980 



THE ORGANS OF DIGESTION 



opposite the iiintli. tentli. and eleventh dorsal verteln-fe hehind (fig. 583), and on 

 the right side extends hetween the seventh and eleventh ribs; in front, it lies behind 

 the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth costal cartilages; and its anterior border 

 corresponds on the right to the line of the margin of the costal cartilages, and to 

 the left it is in contact with the anterior al)doniinal -wall below the sternal notch 

 (fig. 582). 



The liver is very movable, and alters its position under various circumstances. 

 It is depressed at each inspiration, the anterior border being pushed below the ribs 

 by a deep breath. When lying down, the liver edge is half an inch above the 

 margin of the ribs. In children, the gland being larger in proportion to the body 



Fig. 582.— Relation of the Abdominal Visceka to the Paeietes. (Treves.) 



than in the adult state, it extends below the ril)s and reaches the left hypochon- 

 drium. 



The liver's extreme left point is al>out an inch and a half beyond the left margin 

 of the sternum; in front, in the middle line, it reaches to about half way between 

 the xiphoid cartilage and the navel. The lower edge as it crosses the subcostal 

 angle is represented l)y a line drawn from the ninth right to the eighth left costal 

 cartilage. (Quain.) 



Its upper limit is indicated by a line crossing the mesostfrnum close to its lower 

 end, and rising on the right side in the mannnary line to the level of the fifth rib. 

 On the left the line is ))ractically horizontal. Behind, the liver is nearest the surface 

 at the tenth and eleventh thoracic vcrtcl)rie. 



