IN THE PERITONEUM OF A RACCOON. 173 



pancreas, where it divides into the gastric, hepatic, and splenic 

 branches, the gastric and splenic veins pass into the pancreas, 

 and the portal vein is formed at the point where the splenic vein 

 emerges from the pancreas. 



The Lesser Sac of Peritoneum. 



The lesser sac of peritoneum extends from the diaphragm 

 above to the apex of the great omentum below, and it is sub- 

 divided into two compartments — a small anterior and a large 

 posterior one by the gastro-pancreatic band (text-fig. 19, L.S.A. 

 and L.S.P.). 



The anterior wall is formed from above down by the peri- 

 toneum covering the posterior surface of the liver, the gastro- 

 hepatic omentum, the peritoneum covering the posterior surface 

 of the stomach, and the i)osterior of the two anterior layers of the 

 large omentum. The posterior wall is formed fi'om below, 

 upwards by the inner of the two posterior layers of the great 

 omentum, the transverse colon, the transverse meso-colon, and 

 the posterior parietal peritoneum from the jjancreas up to the 

 diaphragm. 



The gastro-pancreatic band carries the peritoneum, covering 

 the pancreas, up to the lesser curvature of the stomach. Below 

 it lies the small anterior sub-space (text-fig. 19, L.S.A.), and above 

 it the large posterior one (text-fig. 19, L.S.P.). When the finger 

 is carried into the sac it can be introduced into either compart- 

 ment, but to enter the posterior one it must go above or below 

 the pancreatico-splenic sheet. 



The anterior compartment has the following boundaries : — 



1. Above and in front — the posterior surface of the stomach. 



2. Beloio and in front — the great omentum. 



3. Above and behind — the gastro-pancreatic band. 



4. Beloio andj behind — the great omentum, transverse colon^ 



and transverse meso-colon. 



The posterior compartment has the following boundaries : — 



1. Anterior — the liver, small omentum, stomach, and gastro- 



pancreatic band. 



2. Posterior — the parietal peritoneum. 



In text-fig. 19 the arrow Al i-uns vertically through the lesser 

 sac, and arrows A2 and A3 point into the two subdivisions. 



The Peritoneum roitnd the Left Kidney. 



The left kidney has a strong peritoneal capsule (text-fig. 18, 

 no, 29), which surrounds its outer part, and there is a non- 

 peritoneal bare area in front (text-fig. 18, no. 30), but the capsule 

 is strong behind. It is connected to the left Fallopian Tube 



