Abdomen/Pelvis Flashcards
Abdomen
Abdomen is located between thoracic cavity and
pelvic cavity
Bulges into thoracic cage
Continuous with pelvic cavity
Partially covered by rib cage
Support of viscera by bony pelvis
Diaphragm
A skeletal muscle.
Attaches to inferior
borders of the rib cage, the xiphoid process, the
lumbar vertebrae, and the posterior wall of the
abdominal cavity.
Separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities
from each other.
Diaphragm limits abdomen superiorly
Three openings in the diaphragm:
- Caval opening (T8)
- Esophageal hiatus (T10) *vagus also travels with
- Aortic hiatus between right and left crura (T12)
Pelvic Floor
Supports the abdominal and pelvic viscera.
Has hiatuses for for rectum, urethra, and vagina, as
well as other small openings.
Posterior Abdominal Wall Musculature
Three layers of anterior abdominal wall muscles
Quadratus lumborum muscle
Psoas muscle
Iliacus muscle
Psoas muscle + iliacus muscle = iliopsoas muscle
Function: support all the organs in the abdomen cavity
and keep them in place, Also to compress the
abdomen during breathing, coughing, empty bladder and rectum and parturition. Some of them actually move the trunk.
Upper Right Quadrant
Liver Gall bladder with biliary tree Duodenum Head of pancreas Hepatic flexure of colon
Upper Left Quadrant
Stomach Spleen Left lobe of liver Body of pancreas Left kidney and adrenal gland Splenic flexure of colon Parts of transverse and descending colon
Greater Omentum
First thing when you cut open in the abdominal cavity and slice open that sac and move the peritoneal sac aside – what you are going to see is this sheet of fat called the greater omentum,
– has many functions :
collects fat
functions in immune system, so if you have an infection in the abdomen it will migrate to that area and
isolate it
Underneath is see the large intestine,
small intestine and cecum.
Esophagus
Conveys food from pharynx to stomach
Begins at the inferior pharynx, continuous with the cricopharyngeus muscle
Terminates at cardiac orifice of stomach
Esophagus enters abdomen through right crus (leg) of
diaphragm, which acts as a physiological constrictor
(T10) and a level of T11, switches from esophageal
mucosa to gastric mucosa: Zigzag (Z) line
Stomach
Primary function is enzymatic digestion
Two curvatures
- Greater curvature
- Lesser curvature
4 main subdivisions - Cardiac part - Fundus - Body - Pyloris > Antrum (the beginning of it) >Pyloric canal >Pyloric sphincter: that controls the passage of food out of the stomach and opens into the duodenum.
Note
Z-line = junction of gastric and esophageal mucosa
Rugae = folds in stomach wall for increase surface area
Pyloric orifice = controls passage of food
Small Intestine
Extends from pyloric orifice of stomach to the ileocecal junction (where it joins the large intestine)
mesentery which is this sheet of peritoneum that attaches the intestines to the back wall of the abdomen and allows for passage of blood vessels
and nerves and lymph to get to and from the intestines.
Three subdivisions:
1) Duodenum (primary function is digestion)
2) Jejunum (primary function is nutrient absorption)
3) Ileum (primary function is water absorption)
Duodenum
Begins at pyloric orifice ends at duodeno- jejunal junction
C-shaped path around head of pancreas
Much about digestion of ingested food
Four subdivisions
1) Superior: 1st part
2) Descending (receives bile and pancreatic ducts: 2nd part)
3) Horizontal: 3rd part
4) Ascending (joins jejunum at duodenojejunal junction): 4th part
Jejunum & Ileum
From duodenojejunal junction to ileocecal junction
Jejunum is primarily for nutrient absorption
Ileum is primarily for water absorption
Plicae circulares (circular folds/valves of Kerking) more frequent in jejunum
Simpler arterial arcades in jejunum
Pyers patches in ileum
More encroaching fat in ileum
End of the ileum and here is what we call the ileocecal junction (joining of the ileum to the the
cecum - the very beginning of the large intestine)
Large Intestine
The colon = large intestine
- Cecum is a blind pouch
- Appendix
- Ascending colon
ileocecal junction to hepatic flexure (right colic
flexure)
water absorption - Transverse colon
hepatic flexure to splenic flexure (left colic flexure)
(because they are located in close proximity to the liver and and spleen)
water absorption (more absorption here)
- Descending colon splenic flexure to left iliac fossa fecal transport - Sigmoid colon iliac fossa to S3 fecal storage - Rectum storage and evacuation - Anal canal evacuation
Large vs. Small Intestine
Large intestine is very large (thick in diameter), it has these extra muscles called
- TENIAE COLI = look like stripes along the surface of the colon.
- It has these things that hang of that are like little droplets of fatty tissue they are call EPIPOLIC (mental) appendages
- It has these HAUSTRA which are just these balloon shaped structures
- the caliber of the lumen is much thicker than that of the small intestine.
Accessory Organs of the GI Tract
Liver
Gall Bladder
Pancreas