Omental foramen

Omental foramen
Horizontal disposition of the peritoneum in the upper part of the abdomen.
Omental foramen is at #14.
Latin	foramen omentale
Gray's	subject #246 1156

In human anatomy, the omental foramen (Epiploic foramen, foramen of Winslow, or uncommonly aditus. Lat: Foramen epiploicum), is the passage of communication, or foramen, between the greater sac (general cavity (of the abdomen)), and the lesser sac.

Borders

It has the following borders:

• anterior: the free border of the lesser omentum, known as the hepatoduodenal ligament. This has two layers and within these layers are the common bile duct, hepatic artery, and hepatic portal vein.
• posterior: the peritoneum covering the inferior vena cava
• superior: the peritoneum covering the caudate lobe of the liver
• inferior: the peritoneum covering the commencement of the duodenum and the hepatic artery, the latter passing forward below the foramen before ascending between the two layers of the lesser omentum.
• left lateral: gastrosplenic ligament and splenorenal ligament

Additional images

• 

  Vertical disposition of the peritoneum. Main cavity, red; omental bursa, blue. (Bristle in omental foramen labeled at upper left.) |

• 

  Diagram to show the lines along which the peritoneum leaves the wall of the abdomen to invest the viscera.

See also

• Terms for anatomical location

External links

• foramen.aspx ii/f/omental foramen article at GE's Medcyclopaedia
• SUNY Labs 37:08-0100 - "Abdominal Cavity: The Omental Foramen"
• SUNY Anatomy Image 7826
• SUNY Anatomy Image 7831
• SUNY Anatomy Image 7875
• peritoneum at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University)
• abdominalcavity at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (xsectthrulesseromentum)

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.