ABSTRACT
In the second half of the nineteenth century, it became possible to operate on patients under general anaesthesia, enabling surgeons to undertake larger and more invasive operations. Most procedures that concern organs in the abdomen were first conceptualised of and performed for the first time in the 1880s. The stomach, the large and small intestine, the appendix and gallbladder could be partially or entirely removed, respectively. The liver, however, was a latecomer. For a long time, the liver was off limits to surgeons due to the high risk of severe bleeding if the organ was cut. This organ contains a dense network of blood vessels—the old belief that blood was produced in the liver was not wholly unfounded (see chapter six). It wasn’t until 1952 that the anatomical right half of the organ was successfully removed for the first time in an operation performed in Paris. Anatomical model that shows the liver in the upper abdominal cavity below the diaphragm, and heart and lungs above the diaphragm. The stomach is for the greater part located behind the liver. Department of Anatomy, Embryology, and Physiology, Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, University of Amsterdam An anatomical model illustrating the liver in the upper abdominal cavity below the diaphragm, with the heart and lungs positioned above the diaphragm. The stomach is primarily located behind the liver. This model is part of the Department of Anatomy, Embryology, and Physiology at Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, University of Amsterdam. https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003702078/83b04a97-6f6c-47c9-a0c1-a504bf013ab9/content/afb_14-0.jpg"/>
