Tricky Treitz

A third-year medical student is on her 4th hour of retracting during an exploratory laparotomy on the Trauma Surgery service for a patient who suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen. The student has a poor view of the operative field and is trying to follow along with the resident’s and attending’s conversations. They too seem disoriented after running the bowel and finding multiple injuries requiring resection, and begin looking for the Ligament of Treitz (LoT). The medical student hears the name of that elusive ligament, which she meant to look up after hearing it in a hepatopancreaticobiliary case. After missing multiple abdominal anatomy labs due to contracting Covid while watching the 2021 College Basketball National Championship with friends, she does not remember the location or function of the LoT, but does know that this structure is considered the separation point between upper and lower gastrointestinal tract bleeding.

Question: The structure this forgetful medical student intended to look up can be found in which location?

Postscript: I wish to acknowledge Grace Bloomfield, M’4, Georgetown University Medical Center and future general surgeon (did someone say Transplant?) for her creativity in coming up with this question.