STOMACH

Anatomical Position

The stomach lies within the superior aspect of the abdomen.

It primarily lies in the epigastric and umbilical regions, however, the exact size, shape and position of the stomach can vary from person to person and with position and respiration.

Anatomical Structure

Divisions of the Stomach

The stomach has four main anatomical divisions; the cardia, fundus, body and pylorus:

• Cardia – surrounds the superior opening of the stomach at the T11 level.
• Fundus – the rounded, often gas filled portion superior to and left of the cardia.
• Body – the large central portion inferior to the fundus.
• Pylorus – This area connects the stomach to the duodenum. It is divided into the pyloric antrum, pyloric canal and pyloric sphincter. The pyloric sphincter demarcates the transpyloric plane at the level of L1.

By TeachMeSeries Ltd (2023)

Fig 1 – The parts of the stomach.

Greater and Lesser Curvatures

The medial and lateral borders of the stomach are curved, forming the lesser and greater curvatures:

• Greater curvature – forms the long, convex, lateral border of the stomach.
  • Arising at the cardiac notch, it arches backwards and passes inferiorly to the left.
  • It curves to the right as it continues medially to reach the pyloric antrum.
  • The short gastric arteries and the right and left gastro-omental arteries supply branches to the greater curvature.
• Lesser curvature – forms the shorter, concave, medial surface of the stomach.
  • The most inferior part of the lesser curvature, the angular notch, indicates the junction of the body and pyloric region.