stomach 466 Flashcards
Q: What is the shape and location of the stomach?
The stomach is C-shaped and located on the left side of the abdominal cavity, nearly hidden by the liver and diaphragm.
What is the cardial region of the stomach?
: The cardial region, or cardia, surrounds the cardioesophageal sphincter, through which food enters the stomach from the esophagus
Minimal Digestion: While the cardia doesn’t play a big role in digestion, it does contribute to the initial mixing of food with gastric juices once it enters the stomach.
In summary, the cardia’s main function is to allow food to pass into the stomach, while also helping to prevent acid from backing up into the esophagus.
What is the fundus of the stomach?
The fundus is the expanded part of the stomach, located laterally to the cardial region. Acts as a storage area for food before digestion.
Secretes gastric juices, including acid and digestive enzymes.
Plays a role in gastric motility by helping mix food with digestive juices.
What is the body of the stomach?
The body is the midportion of the stomach. The convex lateral surface is the greater curvature, and the concave medial surface is the lesser curvature.
What happens to the stomach as it narrows inferiorly?
As it narrows inferiorly, the body becomes the pyloric antrum and then the funnel-shaped pylorus, which is the terminal part of the stomach.
Q: What is the pyloric sphincter?
The pyloric sphincter, or pyloric valve, is the structure that connects the pylorus of the stomach to the small intestine.
Q: How long is the stomach?
A: The stomach varies from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) in length.
Q: What affects the diameter and volume of the stomach?
A: The diameter and volume of the stomach depend on how much food it contains.
How much food can the stomach hold when full?
When full, the stomach can hold about 4 liters (1 gallon) of food.
What happens to the stomach when it is empty?
When the stomach is empty, it collapses inward, and its mucosa forms large folds called rugae.
: What is the lesser omentum?
The lesser omentum is a double layer of peritoneum that extends from the liver to the lesser curvature of the stomach.
Function: The lesser omentum helps stabilize the position of the stomach and liver, and it also contains important structures like blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatics that supply the stomach, liver, and other abdominal organs.
Related Ligaments: The lesser omentum contains two ligaments:
Hepatogastric ligament: Connects the liver to the stomach.
Hepatoduodenal ligament: Connects the liver to the duodenum, and it also contains the portal vein, hepatic artery, and bile duct.
So, the lesser omentum helps anchor the stomach and liver, playing a role in supporting these organs and facilitating the movement of blood and other substances.
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What is the greater omentum?
The greater omentum is an extension of the peritoneum that drapes downward and covers the abdominal organs like a lacy apron, attaching to the posterior body wall.
Function:
Fat Storage: The greater omentum contains a significant amount of fat, which can act as an energy reserve and provides cushioning for the abdominal organs.
Immune Response: It contains lymphoid cells, which can help with the immune response. It’s often involved in the body’s reaction to infections or inflammation within the abdominal cavity.
Protection: By covering and cushioning the abdominal organs, it helps protect them from injury and helps limit the spread of infections or inflammatory processes in the abdomen.
Clinical Relevance: In conditions like peritonitis (inflammation of the peritoneum), the greater omentum can become involved in “walling off” infections or inflammation, which helps prevent it from spreading to other parts of the body.
In summary, the greater omentum is a large, fatty, protective structure that covers the abdominal organs and plays roles in storage, immunity, and protection.
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What function does the fat in the greater omentum serve?
The fat in the greater omentum helps to insulate, cushion, and protect the abdominal organs.
What does the greater omentum contain that helps with immune defense?
The greater omentum contains large collections of lymphoid follicles, which house macrophages and other defensive cells of the immune system.
What is the role of the stomach in digestion?
: The stomach acts as a temporary “storage tank” for food and a site for food breakdown.
What additional muscle layer is found in the stomach’s muscularis externa?
In addition to the usual longitudinal and circular muscle layers, the stomach wall contains a third, obliquely arranged muscle layer in the muscularis.
Oblique layer (the one you’re referring to): This is a diagonal layer of muscle fibers found only in the stomach. It allows for more effective churning and mixing of food with gastric juices, as it adds an extra layer of complexity to the movements of the stomach, especially during digestion. The oblique layer provides additional strength and control over the stomach’s movements.
In summary, the oblique muscle layer in the muscularis externa of the stomach helps with the mechanical digestion of food by contributing to the stomach’s churning and mixing actions.
What function does the third oblique muscle layer in the stomach serve?
The third oblique muscle layer allows the stomach to churn, mix, and pummel the food, physically breaking it down into smaller fragments.
What type of chemical breakdown begins in the stomach?
The chemical breakdown of proteins begins in the stomach.
What type of epithelium makes up the mucosa of the stomach?
The mucosa of the stomach is made up of simple columnar epithelium composed entirely of mucous cells.
What does the mucous cells of the stomach produce?
The mucous cells produce a protective layer of bicarbonate-rich alkaline mucus that protects the stomach wall from acid and digestive enzymes.
What is the function of the mucus produced by the mucous cells?
The mucus forms a protective layer that clings to the stomach mucosa, preventing damage from acid or digestive enzymes.
What are gastric pits, and what do they lead to?
Gastric pits are deep indentations in the stomach lining that lead into gastric glands, which secrete the components of gastric juice.
So, while the gastric pits themselves are the openings to the gastric glands, it’s the parietal cells within those glands that secrete HCl. The pits serve as the entry point for substances to be released into the stomach.
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: What does the stomach produce to aid in vitamin absorption?
Some stomach cells produce intrinsic factor, a substance needed for the absorption of vitamin B12 in the small intestine.
: What do the chief cells of the stomach produce?
: The chief cells produce inactive protein-digesting enzymes, mainly pepsinogens.
Q: What is the role of parietal cells in the stomach?
A: The parietal cells produce hydrochloric acid (HCl), which makes the stomach contents acidic and activates digestive enzymes like pepsinogen to pepsin.
Q: What do mucous neck cells produce?
A: Mucous neck cells produce a thin acidic mucus, whose function is not entirely known, but it is different from the protective mucus produced by the mucous cells.
Q: What do enteroendocrine cells produce?
A: Enteroendocrine cells produce local hormones, such as gastrin, which help regulate the digestive activities of the stomach.
