220 THE VISCERA. 
omentum along the cranial border of the pancreas to the 
duodenal mesentery. Farther to the right the descending limb 
of the omentum, which is here shorter, encloses the spleen and 
holds it in position parallel to the greater curvature of the 
stomach and about one centimeter from it. This part of the 
great omentum is sometimes called the gastrosplenic or 
gastrolienal omentum. 
The great omental sac communicates with the peritoneal 
sac by an opening, the foramen epiploicum or foramen of 
Winslow. This opening lies caudad and dextrad of the 
caudate lobe of the liver. This lobe itself lies within the sac. 
Along the ventral border of the foramen epiploicum pass the 
common bile-duct from the liver and the portal vein to the 
liver. 
The size of the great omental sac is increased by the 
lesser omentum. This is a double sheet of peritoneum which 
stretches horizontally from the liver to the duodenum and the 
lesser curvature of the stomach. It covers ventrad the caudate 
lobe of the liver. Its right border is at the foramen epiploicum. 
The part of it which stretches to the duodenum is called the 
duodenohepatic ligament and contains the bile-ducts and the 
portal vein. The part that stretches to the stomach is called 
the gastrohepatic ligament. The peritoneum covers the caudal 
and cranial surfaces of the liver and is reflected to the adjacent 
parts to form the ligaments of the liver. 
The suspensory ligament of the liver passes from the 
caudal surface of the diaphragm and the median ventral line 
for about one or two centimeters caudad of the diaphragm, to 
the liver, and extends between its two halves. The ligamentum 
teres or round ligament is the thickened free caudal border of 
the suspensory ligament. It is the remains of the fcetal umbili- 
cal vein. From the dorsal border of the liver the peritoneum 
which covers its cranial surface turns ventrad onto the caudal 
surface of the diaphragm, while that which covers its caudal 
surface turns dorsad onto the caudal surface of the diaphragm 
to reach the dorsal body wall. Between these two sheets a 
small linear part of the surface of the liver is closely applied to 
the diaphragm without intervening peritoneum. The two 
