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The suprarenal or adrenal glands are endocrine glands  which help to maintain water and electrolyte balance. These also prepare the body for any emergency. These are subjected to hyper- or hypofunctioning. Lack of secretion of the cortical part leads to Addison's disease. Excessive secretion causes retention of salts and fluids.Tumour of adrenal medulla or pheochromocytoma causes persistent severe hypertension. Subdivisions The suprarenal glands are a pair of important endocrine glands situated on the posterior abdominal wall over the upper pole of the kidneys behind the peritoneum. They are made up of two parts. 1 An outer cortex of mesodermal origin, which secretes a number of steroid hormones. 2 An inner medulla of neural crest origin, which is made up of chromaffin cells and secretes adrenaline and noradrenalin or catecholamines. Location Each gland lies in the epigastrium, at the upper pole of  the kidney, in front of the crus of the diaphragm, o

Two poles of kidney The upper pole is broad and is in close contact with the corresponding suprarenal gland. The lower pole is pointed. Two surfaces The anterior surface is said to be irregular and the posterior surface flat, but it is often difficult to recognize the anterior and posterior aspects of the kidney by looking at the surfaces. The proper way to do this is to examine the structures present in the hilum as described below. Two borders The lateral border is convex. The medial border is concave. Its middle part shows a depression, the hilus or hilum. Hilum The following structures are seen in the hilum from anterior to posterior side. L The renal vein 2 The renal artery, and 3 The renal pelvis, which is the expanded upper end of the ureter. Examination of these structures enables the anterior and posterior aspects of the kidney to be distinguished  fromeach other. As the pelvis is continuous inferiorly with the ureter, the superior and

Synonyms The kidneys are also called renes from which we have the derivative renal; and nephros from which we have the terms nephron, nephritis, etc. Definition Kidneys are a pair of excretory organs situated on the  posterior abdominal wall, one on each side of the vertebral column, behind the peritoneum. They remove waste products of metabolism and excess of water and salts from the blood, and maintain its pH. Location The kidneys occupy the epigastric, hypochondriac, lumbar and umbilical regions. Vertically they extend from the upper border of twelfth thoracic vertebra to the centre of the body of third lumbar vertebra. The right kidney is slightly lower than the left, and the left kidney is a little nearer to the median  plane than the right. The transpyloric plane passes through the upper part of the hilus of the right kidney, and through the lower part of the hilus of the left kidney. Shape , size , weight and orientation Each kidney is abou

Features The liver is a large, solid, gland situated in the right upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity. In the living subject, the liver is reddish brown in colour, soft in consistency, andvery friable. It weighs about 1600 g in males and about 1300 g in females. Location The liver occupies the whole of the right hypo- chondrium, the greater part of the epigastrium, and extends into the left hypochondrium reaching up to the left lateral line. From the above it will be obvious that most of the liver is covered by ribs and costal cartilages, except in the upper part of the epigastrium where it is in contact with the anterior abdominal wall . The liver is the largest gland in the body. It secretes bile and performs various other metabolic functions. The liver is also called the 'hepar' from which we have the adjective 'hepatic' applied to many structures connected with the organ. External features The liver is wedge-shaped. It resembles a four-

Features The pancreas is a gland that is partly exocrine and partly endocrine. The exocrine part secretes the digestive pancreatic juice and the endocrine part secretes harmones e.g insulin . It is soft , lobulated and elongated organ. Location The pancreas lies more or less transversely across the posterior abdominal wall, at the level of first and second lumbar vertebrae. Size and shape  It is J - shaped  or retort shaped . The bowl of the retort represents it's head and the stem of retort it's neck, body and tail. It's length is about 15 -20 cm long. It is 2.5 - 3.8 cm broad. It's thickness is about 1.2-1.8cm. It weighs about 90gm. The pancreas is divided ( from right to left ) into head, neck,body and tail. The head is enlarged and lies within the concavity of the duodenum.  The tail reaches the hilum of spleen.         The entire organ lies posterior to the stomach separated from it by the lesser sac. Head of the Pancreas

Spleen is a lymphatic organ connected to the blood vascular system. It acts as a filter for blood and plays an important role in immune responses of the body. Location The spleen is a wedge shaped organ lying mainly in the left hypochondrium and partly in epigastrium.      It is tetrahedral in shape.   It is wedged in between fundus of the stomach and the diaphragm.  Dimensions The spleen is soft, highly vascular and dark purple in colour.  The size and weight are variable. On an average the spleen is 1 inch or 2.5cm thick, 3 inches or 7.5 cm broad, 5 inches or 12.5 cm long. It weighs about 7 ounces. It is related to 9th to 11th ribs . The odd numbers are 1,3,5 are 7,9,11. Normally spleen is not palpable. External features The spleen has three borders, two angles, two surfaces and two ends. Three borders 1- superior border - it is characterised by notch near the anterior end.  2- Inferior border - it is rounded. 3 - intermediate border -