chap, xvii.] THE KIDNEY. 365 



surgical importance, as its laxity permits of a ready 

 enucleation of the organ. It is more abundant behind 

 than in front. When this tissue has been destroyed 

 or modified by inflammation, the kidney becomes 

 fixed, and its removal a matter of great difficulty. 

 Movable kidney. The kidney is fixed in position 

 mainly by the tension of the peritoneum that passes 

 over it, and that is connected with the fatty tissue 

 supporting the gland. If this fatty tissue be absorbed 

 for any reason, the kidney can be readily moved about 

 and displaced in the subserous tissue ; the peritoneum 

 at the same time becomes lax, and the gland by its 

 own weight can drag still further upon it. Moreover, 

 a laxity of the peritoneum from any cause may loosen 

 the firm connections of the kidney, and allow the 

 organ to become more movable. Thus, the movable 

 kidney is often met with in badly nourished subjects, 

 and especially in those who have become emaciated 

 by disease. It is far more common in women than 

 in men. In the former sex the influence of 

 pregnancy appears to have especial effect, acting, 

 probably, by dragging upon the peritoneum, and by 

 loosening its connections, as well as by inducing, 

 after delivery, a general laxity of the abdominal 

 walls. The movable kidney can, of course, only be 

 moved within a segment of a circle whose radius 

 corresponds to the length of the renal vessels, and 

 its displacement is seldom considerable. There is a 

 congenital form of movable kidney where the gland 

 is suspended in a peritoneal fold of its own, the 

 meso-nephron, and where the renal vessels are of 

 undue length. Such a kidney may be found near 

 the anterior abdominal wall. 



Abnormalities of the kidney. One, or less 

 frequently, both kidneys may be misplaced. The 

 left is more often out of place than the right, and 

 may be found over the sacro-iliac synchoiidrosis, or 



