Anatomy Practice

Question 1

A patient was diagnosed with bleeding ulcer of the lesser curvature of the stomach. Which artery is most likely involved?

Answer 1

left gastric

Question 2

During a full workup on a 2-month-old infant with a history of intermittent gastrointestinal pain and vomiting, physicians discovered that the cause was lack of emptying of the stomach. They immediately suspected that the cause was a spasmodic contraction of what part of the stomach?

Answer 2

pylorus

Pyloric stenosis is a congenital disorder in which the pylorus is thickened causing obstruction of the gastric outlet to the duodenum. This problem is more commonly seen in males. Symptoms like projectile vomiting appear several weeks after birth.

Question 3

In order to do a vagotomy (section of vagal nerve trunks) to reduce the secretion of acid by cells of the stomach mucosa in patients with peptic ulcers, one needs to cut the gastric branches and retain vagal innervation to other abdominal organs. Where would a surgeon look for these branches in relation to the stomach?

Answer 3

along the lesser curvature

The vagal branches to the stomach are found on the lesser curvature. The anterior vagal branches are derived from the left vagal nerve and the posterior vagal branches are derived from the right vagal nerve. This makes sense, since during the rotation of the gut, the left side of the stomach rotated to become the ventral aspect of the stomach. Vagotomies are done to reduce the acid secretion of the stomach, since the vagus sends one of the signals that stimulates the parietal cells of the stomach to release HCl.

Question 4

A 60-year-old male executive who had a history of a chronic duodenal ulcer was admitted to the ER exhibiting signs of a severe internal hemorrhage. He was quickly diagnosed with perforation of the posterior wall of the first part of the duodenum and erosion of an artery behind it by the gastric expellent. The artery is most likely the:

Answer 4

gastroduodenal

Question 5

During emergency surgery, it was found that a chronic gastric ulcer had perforated the posterior wall of the stomach and eroded a large artery running immediately posterior to the stomach. The artery is the:

Answer 5

splenic

Question 6

What arteries travel in the gastrosplenic ligament?

Answer 6

the short gastric arteries

Question 7

A 50-year-old female patient with severe jaundice was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. You suspect that the tumor is located in which portion of the pancreas?

Answer 7

Head

Tumors in the head of the pancreas often obstruct the common bile duct, blocking the normal bile recycling circuit. This blockade prevents excretion of bilirubin, a yellow-colored pigment that is a red blood cell breakdown product. The accumulation of bilirubin in various tissues, including the skin, causes jaundice. Tumors in other areas of the pancreas are not as likely to block the common bile duct and cause jaundice.