Anatomy and Physiology of Stomach

In anatomy, the stomach is a

bean-shaped hollow muscular
organ of the gastrointestinal tract
involved in the second phase of
digestion, following mastication.

The stomach lies between the

esophagus and the duodenum
(the first part of the small
intestine). It is on the left side of
the abdominal cavity. The top of
the stomach lies against the
diaphragm. Lying beneath the
stomach is the pancreas, and the
greater omentum which hangs
from the greater curvature.

In humans, the stomach has a

volume of about 50 mL when empty. After a meal, it generally expands to hold about 1 liter of
food, but it can actually expand to hold as much as 4 liters. When drinking milk it can expand
to just under 6 pints, or 3.4 liter.

Functions

The stomach is a highly acidic environment due to gastric acid production and secretion
which produces a luminal pH range usually between 1 and 4 depending on the species, food
intake, time of the day, drug use, and other factors.
Combined with digestive enzymes, such an environment is able to break down large
molecules (such as from food) to smaller ones so that they can eventually be absorbed from
the small intestine. The human stomach can produce and secrete about 2 to 3 liters of gastric
acid per day with basal secretion levels being typically highest in the evening.
Pepsinogen is secreted by chief cells and turns into pepsin under low pH conditions and is a
necessity in protein digestion.
Absorption of vitamin B12 from the small intestine is dependent on conjugation to a
glycoprotein called intrinsic factor which is produced by parietal cells of the stomach.

Other functions include absorbing some ions, water, and some lipid soluble compounds such
as alcohol, aspirin, and caffeine.
Another function of the stomach is simply a food storage cavity.

Sections
The stomach is divided into four sections, each of which has different cells and functions. The
sections are:

Cardia Where the contents of the esophagus empty into the stomach.
Fundus Formed by the upper curvature of the organ.
Body or
The main, central region.
corpus
Pylorus orThe lower section of the organ that facilitates emptying the contents into
antrum the small intestine.

Layers

Like the other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, the stomach walls are made of the following
layers, from inside to outside:

The first main layer. This consists of an epithelium, the lamina propria
mucosa underneath, and a thin layer of smooth muscle called the muscularis
mucosae.
This layer lies under the mucosa and consists of fibrous connective tissue,
submucosa separating the mucosa from the next layer. The Meissner's plexus is in this
layer.
Under the submucosa, the muscularis externa in the stomach differs from that
of other GI organs in that it has three layers of smooth muscle instead of two.
• inner oblique layer: This layer is responsible for creating the motion
that churns and physically breaks down the food. It is the only layer of
the three which is not seen in other parts of the digestive system. The
antrum has thicker skin cells in its walls and performs more forceful
muscularis contractions than the fundus.
externa • middle circular layer: At this layer, the pylorus is surrounded by a thick
circular muscular wall which is normally tonically constricted forming a
functional (if not anatomically discrete) pyloric sphincter, which controls
the movement of chyme into the duodenum. This layer is concentric to
the longitudinal axis of the stomach.
• outer longituditinal layer: Auerbach's plexus is found between this layer
and the middle circular layer.
This layer is under the muscularis externa, consisting of layers of connective
serosa
tissue continuous with the peritoneum.
Anatomy of a Normal Stomach
Picture of a gastritis stomach