THE SPLEEN

The spleen (see also p. 812) is mentioned here because of its relationship to the stomach and liver (Figure 37-18). It is a brownish-red sphere, about 2 cm in diam­eter, and lies in the median plane beside the proventricu­lus; it contacts the liver cranioventrally (Figure 37-24Z5). It is best exposed during postmortem examination by reflecting the left lobe of the liver and the gizzard, duo­denum, and jejunum craniodextrally (Figure 37-21, A). The spleen is triangular in the duck and goose, oval in the pigeon, round in psittacines, and elongated in Passeriforms.