Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
pages 1282
| of each mass being grouped around a dilated sinusoidal capillary vessel. Each cell contains a large round or oval nucleus, the protoplasm surrounding which is clear, and is not stained by chromic salts. 1 |
| 4g. The Spleen |
| (Lien) The spleen is situated principally in the left hypochondriac region, but its superior extremity extends into the epigastric region; it lies between the fundus of the stomach and the diaphragm. It is the largest of the ductless glands, and is of an oblong, flattened form, soft, of very friable consistence, highly vascular, and of a dark purplish color. |
Development.—The spleen appears about the fifth week as a localized thickening of the mesoderm in the dorsal mesogastrium above the tail of the pancreas. With the change in position of the stomach the spleen is carried to the left, and comes to lie behind the stomach and in contact with the left kidney. The part of the dorsal mesogastrium which intervened between the spleen and the greater curvature of the stomach forms the gastrosplenic ligament. |
Relations.—The diaphragmatic surface (facies diaphragmatica; external or phrenic surface) is convex, smooth, and is directed upward, backward, and to the left, except at its upper end, where it is directed slightly medialward. It is in relation with the under surface of the diaphragm, which separates it from the ninth, tenth, and eleventh ribs of the left side, and the intervening lower border of the left lung and pleura. |
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FIG. 1188– The visceral surface of the spleen. (See enlarged image) |
| The visceral surface (Fig. 1188) is divided by a ridge into an anterior or gastric and a posterior or renal portion. |
| The gastric surface (facies gastrica), which is directed forward, upward, and medialward, is broad and concave, and is in contact with the posterior wall of the stomach; |