PERITONEUM. 
deficiency of peritoneal investment to the dia- 
phragm and liver between its anterior and 
posterior portions allows the liver to adhere to 
the diaphragm, and small vessels and lym- 
phatics to pass from the one to the other. 
The triangular ligaments of the liver are the 
continuations of the layers of the coronary 
ligament, become adherent as above, leaping 
across from the rounded posterior corners of 
the liver to the nearest or postero-lateral portion 
of the upper concave abdominal parietes, that 
is to say, to the diaphragm. Their form is, as 
their name indicates, triangular; their anterior 
borders are free; their posterior and internal 
borders are attached, the former to the parietes, 
the latter to the liver. They help to keep the 
liver in situ. 
The lesser omentum has been partially de- 
scribed above. Between its layers are included 
the vena porte, the hepatic artery, the gall- 
duct, and the hepatic plexus, along its free 
border ; and the pyloric and coronaria ventriculi 
arteries, with accompanying veins and nerves, 
along its gastric attachment. Except in the 
course of these vessels, it is a thin transparent 
membranous sheet, with a very small amount 
of strength. The vessels destined for its own 
proper nutrition are extremely few and small. 
With regard to its use, Cruveilhier thinks that 
it is a true mesentery of the stomach, mesogas- 
trium, but on this point we would offer the 
following remarks. One characteristic of a 
mesentery is, that it retains its bowel in situ, 
and this office the lesser omentum doubtless 
partially performs towards the stomach; but 
another characteristic of a mesentery is, that it 
gives passage to the arteries and veins of the 
bowel to which it belongs, and this office the 
lesser omentum performs, not for the stomach, 
but for the liver. It is the splenic omentum, 
or that part of the great omentum whereupon 
the spleen is sessile, extending between the 
parietal line of attachment running from the 
cardia to the left bend of the colon, and the 
fundus of the stomach, that conducts the prin- 
cipal gastric vessels, as the coronaria ventriculi, 
vasa brevia, and gastro-epiploica sinistra, from 
the parietes to the stomach. The splenic omen- 
tum fulfils indeed both these offices towards 
the stomach, and occupies with regard to it the 
position of a parieto-visceral fold,a relation still 
more characteristic of a mesentery. We there- 
fore are inclined to consider the splenic omen- 
tum as the mesogastrium; and some facts in 
comparative anatomy, (figs. 490, 491,) as well 
as that mentioned above, of its affording transit 
to the hepatic vessels, seem to indicate that 
the lesser omentum is the mesentery of the 
gall-duct and liver.. } 
The splenic omentum is the name given to 
that long corner of the great omental pouch 
_ which extends up to the left of the fundus of 
the stomach as high as the cardia. It obtains 
its name from the circumstance of the spleen 
being situated on its outer aspect. The spleen, 
in a certain sense, is included between the 
layers; it is invested, however, by the outer 
layer alone,—the inner layer passes by it un- 
interruptedly. Soemmering mentions a liga- 
941 
mentum phrenico-gastricum, a peritoneal fold 
connecting the cardiac end of the stomach to 
the diaphragm ; itis the very uppermost corner 
of this part of the great omental sac, which 
gets somewhat behind the cardia, and is not 
unfrequently complicated by one or two small 
falciform folds, rendered very conspicuous by 
pulling up the stomach. The attachments of 
this part of the great omental pouch have 
already been described ; between its layers are 
contained, at its very tip or uppermost corner, 
the arteria coronaria ventriculi, with its accom- 
panying vein and nerves ;* and lower down the 
splenic vessels and nerves as far as from the 
parietes to the spleen, and the branches of the 
splenic vessels called vasa brevia and gastro- 
epiploica sinistra, as far as to the fundus of 
the stomach. There are a few lymphatic 
glands near the root of the spleen; such glands, 
together with fat in variable quantities, are very 
commonly included between the layers of the 
peritoneal duplicatures. The use of the sple- 
nic omentum is to retain the spleen and stomach 
in situ, and to give transit to the splenic and 
gastric vessels. 
The great omentum, called also the gastro- 
colic omentum. The apron-like appearance 
and the sac-like form of this singular structure, 
and also its attachments, have been described 
above; it is necessary to add the following 
remarks. It extends much further down in 
the adult than in the foetus. It reaches lower 
down on the left side than on the right. 
Owing to the proximity of its lower edge to 
the femoral and inguinal rings, it frequently 
constitutes a part or the whole of the contents 
of hernial sacs. It reaches lowest down when 
the stomach is empty, and is very considerably 
drawn up by distension of that organ. It is 
usually spread apron-like evenly over the small 
intestines, but is not unfrequently found lying 
folded up on one side or the other of the 
abdomen, occasionally even turned up over 
the liver and stomach. It is frequently loaded 
with immense quantities of fat, and indeed is 
seldom or never destitute of it along the sides 
of the vessels which form such a beautiful 
net-work between its layers. In the intervals 
or meshes of this network the omentum is so 
extremely thin that it is difficult to believe it 
composed of two layers, and not unfrequently 
the membrane is deficient in these situations, 
giving to the whole the ner of a piece 
of lace finely perforated. This is always the 
condition of the great omentum of the dog, in 
59 
which animal we have repeatedly assured our- 
* The arteria coronaria ventriculi is rarely ac- 
tually included between the layers of the splenic 
omentum in the human subject; the posterior as- 
pect of the cardiac end of the stomach coming into 
immediate adhesion with the diaphragm, frequently 
allows of this artery reaching it without being en- 
closed in any peritoneal duplicature; not unfre- 
quently, indeed, it is found to enter the corner of 
the gastro-hepatic omentum at once, and sometimes 
it occupies one of the little falciform folds just 
mentioned, but occasionally it is situated as the 
description indicates, and as this is its constant 
course in all or most of the inferior animals, we 
consider it and describe it as its normal one. 
