Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
pages 1279
| contact with the upper end and the adjacent part of the anterior surface of the kidney. |
| The left suprarenal, slightly larger than the right, is crescentic in shape, its concavity being adapted to the medial border of the upper part of the left kidney. It presents a medial border, which is convex, and a lateral, which is concave; its upper end is narrow, and its lower rounded. Its anterior surface has two areas: an upper one, covered by the peritoneum of the omental bursa, which separates it from the cardiac end of the stomach, and sometimes from the superior extremity of the spleen; and a lower one, which is in contact with the pancreas and lienal artery, and is therefore not covered by the peritoneum. On the anterior surface, near its lower end, is a furrow or hilum, directed downward and forward, from which the suprarenal vein emerges. Its posterior surface presents a vertical ridge, which divides it into two areas; the lateral area rests on the kidney, the medial and smaller on the left crus of the diaphragm. |
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FIG. 1183– Suprarenal glands viewed from the front. (See enlarged image) |
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FIG. 1184– Suprarenal glands viewed from behind. (See enlarged image) |
| The surface of the suprarenal gland is surrounded by areolar tissue containing much fat, and closely invested by a thin fibrous capsule, which is difficult to remove on account of the numerous fibrous processes and vessels entering the organ through the furrows on its anterior surface and base. |
| Small accessory suprarenals (glandulæ suprarenales accessoriæ) are often to be found in the connective tissue around the suprarenals. The smaller of these, on section, show a uniform surface, but in some of the larger a distinct medulla can be made out. |
Structure.—On section, the suprarenal gland is seen to consist of two portions (Fig. 1185): an external or cortical and an internal or medullary. The former constitutes the chief part of the organ, and is of a deep yellow color; the medullary substance is soft, pulpy, and of a dark red or brown color. |