

 by the projecting vertebral column, and it is nearly flat in the vertical axis. 



The fades inferior is directed obliquely downwards and posteriorly, is in contact 

 with a number of the abdominal viscera, especially the right kidney, stomach, 

 duodenum, and colon, and its general configuration is influenced to a marked 

 degree by the shape and position of these organs. 



This surface is sometimes termed the visceral, in contrast to the other sur- 

 faces, which constitute the parietal surface of the organ. 



The parietal and visceral surfaces are marked off from one another by the 

 inferior margin of the liver. Posteriorly, this margin is indistinctly marked and 

 corresponds to the inferior edge of the posterior area, or back, of the parietal 

 surface : it is in contact with the right kidney, and lies along the course of the 

 eleventh rib. At the right side the margin is stout but distinct, and usually 

 corresponds to, or projects a little way below, the inferior border of the thoracic 



Bare area 



Lig. teres "" 

 A. hepatica propria 



Vena portae 

 Ductus choledochu 



Lobus quadratus 



Vesica feilea 

 Fossa for gl. suprarenalis 



Impressio reualis 

 Lig. triangulare dextrumX 

 FIG. 937. THE LIVER VIEWED FROM BEHIND. 



framework. Anteriorly, the border is thin and sharp, and passes obliquely upwards 

 from the right to the left side behind the anterior abdominal wall. This portion 

 forms the margo anterior. Its direction corresponds to a line drawn from a point 

 half an inch (12 mm.) below the margin of the ribs (tip of tenth costal cartilage) 

 on the right side to a point an inch below the nipple on the left. It extends down 

 in the median plane to a point half-way between the body of the sternum and the 

 umbilicus. This portion of the lower border usually, but not invariably, presents 

 one or two notches. The incisura umbilicalis, the more constant of the two 

 (Fig. 936), is situated at the anterior end of a cleft on the inferior surface, known 

 as the fossa sagittalis sinistra (see p. 1191), and corresponds to the upper part of 

 the ligament um teres hepatis. It is usually placed from one to two inches (2*5 

 to 5'0 cm.) to the right of the median plane. The second notch, less frequently 

 mt, corresponds to the fundus of the gall-bladder, and is called the incisura 



fellese. 



At its left extremity the margo anterior turns posteriorly round the edge of 

 left lobe, and ends at a groove on the posterior surface, termed the impressio 

 >phagea, in which the oesophagus lies. 



