Peritoneum

• Peritoneum


  Thin serous membrane lining the walls of the abdominal and pelvic cavity and reflects onto viscera providing complete or partial covering
• Peritoneum


  • Appearance - slippery, transparent, glistening
  • Consists of 2 layers: parietal and visceral
• Parietal peritoneum


  Lining the abdominal and pelvic walls, served by the same somatic nerves as the body wall: sensitive to pain, touch, pressure, heat and cold. Pain well localized
• Visceral peritoneum


  Lining the viscera (organs), served by the same nerves as the viscera - insensitive to heat, cold and touch. But sensitive to stretching, pain poorly localized. Pain from foregut experienced in the epigastric region, midgut structures in the umbilical region, hindgut structures in the pubic region
• Peritoneal cavity


  Potential space between visceral and parietal peritoneum
• Subdivisions of the peritoneal cavity

  1. Greater sac

  2. Lesser sac (omental bursa)

  3. Communicate via the omental (epiploic) foramen
• Omentum


  • Double layer of peritoneum which pass from stomach and 1st part of duodenum to viscera
  • Greater omentum
  • Lesser omentum
• Greater omentum


  Large apron-like peritoneal fold, derived from dorsal mesentery, attaches to the greater curvature of the stomach and 1st part of the duodenum and drapes inferiorly over the transverse colon and coils of jejunum and ileum
• Lesser omentum


  Extends from the lesser curvature of the stomach and the 1st part of the duodenum to the inferior surface of the liver, derived from ventral mesentery, divided into hepatogastric ligament and hepatoduodenal ligament
• Epiploic foramen


  Anterior border is the hepatoduodenal ligament, enclosed in the free edge are the hepatic artery proper, portal vein and bile duct
• Mesentery


  Double layer of peritoneum that attach viscera to the posterior abdominal wall, allow some movement and passage of vessels, nerves and lymphatics
• Mesentery

  • Associated with the small intestine
  • Transverse mesocolon associated with transverse colon
  • Sigmoid mesocolon associated with the sigmoid colon
• Transverse mesocolon


  Long horizontal root that connects the transverse colon with the posterior abdominal wall, divides the greater sac into supracolic and infracolic compartments
• Ligaments


  Two layers of peritoneum that connect two organs to each other or attach the organ to the body wall
• Intraperitoneal organs


  • Stomach
  • Liver
  • Spleen
  • Gallbladder
  • Jejunum and ileum
  • Transverse colon
  • Sigmoid colon
  • Appendix
  • Caecum
• Retroperitoneal organs


  • Pancreas
  • Duodenum
  • Ascending and descending colon
  • Kidneys and ureters