THE PERITONEUM 425 



behind by the vena cava inferior and right crus of the dia- 

 phragm, above by the lobus caudatus, below by the duodenum 

 and hepatic artery. From this point the lesser sac lines the 

 posterior abdominal wall, and adheres to the back of the 

 greater sac except where the stomach comes between. Above 

 it passes behind the liver, between the Spigelian lobule and 

 the back part of the diaphragm, to meet the process from the 

 greater sac already described. Here it is attached to the 

 transverse fissure and the fissure of the ductus venosus, cover- 

 ing the esophagus behind and on the right. At the transverse 

 fissure it passes to the lesser curvature of the stomach, forming 

 the posterior layer of the lesser or gastrohepatic omentum, 

 the anterior layer coming from the greater sac. 



It then invests the back of the stomach, and descends from 

 the great curvature in front of the transverse colon and small 

 intestine to a variously greater or less extent. Turning upon 

 itself, it ascends, thus forming the internal layers of the great 

 omentum, as far as the transverse colon, whose upper surface 

 it invests, and passes thence to the spine, thus forming the 

 upper layer of the transverse mesocolon. It now passes up- 

 ward over the front of the pancreas, celiac axis and its branches, 

 upper part of left kidney, the left suprarenal capsule, and 

 that part of the diaphragm between the aortic and caval 

 openings, and is continuous with that part of the lesser sac 

 lining the space back of the liver, already described. Traced 

 to the left over the pancreas, the peritoneum is reflected to 

 the hilum of the spleen, and thence to the stomach, forming 

 the posterior layer of the gastrosplenic omentum. Traced 

 to the right, it is reflected from the extreme end of the pan- 

 creas on to the back of the first portion of the duodenum, and 

 becomes continuous with that covering the posterior surface 

 of the stomach. 



The anterior layer of the lesser omentum invests the front 

 of the stomach to the greater curvature, from which it descends 

 in front of and with the posterior layer, and thus down in 

 front of the transverse colon and small intestine to a variable 

 degree. These two layers are closely adherent to each other 

 in adults and turn backward upon themselves to ascend to 

 the transverse colon, thus completing the great omentum. 

 Those layers, therefore, of the great omentum, which are con- 

 tributed by the lesser sac, are continued within those from the 



