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Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.

pages 1160

fossæ it can be seen by pulling the jejunum downward and to the right, after the transverse colon has been pulled upward. It is bounded above by the pancreas, to the right by the aorta, and to the left by the kidney; beneath is the left renal vein. It has a depth of from 2 to 3 cm., and its orifice, directed downward and to the right, is nearly circular and will admit the tip of the little finger.


FIG. 1043– Superior ileocecal fossa. (Poirier and Charpy.) (See enlarged image)


FIG. 1044– Inferior ileocecal fossa. The cecum and ascending colon have been drawn lateralward and downward, the ileum upward and backward, and the vermiform process downward. (Poirier and Charpy.) (See enlarged image)
  2. Cecal Fossæ (pericecal folds or fossæ).—There are three principal pouches or recesses in the neighborhood of the cecum (Figs. 1043 to 1045): (a) The superior ileocecal fossa is formed by a fold of peritoneum, arching over the branch of the ileocolic artery which supplies the ileocolic junction. The fossa is a narrow chink situated between the mesentery of the small intestine, the ileum, and the small portion of the cecum behind. (b) The inferior ileocecal fossa is situated behind the angle of junction of the ileum and cecum. It is formed by the ileocecal fold of peritoneum (bloodless fold of Treves), the upper border of which is fixed to the ileum, opposite its mesenteric attachment, while the lower border, passing over the ileocecal junction, joins the mesenteriole of the vermiform process, and sometimes the process itself. Between this fold and the mesenteriole of the vermiform process is the inferior ileocecal fossa. It is bounded above by the posterior surface of the ileum and the mesentery; in front and below by the ileocecal fold, and behind by the upper part of the mesenteriole of the vermiform process. (c) The cecal fossa is situated immediately behind the cecum, which has to be raised to bring it into view. It varies much in size and extent. In some cases it is sufficiently large to admit the index finger, and extends upward behind the ascending colon in the direction of the kidney; in others it is merely a shallow depression. It is bounded on the right by the cecal fold, which is attached by one edge to the abdominal wall from the lower border of the kidney to the iliac