Falciform ligament
Ligamentum falciforme hepatis
DigestiveOrgansAbdomen
- What it is
- Sickle-shaped double fold of peritoneum attaching the front of the liver to the diaphragm and anterior abdominal wall. Its free lower edge carries the ligamentum teres (round ligament), the fibrous remnant of the fetal umbilical vein, down to the umbilicus.
- Function
- Anchors the liver to the abdominal wall and marks the boundary between the anatomical right and left lobes.
- Size
- A thin sheet a few millimetres thick running from the diaphragm to the umbilicus.
- Clinical note
- In portal hypertension, small paraumbilical veins alongside it enlarge and radiate from the umbilicus as "caput medusae".