Space
Bare area of the liver
An extraperitoneal interface with the diaphragm
High-yield
The right triangular ligament is where the coronary layers meet laterally; the inferior vena cava is near the medial limit of the bare area.
Overview
Peritoneum reflects away from the posterior right liver before covering the entire surface. The resulting bare area is connected to the diaphragm by connective tissue, while the coronary reflections mark its margins. It is an attachment region, not an empty peritoneal recess.
Reference facts
- Boundaries
- Coronary peritoneal reflections bound the region superiorly and inferiorly; they converge laterally at the right triangular ligament, with the caval region medially.
- Contents
- Connective tissue, small vessels and lymphatic channels occupy the liver–diaphragm interface; there is no intervening normal peritoneal cavity.
- Communications
- Continuous with neighboring retroperitoneal connective tissue, including the right suprarenal region; peritoneal recesses lie alongside its reflected margins.
Clinical correlation
Continuity with adjacent extraperitoneal tissues helps explain routes of inflammation around the posterior liver and toward the diaphragm. Pleural reaction can accompany nearby subdiaphragmatic disease without proving direct infection of the pleural cavity.
Frequently asked questions
What are the boundaries of the bare area of the liver?
Coronary peritoneal reflections bound the region superiorly and inferiorly; they converge laterally at the right triangular ligament, with the caval region medially.
What does the bare area of the liver contain?
Connective tissue, small vessels and lymphatic channels occupy the liver–diaphragm interface; there is no intervening normal peritoneal cavity.
What does the bare area of the liver communicate with?
Continuous with neighboring retroperitoneal connective tissue, including the right suprarenal region; peritoneal recesses lie alongside its reflected margins.