The stomach is one of the important components of the system of our body, on which its normal vital activity directly depends. Many are aware of the tasks of this body, its location in the peritoneum. However, not everyone is familiar with parts of the stomach. We will list their names, functions, and provide other important information about the organ.
What is it?
The stomach is called a hollow muscle organ, the upper gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract). It is located between the esophagus tube and the component of the small intestine - the duodenum.
The average volume of an empty organ is 0.5 l (depending on the anatomical features, it can reach up to 1.5 l). After eating, it increases to 1 liter. Someone can stretch up to 4 liters!
The size of the organ will vary depending on the fullness of the stomach, the type of physique of a person. On average, the length of a full stomach is 25 cm, an empty one is 20 cm.
The food in this body, on average, is about 1 hour. Some food can be digested only 0.5 hours, some - 4 hours.
The structure of the stomach
The anatomical components of an organ are four parts:
- The front wall of the organ.
- The back wall of the stomach.
- Great curvature.
- Small curvature of the organ.
The walls of the stomach will be heterogeneous, they consist of four layers:
- Mucous membrane. Internal, it is covered by a single-layered cylindrical epithelium.
- The base is submucous.
- Muscle layer. In turn, it will consist of three sublayers of smooth muscles. This is the inner sublayer of the oblique muscles, the middle sublayer of the circular muscles, the outer sublayer of the longitudinal muscles.
- The serous membrane. The outer layer of the organ wall.
The following organs will adhere to the stomach:
- Above, behind and to the left is the spleen.
- Back - pancreas.
- In front is the left side of the liver.
- Bottom - loops of skinny (thin) intestines.
Parts of the stomach
And now the main topic of our conversation. Parts of the stomach stand out as follows:
- Cardiac (pars cardiaca). Located at the level of the 7th row of ribs. Directly adjacent to the esophagus tube.
- The arch or bottom of the organ (fundus (fornix) ventricul). Located at the cartilage of the 5th right rib. Located to the left and top of the cardinal previous part.
- Pyloric (pyloric) department. The anatomical location is the right Th12-L1 vertebra. Will be adjacent to the duodenum. Inside it is divided into several sections - the antrum of the stomach (antrum), the pyloric cave and the pyloric canal.
- Body of the organ (corpus ventriculi). It will be located between the arch (bottom) and the gastric pyloric department.
If you look at the anatomical atlas, you can see that the bottom is adjacent to the ribs, while the pyloric part of the stomach is closer to the spinal column.
Let us now consider the features and functions of each of the above departments of the body in detail.
Cardiac department
The cardiac part of the stomach is the initial part of the organ. Anatomically, it communicates with the esophagus through an opening that is limited by the cardia (esophageal lower sphincter). Hence, in fact, the name of the department.
Cardia (a kind of muscle valve) prevents the throwing of gastric juice into the cavity of the esophagus tube. And this is very important, since the mucous membranes of the esophagus are not protected from hydrochloric acid (the contents of gastric juice) with a special secret. The cardiac section, like other parts of the stomach, is protected from it (acid) by the mucus that the glands of the organ produce.
So what about heartburn? From it burning, pain in the upper part of the stomach is one of the symptoms of reverse reflux (throwing gastric juice into the esophagus tube). However, you should not rely only on him in the framework of self-diagnosis. The upper section is the point at which pains of various nature can converge. Unpleasant sensations, pain, heaviness in the upper part of the stomach are also consequences of damage to the esophagus, gall bladder, pancreas and other digestive organs.
Moreover, this is one of the symptoms of dangerous conditions and pathologies:
- Acute appendicitis (especially in the early hours).
- Spleen infarction.
- Atherosclerosis of the large abdominal vessels.
- Pericarditis.
- Myocardial infarction.
- Intercostal neuralgia.
- Aortic aneurysm.
- Pleurisy.
- Pneumonia and so on.
The fact that pain is associated with the stomach, can be indicated by their frequency, occurrence immediately after eating. In any case, this will be an occasion for a visit to a gastroenterologist - a doctor whose specialization includes diseases of the digestive tract.
In addition, the severity in the initial gastric region can also speak not of illness, but of banal overeating. An organ, the size of which is not unlimited, begins to put pressure on its neighbors, to "complain" about excessive overflow of food.
Organ bottom
The arch, the bottom of the organ - this is its fundamental part. But we will be a little surprised to open the anatomical atlas. The bottom will not be in the lower part of the stomach, which logically follows from the name, but, on the contrary, from above, slightly to the left of the previous cardiac section.
In its shape, the arch of the stomach resembles a dome. Which determines the second name of the bottom of the body.
The following important system components are located here:
- Own (another name - fundal) gastric glands that produce enzymes that break down food.
- Glands that secrete hydrochloric acid. Why is it needed? The substance has a bactericidal effect - it kills harmful microorganisms contained in food.
- The glands that produce protective mucus. The one that protects the gastric mucosa from the negative effects of hydrochloric acid.
Body body
This is the largest, widest part of the stomach. From above, without a sharp transition, it goes to the bottom of the organ (fundus), from below, on the right side, it will gradually narrow, passing into the pyloric department.
Here, the same glands are located as in the space of the bottom of the stomach, which produce splitting enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and protective mucus.
Throughout the body of the stomach, we can see the small curvature of the organ - one of its anatomical parts. By the way, it is this location that is most often affected by peptic ulcer.
A small gland will be attached to the outer side of the organ, just along the line of small curvature. On the line of great curvature - a large omentum. What kind of education? A kind of canvas consisting of adipose and connective tissue. Their main function is to protect the peritoneal organs from external mechanical stress. In addition, it is the large and small glands that will limit the inflammatory focus in case of its occurrence.
Gatekeeping department
So we went on to the last, pyloric (pyloric) part of the stomach. This is its final department, limited to the opening of the so-called pylorus, which opens already in the 12 duodenum.
Anatomists additionally divide the pyloric part into several components:
- The gatekeeper's cave. This is the location that directly adjoins the body of the stomach. Interestingly, the diameter of the channel is equal to the size of the duodenum.
- Gatekeeper. This is the sphincter, a flap that blocks the contents of the stomach from the mass located in the duodenum 12. The main goal of the pylorus is to regulate the flow of food from the gastric section into the small intestine and prevent it from returning. This task is especially important. The environment of the duodenum 12 is different from the gastric - it is alkaline, and not acidic. In addition, their aggressive bactericidal substances are produced in the small intestine, against which the stomach-protecting mucus is already defenseless. If the sphincter pylorus does not cope with its task, then for a person it is fraught with constant painful burps, stomach pains.
Stomach shapes
Surprisingly, not all people have an organ of the same shape. Most often there are three types:
- The shape of a horn. Such a stomach will lie transversely, gradually tapering to its pyloric department. The form is most characteristic of people with a hypersthenic figure, characterized by a wide and short torso.
- Hook shape. The stomach is located obliquely, its descending and ascending divisions form an almost right angle. The vast majority of its owners are people with a transitional type of figure (otherwise they are called normostenics).
- Stocking shape. It is located in the peritoneal space almost vertically. The ascending half of the organ rises steeply, and the descending half is elongated, sharply lowered down. The shape is typical for asthenics - people with a narrow and long body.
Body functions
The stomach performs a number of important and diverse tasks in a living organism:
- A bactericidal (or protective) function is the disinfection of incoming food due to the release of hydrochloric acid.
- The accumulation of food mass in its space, its mechanical processing, as well as pushing further along the digestive tract into the small intestine.
- Chemical processing of food with gastric juice. The latter contains enzymes (pepsin, lipase, chymosin), a share of hydrochloric acid.
- Absorption from the food mass of substances - sugar, salt, water, etc.
- Excretory function. Note that it will increase with renal failure.
- Castle gland secretion by special glands. It is he who promotes the absorption of vitamin B12 from the food mass. Hence, people who survived a resection of the stomach develop anemia over time.
- Endocrine function. This is the production by the gastric glands of biologically active substances, hormones. These include serotonin, gastrin, histamine, motilin, substance P, somatostatin and so on.
Removing a portion of the stomach
In another way, an operation is called an organ resection. The decision to remove the stomach is made by the attending doctor if the cancerous tumor has affected most of the patient’s organ. In this case, not the entire stomach is removed, but only a large part of it - 4/5 or 3/4. Together with it, the patient loses the large and small omentums, lymph nodes of the organ. The remaining stump connects to the small intestine.
As a result of the operation to remove part of the stomach, the patient’s body loses the main areas of the secretory and motor functions of the organ, the output section of the pylorus, which regulates the flow of food into the small intestine. New physiological, anatomical digestion conditions are reflected for the patient by a number of pathological consequences:
- Dumping (reset) syndrome. Insufficiently processed food in a reduced stomach enters the small intestine in large batches, which causes severe irritation of the latter. For the patient, this is fraught with a feeling of heat, general weakness, rapid heartbeat, sweating. However, it is worth taking a horizontal position for 15-20 minutes so that the discomfort passes.
- Cramping pains, nausea, vomiting. They appear after 10-30 minutes after lunch and can last up to 2 hours. This consequence causes the rapid movement of food through the small intestine without participation in the process of the duodenum 12.
The dumping syndrome is not dangerous for the life and health of the patient, but sometimes it causes panic and darkens a normal life. A number of preventive measures help smooth out its consequences.
After removing part of the stomach, the patient is prescribed the following:
- Drawing up a special diet. Food should contain more protein, fatty foods and less carbohydrates.
- Lost, truncated functions of the stomach can be replaced by slow and thorough chewing of food, taking a certain dose of citric acid with food.
- Partial nutrition is recommended - about 5-6 times a day.
- Limit salt intake.
- Increase in the proportion of proteins in the diet, digestible carbohydrates. Normal fat content. A sharp decrease in the diet of easily digestible carbohydrates.
- The restriction in the use of chemical and mechanical irritants of the intestinal mucosa. These include various marinades, smoked meats, pickles, canned products, spices, chocolate, alcoholic and carbonated drinks.
- Fatty hot soup, milk sweet cereals, milk, tea with sugar should be consumed with caution.
- All dishes must be eaten boiled, mashed, steamed.
- Eating is extremely slow, with careful chewing of pieces of food.
- A systematic intake of citric acid solution preparations is required.
As practice shows, complete rehabilitation of the patient, subject to strict adherence to preventive measures, occurs within 4-6 months. However, from time to time he is recommended x-ray, endoscopic examination. Vomiting, belching, aching pain "under the pit" in the afternoon after lunch is an occasion for an urgent appeal to a gastroenterologist, oncologist.
We have examined the structure and functions of the human stomach . The main parts of the organ are the bottom and body of the stomach, the cardiac and pyloric sections. Together, they perform a number of important tasks: digestion and mechanical processing of food, disinfecting it with hydrochloric acid, absorption of certain substances, secretion of hormones and biologically active elements. People with a removed part of the stomach have to follow a number of preventive measures in order to rehabilitate themselves, artificially replenish the work carried out by the body.