Utilization of the greater omentum in surgery: a historical review

Up to our century, the surgical approach to the greater omentum was mainly confined to resectional techniques of the prolapsed organ following abdominal injuries. The present contribution highlights the early searches for the nature of the greater omentum in the discovery of an organ which has for so long been disregarded, but now attracts increasing consideration as useful plastic material in surgery. This structure, used at various sites of the body to repair defects and provide blood supply, also opened new clinical and experimental fields of both surgical and immunological aspects.