The gastrointestinal tract (the abdomen)

Question 1

What does anterolateral mean?

Answer 1

• Both anterior and lateral.
• anterior: towards the front.
• lateral: towards the sides.

Question 2

What is situated posterior of the abdominal cavity?

Answer 2

• Lumbar vertebrae.

Question 3

What does anterior mean?

Answer 3

• Situated near the front.

Question 4

What does posterior mean?

Answer 4

• Situated to the back.

Question 5

What is the umbilicus?

Answer 5

• Belly button (also known as navel).

- Caused by detachment of the umbilical chord after birth.

Question 6

What is the linea alba?

Answer 6

• Fibrous structure that runs down the middle of the abdomen.
• It runs from the xiphoid process to the pubic symphysis.
• White in colour being composed mostly of collagen connective tissue.
• Separates the left and right abdominus muscles.

Question 7

What is the rectus abdominus muscle? (abs)

Answer 7

• Paired muscle running vertically on each side of the anterior wall of the abdomen.
• They are separated by a band of connective tissue (linea alba).
• Contained in the rectus sheath.
• Three bands of connective tissue called the tendinous intersections transverse the rectus abdominus which separates this parallel muscle into 8 distinct muscle bellies.

Question 8

What are the tendinous intersections?

Answer 8

• Three fibrous bands which cross the rectus abdominus muscles.
• One situated at level of umbilicus, one at the furthest point of the xiphoid process and the third mid-way between the two.
• Can pass transversely or obliquely across muscle.

Question 9

What is the linea semilunaris?

Answer 9

• Curved tendinous intersection found on either side of the rectus abdominus muscle.
• Each corresponds with the lateral border of the rectus abdominus and extends from the cartilage of the ninth rib to the pubic tubercle.

Question 10

What is the inguinal groove?

Answer 10

• Due to the positioning of the inguinal canal, which is a passage in the interior abdominal wall that in men conveys the spermatic chord and in women the round ligament of uterus - larger and more prominent in men.
• There is an inguinal canal on each side of the midline.
• Canal is situated just above the medial half of the inguinal ligament and in both sexes the canal transmits the ilioinguinal nerve.
• Canal about 4cm long.

Question 11

How is the abdomen arranged?

Answer 11

• Four quadrants: RUQ (right upper quadrant), LUQ (left upper quadrant) RLQ (right lower quadrant) LLQ (left lower quadrant).

Question 12

What is the median plane (sometimes referred to as the sagittal plane)?

Answer 12

• Bisects the body vertically through the midline marked by the navel, dividing the body exactly in left and right side.

Question 13

What is the clinical significance of four abdominal quadrants?

Answer 13

• Locate abdominal organs.
• Locate sites of pain.
• Allow an accurate history to be taken.

Question 14

How are the four abdominal quadrants defined?

Answer 14

• By the median and transumbilical planes.

Question 15

What is the transumbilical plane?

Answer 15

• This is the transverse plane passing through the umbilicus.

Question 16

What is the transverse plane?

Answer 16

• Divides the body into superior and inferior parts (cut straight through the the middle to give you head and legs).

Question 17

What is the coronal plane?

Answer 17

• Any vertical plane that divides the body into ventral and dorsal (belly and back) sections.

Question 18

What are the three main planes of the body used to describe the location of body parts in relation to one another?

Answer 18

• Coronal, transverse and sagittal.

Question 19

Explain the 9 abdominal regions.

Answer 19

• Created by two horizontal and two vertical lines.

- Regions 1-3 are the upper abdomen regions, regions 4-6 are the middle regions and regions 7-9 are the lower regions.

Question 20

What is the transtubercular plane?

Answer 20

• Line midway between the navel and pelvic bone (bottom horizontal line in 9 regions).
• Cuts the body of the 5th lumbar vertebrae (L5).

Question 21

What is the subcostal plane?

Answer 21

• Transverse plane which bisects the body at the level of the 10th costal margin and the body of L3 (3rd lumbar vertebrae).

Question 22

What is the midclavicular plane?

Answer 22

• Imaginary line that extends downwards over the trunk from the mid point of the clavicle, dividing each side of the anterior chest into two parts (forms the two vertical lines when drawing the 9 regions of the abdomen).

Question 23

What is the abdominal cavity?

Answer 23

• cavity situated between the thoracic cavity and the pelvic cavity.

Question 24

Names of the nine regions of abdomen in order.

Answer 24

• Right hypochondriac.
• Epigastric.
• Left hypochondriac.
• Right lumbar.
• Umbilical.
• Left lumbar.
• Right iliac (inguinal).
• Hypogastric.
• Left iliac (inguinal).

Question 25

What does superficial mean?

Answer 25

• existing at or occurring on the surface.

Question 26

What does the abdominal wall consist of?

Answer 26

• Skin.
• Subcutaneous tissue.
• Fascia (campers and scarpa).
• Muscles (rectus abdominus, int. and ext. obliques and transfersus abdominus.
• Endoabdominal fascia.
• Extraperitoneal fat.

Question 27

What is skin?

Answer 27

• Soft outer covering of vertebrates.
• Organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of ectodermal tissue and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and internal organs.
• Largest organ in human body, accounts for about 12-15 % of total body weight.
• Composed of 3 layers of tissue known as the epidermis, dermis and hypodermis.

Question 28

What is the integumentary system?

Answer 28

• Organ system that protects the body from various kinds of damage such as loss of waterfront abrasion from outside.
• The system comprises the skin and the appendages (including the hair and nails).

Question 29

What is the epidermis?

Answer 29

• Outermost layers of cells in the skin - initial protection barrier.
• It’s a stratified squamous epithelium composed of proliferating basal and differentiated suprabasal keratinocytes which acts as the body’s main barrier against an inhospitable environment, by preventing pathogens from entering.

Question 30

What do the dermis + epidermis make ..

Answer 30

• Cutis.

Question 31

What is cutis?

Answer 31

• Combined term for the dermis and epidermis (the two outer layers of the skin).
• Sweat pores contained in the cutis.

Question 32

What’s contained in the subcutis?

Answer 32

• Hair follicles, sweat glands and nerves.

Question 33

What is the dermis?

Answer 33

• Layer of skin between the epidermis and the subcutaneous tissue, it consists of connective tissue and protects the body from stress and strain.
• It is divided into two layers: the superficial area adjacent to the epidermis called the papillary region and a deep thicker area known as the reticular dermis.

Question 34

What are the structural components of the dermis?

Answer 34

• Collagen.
• Elastic fibres.
• Extrafibrillar matrix.

Question 35

How are the dermis and epidermis connected?

Answer 35

• Through a basement membrane.

- A basement membrane is a thin, fibrous, extracellular matrix of tissue.

Question 36

What are the 3 main layers of skin?

Answer 36

• Epidermis.
• Dermis.
• Hypodermis.

Question 37

What is subcutaneous tissue (also known as hypodermis)?

Answer 37

• Lowermost layer of skin.
• Cells found in the hypodermis are fibroblasts, adipose cells and macrophages.
• Used mainly for fat storage.

Question 38

What is subcutaneous tissue composed of?

Answer 38

• Camper fascia and scarpa fascia (camper is superficial to scarpa).

Question 39

What is fascia?

Answer 39

• Band or sheet of connective tissue fibres, primarily collagen, that forms beneath the skin to attach, stabilise, enclose and separate the muscles and other internal organs.

Question 40

What is the peritoneum?

Answer 40

• Serous membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity.
• Covers most of the intra-abdominal organs, and is composed of a layer of mesothelium supported by a thin layer of connective tissue.
• The peritoneum supports the abdominal organs and serves as a channel for their blood vessels, lymph vessels and nerves.

Question 41

What is an inguinal hernia?

Answer 41

• Protrusion of abdominal cavity contents through the inguinal canal, more often on right than left side and are the most common type of hernia.

Question 42

Where is the abdominal cavity located?

Answer 42

• Below the thoracic cavity and above the pelvic cavity.