The coronary ligament of the

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

refers to parts of the

peritoneal 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 meso ...

reflections that hold the liver to the inferior surface of the diaphragm.

Structure

The convex ''diaphragmatic surface'' of the liver (anterior, superior and a little posterior) is connected to the concavity of the inferior surface of the diaphragm by reflections 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 meso ...

. The coronary ligament is the largest of these, having an anterior (frontal) and posterior (back) layers. The diaphragmatic surface of the liver that is in direct contact with the diaphragm (just beyond the peritoneal reflections) has no peritoneal covering, and is termed the bare area of the liver. The anterior layer of the coronary ligament is formed by the reflection of the peritoneum from the upper margin of the bare area of the liver to the under surface of the diaphragm. The posterior layer of the coronary ligament is reflected from the lower margin of the bare area and is continuous with the right layer of the

lesser omentum The lesser omentum (small omentum or gastrohepatic omentum) is the double layer of peritoneum that extends from the liver to the lesser curvature of the stomach, and to the first part of the duodenum. The lesser omentum is usually divided into th ...

. The anterior and posterior layers converge on the right and left sides of the liver to form the

right triangular ligament The right triangular ligament is situated at the right extremity of the bare area, and is a small fold which passes to the diaphragm, being formed by the apposition of the upper and lower layers of the coronary ligament The coronary ligament of ...

and the

left triangular ligament The left triangular ligament is a large peritoneal fold. It connects the posterior part of the upper surface of the left lobe of the liver to the thoracic diaphragm. Structure The left triangular ligament connects the posterior part of the upp ...

, respectively. In between the two sides of the anterior layer, the reflection of peritoneum has an inferior continuation termed the

falciform ligament In human anatomy, the falciform ligament () is a ligament that attaches the liver 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, its base being dire ...

. The falciform ligament contains the

round ligament of liver The round ligament of the liver (or ligamentum teres, or ligamentum teres hepatis) is a ligament that forms part of the free edge of the falciform ligament of the liver. It connects the liver to the umbilicus. It is the remnant of the left umbi ...

Additional images

File:Gray1085.png, The superior surface of the liver.

References

* Bartleby.com, 2000
2i. The Liver
*

External links

* (, ) {{Authority control Ligaments Liver anatomy