PERITONEUM. 175 



perceive that it is prolonged from the under surface of that 

 viscus on to the vessels. u From the liver it may be fol- 

 lowed along the vessels, one la} r er before and the other 

 behind them, forming the lesser omentum, to the upper 

 border of the stomach. At the stomach the two layers in- 

 closing the vessels separate, one going before and the other 

 behind it ; but beyond that viscus they are applied to one 

 another to form the great omentum. After descending in 

 contact in that fold to the lower part of the abdomen, they 

 may be traced in it backward and upward, and may be seen 

 to separate to inclose the transverse colon, like the sto- 

 mach, and then to continue to the spine, giving rise to the 

 transverse meso-colon. At the attachment to the spine 

 the two companion layers will be found to separate, one 

 passing upward and the other downward. The ascending 

 layer is continued in front of the pancreas and the pillars 

 of the diaphragm, and blends with the peritoneum on the 

 posterior aspect of the liver. The descending layer may 

 be followed from the transverse meso-colon along the mid- 

 dle line of the spine, over the duodenum, the aorta, and vena 

 cava, till it meets with the artery to the small intestine, 

 along which it is continued to form the mesentery, turning 

 over the intestine and back to the spine along the other 

 aspect of the vessels. From the root of the mesenteric 

 artery the peritoneum descends to the pelvis, and partly 

 covers the viscera in that cavity ; thus it surrounds the 

 upper part of the rectum, and attaches this viscus to the 

 abdominal wall by the meso-rectum ; next, it is continued 

 forward between the rectum and the bladder, or between 

 the rectum and the uterus, where it forms a pouch ; thence 

 it passes over the back and sides of the bladder. Lastly, 

 the serous membrane is continued to the inguinal region, 

 where it forms the fossae, before alluded to (p. 170), and it 

 can be traced upward on the anterior wall of the abdomen 

 and the diaphragm, to the rest of the membrane on the 

 upper surface of the liver." 1 



The peritoneum may also be traced in a transverse direc- 

 tion. Beginning at the umbilicus, it may be followed out- 

 ward to the large intestine, which it fixes to the abdominal 

 wall by the meso-colon, over the kidney to the middle line, 

 along the vessels to the small intestine, round the intes- 

 tine and back to the spine along the other aspect of the 



1 Ellis's Demonstrations of Anatomy. 



