human anatomy Human anatomy (gr. ἀνατομία, "dissection", from ἀνά, "up", and τέμνειν, "cut") is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Anatomy is subdivided into gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross ...

, the falciform ligament () is a

ligament A ligament is a type of fibrous connective tissue in the body that connects bones to other bones. It also connects flight feathers to bones, in dinosaurs and birds. All 30,000 species of amniotes (land animals with internal bones) have liga ...

that attaches the

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

to the front body wall and divides the liver into the left lobe and right lobe. The falciform ligament is a broad and thin fold of

peritoneum The peritoneum is the serous membrane forming the lining of the abdominal cavity or coelom in amniotes and some invertebrates, such as annelids. It covers most of the intra-abdominal (or coelomic) organs, and is composed of a layer of mesotheli ...

, its base being directed downward and backward and its apex upward and forward. It droops down from the hilum of the liver.

Structure

The falciform ligament stretches obliquely from the front to the back of the abdomen, with one surface in contact with the

behind the right

rectus abdominis muscle The rectus abdominis muscle, () also known as the "abdominal muscle" or simply better known as the "abs", is a pair of segmented skeletal muscle on the ventral aspect of a person's abdomen. The paired muscle is separated at the midline by a ba ...

and the diaphragm, and the other in contact with the left lobe of the liver. The ligament stretches from the underside of the diaphragm to the posterior surface of the sheath of the right

, as low down as the umbilicus; by its right margin it extends from the notch on the anterior margin of the liver, as far back as the posterior surface. It is composed of two layers of peritoneum closely united together. Its base or free edge contains, between its layers, the round ligament and the paraumbilical veins.

Development

It is a remnant of the embryonic ventral mesentery. The umbilical vein of the fetus gives rise to the round ligament of liver in the adult, which is found in the free border of the falciform ligament.

Clinical significance

The falciform ligament can become canalized if an individual is suffering from portal hypertension. Due to the increase in venous congestion, blood is pushed down from the liver towards the anterior abdominal wall and if blood pools here, will result in dilatation of veins around the umbilicus. If these veins radiate out from the umbilicus, they can give the appearance of a head (the umbilicus) with hair of snakes (the veins) – this is referred to as caput medusae.Misdraji J, Embryology, anatomy, histology, and developmental anomalies of the liver. In, Sleisinger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 10th edition, Feldman M, Friedman LS and Branbdt LJ, eds. pp. 1217-122.

Additional images

File:Gray984.png, Cross-section showing the primitive mesentery of a six weeks' human embryo File:Gray1039.png, Cross-section showing folds of peritoneum in the upper abdomen File:Slide2UC.JPG, A

cadaver A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a Death, dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue (biology), tissue to ...

liver seen from above, showing the falciform ligament at the top

References

External links

* - "Abdominal Cavity: The Falciform Ligament of the Liver" * - "The Visceral Surface of the Liver" * * * {{Authority control Hepatology Ligaments of the torso