268 



HITCHCOCK' S ANATOMY 



fig. 182. 306. Periton eum.— 



The Peritoneum, " cov- 

 ering about/' or exter- 

 nal coat of the intes- 

 tines is not a little pe- 

 culiar in its conforma- 

 tion. This, like all 

 serous membranes, first 

 completely invests the 

 organs and then is re- 

 flected from them so as 

 to make a lining for the 

 whole cavity. Hence 

 the cavity of the ab- 

 domen, although a per- 

 fectly shut sac, is of 

 very irregular outline. 

 That it is a shut sac 

 may be seen from the 

 fact that in dropsy of 

 the abdomen — the fluid 

 has no means of escape 

 except by absorption, or 

 puncture from the out- 

 side. In the disease 

 commonly known as in- 

 flammation of the bow- 

 els, this membrane is the principal seat of the difficulty, and 

 the inflammation of this as well as of all other serous mem- 

 branes, is attended with acute pain, and the progress of the 

 disease, for better or worse, very rapid. 



307. The Mesentery and tnc Omentum. — These are folds 

 of the Peritoneum, attached to different parts of the abdomen 

 and its viscera, which serve to retain some of the organs in 



Reflexions of the Peritoneum. D. Diaphragm. 

 fSl Stomach. C. Colon. D. Duodenum. P. Pan- 

 creas. I. Small Intestine. B. Rectum. B. Blad- 

 der. The numbers indicate the course of the 

 Peritoneum. 



308. What is the Peritoneum ? Is the cavity of the abdomen of a regular outline ? 

 What is the principal seat of disease in inflammation of the bowels? 307. What is the 

 Mesentery and the Omentum? What is it thickly packed with? 



