Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
pages 1149
| further subdivided into three regions by the two sagittal planes, which are indicated on the surface by lines drawn vertically through points half-way between the anterior superior iliac spines and the symphysis pubis. 1 |
| The middle region of the upper zone is called the epigastric; and the two lateral regions, the right and left hypochondriac. The central region of the middle zone is the umbilical; and the two lateral regions, the right and left lumbar. The middle region of the lower zone is the hypogastric or pubic region; and the lateral regions are the right and left iliac or inguinal (Fig. 1034). |
| The pelvis is that portion of the abdominal cavity which lies below and behind a plane passing through the promontory of the sacrum, lineæ terminales of the hip bones, and the pubic crests. It is bounded behind by the sacrum, coccyx, Piriformes, and the sacrospinous and sacrotuberous ligaments; in front and laterally by the pubes and ischia and Obturatores interni; above it communicates with the abdomen proper; below it is closed by the Levatores ani and Coccygei and the urogenital diaphragm. The pelvis contains the urinary bladder, the sigmoid colon and rectum, a few coils of the small intestine, and some of the generative organs. |
| When the anterior abdominal wall is removed, the viscera are partly exposed as follows: above and to the right side is the liver, situated chiefly under the shelter of the right ribs and their cartilages, but extending across the middle line and reaching for some distance below the level of the xiphoid process. To the left of the liver is the stomach, from the lower border of which an apron-like fold of peritoneum, the greater omentum, descends for a varying distance, and obscures, to a greater or lesser extent, the other viscera. Below it, however, some of the coils of the small intestine can generally be seen, while in the right and left iliac regions respectively the cecum and the iliac colon are partly exposed. The bladder occupies the anterior part of the pelvis, and, if distended, will project above the symphysis pubis; the rectum lies in the concavity of the sacrum, but is usually obscured by the coils of the small intestine. The sigmoid colon lies between the rectum and the bladder. |
| When the stomach is followed from left to right it is seen to be continuous with the first part of the small intestine, or duodenum, the point of continuity being marked by a thickened ring which indicates the position of the pyloric valve. The duodenum passes toward the under surface of the liver, and then, curving downward, is lost to sight. If, however, the greater omentum be thrown upward over the chest, the inferior part of the duodenum will be observed passing across the vertebral column toward the left side, where it becomes continuous with the coils of the jejunum and ileum. These measure some 6 meters in length, and if followed downward the ileum will be seen to end in the right iliac fossa by opening into the cecum, the commencement of the large intestine. From the cecum the large intestine takes an arched course, passing at first upward on the right side, then across the middle line and downward on the left side, and forming respectively the ascending transverse, and descending parts of the colon. In the pelvis it assumes the form of a loop, the sigmoid colon, and ends in the rectum. |
| The spleen lies behind the stomach in the left hypochondriac region, and may be in part exposed by pulling the stomach over toward the right side. |
| The glistening appearance of the deep surface of the abdominal wall and of the surfaces of the exposed viscera is due to the fact that the former is lined, and the latter are more or less completely covered, by a serous membrane, the peritoneum. |
The Peritoneum (Tunica Serosa)—The peritoneum is the largest serous membrane in the body, and consists, in the male, of a closed sac, a part of which is applied against the abdominal parietes, |