Foramen of Winslow

Foramen of Winslow
Vertical disposition of the peritoneum. Main cavity, red; omental bursa, blue. (Bristle in epiploic foramen labeled at upper left.)
Foramen of Winslow is at #14.
Latin	foramen epiploicum
Gray's	subject #246 1156

In human anatomy, the foramen of Winslow (named after the anatomist Jean-Jacques Bénigne Winslow), also known as the omental foramen, epiploic foramen and foramen epiploicum (Latin), is the passage of communication, or foramen, between the greater sac, the general cavity (of the abdomen), and the lesser sac, the omental bursa.

Borders

It has the following borders:

• anterior: the free border of the lesser omentum. 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.

Additional images

• 

  Horizontal disposition of the peritoneum in the upper part of the abdomen.

• 

  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

• ii/f/foramen_of_winslow article at GE's Medcyclopaedia
• SUNY Labs 37:08-0100 - "Abdominal Cavity: The Epiploic Foramen"
• SUNY Anatomy Image 7826
• SUNY Anatomy Image 7831
• SUNY Anatomy Image 7875
• Norman/Georgetown peritoneum
• Norman/Georgetown abdominalcavity (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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.