THE ABI)()Mi:X 



959 



The su)»i»crit()ii(';il S('<iineiit of tlic tissue tliey divide into two portions: a jmrietal 

 layer, elosely conneeted to tlie wall of the eavity, and vi.seei'al hiniina whieh aeeoni- 

 pany the branehes of the aorta to their distribution. 



The parieUd Utijcr is developed ehielly in front of the vertebral cohnun, ' from 

 wliich point it may be traced as a Inroad expansion between, and intimately e(»n- 

 neeted with, the i)eritoneum on the one hand, and the transversalis, dia})hraf!;mati(', 

 iliac;, oljturator, and recto-vesical faseiic on the other. ' It forms a sheath for the 

 large vessels, and is continuous with the vessels outside the abdomen. 



Tlie visccnil portion follows the course of the branches of the aorta, and greatly 

 assi.sts in fixing certain viscera, such as the liver, pancreas, etc., becoming continu- 

 ous with their connective-tissue tunic. This tissue can be seen })assing ])etw(,'en the 

 layers of ])eritoneum to thos(i organs wliich are connected to the abdominal wall by 

 dui)licatures of peritoneum. 



For an account of the evolution of the peritoneum, and an explanation of its 

 arrangement in the human l)ody, the student is referred to page 991. 



Fio. o6.j.— TiTK Viscera as skex ox fci.ly opening the Abdomen without 

 DisAKKANGEMENT OF THE INTERNAL Pakts. (After Sarazin.) 



GREAT OMENTUM 



SMALL INTESTINE 



THE AlWOJfhW 



The abdomen properly consists of that part of the body cavity situated between 

 the diaphragm and the pelvis. It is Ixmnded almve l)y the diajihragm; below, by 

 the brim of the true pelvis; behind, by the vertebral cohunn, dia|>hragm, ipKulratus 

 lumlwrnm and ]>soas muscles, and by tlie posterior ))ortions of tlie ilia. At the 

 sides it is limited by the anterior parts of the ilia and the hinder segmcMits of the 

 muscles whirh compose tin- anterior abdominal wall, viz., the transversalis, inter- 



