ABDOMINAL CAVITY 



S3 1 



district is the narrower of the two, and looks medially and 

 backwards. It is in apposition with the psoas muscle and the 

 crus of the diaphragm, and a rounded ridge, which corresponds 

 to the angle between the planes of the psoas and quadratus 

 lumborum muscles, separates it from the lateral district. 

 The lateral district looks backwards. In its upper third it 

 rests on the diaphragm, and in its lower two-thirds upon the 

 quadratus lumborum and the aponeurosis of origin of the 

 transversus muscle. The upper end of the kidney curves 

 slightly forwards in correspondence with the diaphragm on 



Splenic artery 



Colon 



Suprarenal 

 gland 



Crus of. 

 diaphragm 



Spleen 



Duodenum 



Colon 



Supra- 

 renal 

 gland 



Liver 



Left kidney 



FIG. 207. Transverse section through Abdomen at the level of the first 

 lumbar vertebra. 



1. Pancreas. 



2. Splenic vein joining the portal 



vein. 



3. Aorta giving off the superior 



mesenteric artery. 



4. Rod in bile-duct. 



5. Inferior vena cava. 



which it lies, and it should be borne in mind that between 

 the diaphragm and the last rib the pleural cavity descends 

 behind the kidney for a short distance (Fig. 208). 



In spare individuals, when the kidneys have been hardened in situ, 

 dimples, corresponding to the tips of the transverse processes of the first, 

 second, and third lumbar vertebrae, and a shallow groove for the last rib, 

 may sometimes be detected on the posterior surface of the kidney. A 

 furrow corresponding to the arcus lumbo-costalis lateralis is also not 

 infrequently to be seen on the posterior aspect of the kidney. 



The student should never experience any difficulty in determining 

 the side to which a given kidney belongs. Even allowing that the 

 upper end cannot be distinguished from the lower end, or the anterior 

 surface from the posterior surface, by differences in their appearance 

 (which is frequently the case in a dissecting-room kidney), the ureter 

 I 34 a 



