THE ABDOMINAL CAVITY 



335 



The Right Colic (Hepatic) Flexure lies under cover of the 

 ninth and tenth costal cartilages in the interval between the 

 inferior surface of the right lobe of the liver and the anterior 

 surface of the lower pole of the right kidney. It is formed by 

 the terminal part of the ascending colon, which turns downwards, 

 forwards, and to the left to become continuous with the transverse 

 colon. Its medial surface is in contact with the gall-bladder, 

 anteriorly, and with the second part of the duodenum, posteriorly. 



FIG. 105. "Double-barrelled" Colon. The dark mass on the left of the 

 figure consists of the caecum, the ascending colon and the first part of 

 the transverse colon. 



When the body is in the supine position, the flexure lies a 

 little below the trans-pyloric plane, but radiograms show that, 

 in the erect posture, it descends, sometimes even to the level 

 of the iliac crest (fourth lumbar vertebra). The amount of 

 peritoneum which persists in this region is very variable, and 

 this fact may account for the wide range of movement. 



The Transverse Colon extends from the right to the 

 left colic flexure. As it crosses the abdominal cavity it takes 

 a downward curve, usually reaching its lowest point in the 



