Left suprarenal gland
Glandula suprarenalis sinistra
Definition
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.
References
This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).
