THE PANCREAS. 



947 



to the left, near the tail. It commences to the right in the omental tuberosity, and 

 is in relation with the cceliac axis, from which the hepatic artery courses to the 

 right just above the gland, while the splenic branch runs in a groove along this 

 border to the left. 



The anterior border is the position where the two layers of the transverse meso- 

 colon separate : the one passing upward in front of the anterior surface, the other 

 backward below the inferior surface. 



The lesser end or tail of the pancreas is narrow ; it extends to the lett as far as 

 the lower part of the inner aspect of the spleen. 



Birmingham describes the body of the pancreas as projecting forward as a promi- 

 nent ridge into the abdominal cavity and forming a sort of shelf on which the 

 stomach lies. He says : " The portion of the pancreas to the left of the middle line 

 has a very considerable antero-posterior thickness ; as a result the anterior surface 

 is of considerable extent, it looks strongly upward, and forms a large and important 

 part of the shelf. As the pancreas extends to the left toward the spleen it crosses 

 the upper part of the kidney, and is- so moulded on to it that the top of the kidney 

 forms an extension inward and backward of the upper surface of the pancreas and 

 extends the bed in this direction. On the other hand, the extremity of the pan- 



RECTUS MUSCLE. 



f 8th Costal Cartilage. 



7th Costal Cartilage. 



7th Rib. 



_^8th Rib. 



9th Rib. 



10th Rib. 



DIAPHRAGM. 



Abdominal Aorta. 



llih Rib. 



FIG. 521. Transverse section through the middle of the first lumbar vertebra, showing the relations of the 

 pancreas. (Braune.) 



creas comes in contact with the spleen in such a way that the plane of its upper 

 surface runs with little interruption upward and backward into the concave gastric 

 surface of the spleen, which completes the bed behind and to the left, and running 

 upward, forms a partial cap for the wide end of the stomach " l (see Fig. 496). 



The principal excretory duct of the pancreas, called the pancreatic duct or canal 

 of Wirsung, from its discoverer, extends transversely from left to right through the 

 substance of the pancreas. In order to expose it, the superficial portion of the 

 gland must be removed. It commences by the junction of the small ducts of the 

 lobules situated in the tail of the pancreas, and, running from right to left through 

 the body, it constantly receives the ducts of the various lobules composing the 



1 Journal of Anatomy and Physiolgy, vol. xxxi. pt. 1; p. 102. 



