Which space is located between the liver or spleen and the diaphragm?

Study liver anatomy and function with our medical students test. Engage with detailed multiple choice questions, each with hints and explanations. Prepare effectively for your test!

The space under the diaphragmatic domes that sits immediately above the liver (and on the left side near the spleen) is the subphrenic space. There are right and left subphrenic compartments, positioned between the diaphragms and the visceral liver surface (and, on the left, near the stomach and spleen). This makes the subphrenic space the classic area described as being located between the liver or spleen and the diaphragm.

Morrison’s pouch, or the hepatorenal pouch, lies lower, between the liver and the right kidney, not between the liver/spleen and the diaphragm. The hepatorenal pouch is the same region but specifically the liver–kidney recess. The paracolic gutters run along the sides of the colon, not between the diaphragm and those upper abdominal organs.