ABDOMINAL VISCERA 315- 



8. The bladder is a thin-walled sac at the posterior end of 



the abdomen, just in front of the pubic symphysis. 



Turn the alimentary canal aside, without cutting or tearing 

 anything, to expose the following parts. 



9. The spleen is an elongated dark-red body lying behind 



the stomach, and attached to its left or cardiac end.. 



10. The kidneys are a pair of compact ovoid bodies attached 



to the dorsal wall of the abdomen ; the right one 

 being immediately behind the liver, and the left one 

 about an inch and a half further back. In front of 

 each kidney is a small, round, yellow adrenal body. 



11. The diaphragm is a muscular partition forming the 



anterior wall of the abdomen, and separating it from 

 the thorax. To see it the hver should be pressed 

 back. 



12. The peritoneum is a glistening membrane which hnes 



the abdominal cavity. The mesentery is a double 

 layer of peritoneum, reflected from the dorsal wall 

 of the abdomen, which supports and encloses at its 

 margin the alimentary canal : between its two layers 

 the vessels and nerves pass to and from the various- 

 organs. The omentum is a special fold of perito- 

 neum, extending backwards from the stomach and 

 loaded with fat. 



13. The coeliac ganglia are a pair of closely apposed 



pinkish bodies situated in the mesentery, near its- 

 dorsal margin and opposite the right adrenal body. 

 They receive right and left splanchnic nerves from 

 the main sympathetic trunks of the thorax, and send 

 numerous branches to the alimentary canal. 



IV. DISSECTION OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 



In this section the abdominal portion of the digestive 

 system will alone be considered : the bucpal cavity and pharynx 

 have already been dissected ; and the oesophagus will be de- 

 scribed with the neck and thorax. 



