REGARDED AS A MASS. 
113 
thorax, from the breast to the back) to keep the contents 
of the thorax in their places; in particular to hinder one 
lobe of the lungs from incommoding another, or the parts 
of the lungs from pressing upon each other when we lie on 
one side.* 
3. The liver is fastened in the body by two ligaments; 
the first, which is large and strong, comes from the cover¬ 
ing of the diaphragm, and penetrates the substance of the 
liver; the second is the umbilical vein, which, after birth, 
degenerates into a ligament. The first, which is the prin¬ 
cipal, fixes the liver in its situation, whilst the body holds 
an erect posture; the second prevents it from pressing up¬ 
on the diaphragm when we lie down; and both together 
sling or suspend the liver when we lie upon our backs, so 
that it may not compress or obstruct the ascending vena 
cava,| to which belongs the important office of returning 
the blood from the body to the heart. 
4. The bladder is tied to the naval by the urachus, trans¬ 
formed into a ligament: thus, what was a passage for the 
urine to the foetus, becomes, after birth, a support or stay 
to the bladder. The peritonmum also keeps the viscera 
from confounding themselves with, or pressing irregularly 
upon, the bladder: for the kidneys and bladder are contain¬ 
ed in a distinct duplicature of that membrane, being there¬ 
by partitioned off* from the other contents of the abdomen. 
5. The kidneys are lodged in a bed of fat. 
6. The pancreas, or sweetbread, is strongly tied to the 
peritonaeum, which is the great wrapping sheet, that encloses 
all the bowels contained in the lower belly.J 
7. The spleen also is confined to its place by an adhe¬ 
sion to the peritonaeum and diaphragm, and by a connexion 
with the omentum.§ It is possible, in my opinion, that 
the spleen may be merely a stuffing, a soft cushion to fill 
up a vacancy or hollow, which, unless occupied, would 
leave the package loose and unsteady: for, supposing that 
it answers no other purpose than this, it must be vascular, 
and admit of a circulation through it, in order to be kept 
alive, or be a part of a living body. 
8. The omentum, epiploon, or caul, is an apron tuck¬ 
ed up, or doubling upon itself, at its lowest part. The up¬ 
per edge is tied to the bottom of the stomach, to the spleen, 
as hath already been observed, and to part of the duode¬ 
num. The reflected edge also, after forming the doubling, 
* Keill’s Anat. p. 119. ed. 3. t Ches. Anat. p. 162. 
t Keill’s Anat. p. 67. § Ches. Anat p. 167* 
K* 
