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| Transverse colon | |
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| 1: Ascending colon 2: Transverse colon 3: Descending colon 4: Sigmoid colon 5: Rectum |
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| Front of abdomen, showing surface markings for liver, stomach, and great intestine. | |
| Latin | colon transversum |
| Gray's | subject #249 1180 |
| Artery | Middle colic artery |
| Vein | Middle colic vein |
| Precursor | Midgut (first 2/3) Hindgut (last 1/3) |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | c_47/14169300 |
The transverse colon the longest and most movable part of the colon, passes with a downward convexity from the right hypochondrium region across the abdomen, opposite the confines of the epigastric and umbilical zones, into the left hypochondrium region, where it curves sharply on itself beneath the lower end of the spleen, forming the splenic or left colic flexure. The right colic flexure is adjacent to the liver.
In its course, it describes an arch, the concavity of which is directed backward and a little upward; toward its splenic end there is often an abrupt U-shaped curve which may descend lower than the main curve.
It is almost completely invested by peritoneum, and is connected to the inferior border of the pancreas by a large and wide duplicature of that membrane, the transverse mesocolon.
It is in relation, by its upper surface, with the liver and gall-bladder, the greater curvature of the stomach, and the lower end of the spleen; by its under surface, with the small intestine; by its anterior surface, with the anterior layers of the greater omentum and the abdominal parietes; its posterior surface is in relation from right to left with the descending portion of the duodenum, the head of the pancreas, and some of the convolutions of the jejunum and ileum.
Additional images
 Intestines |
 Schematic figure of the bursa omentalis, etc. Human embryo of eight weeks. |
 Front view of the thoracic and abdominal viscera. |
 The epiploic foramen, greater sac or general cavity (red) and lesser sac, or omental bursa (blue). |
 Digestive system |
See also
External links
- Transverse+colon at eMedicine Dictionary
- SUNY Figs 37:06-03 - "The large intestine."
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 26 October 2007, at 22:20.
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