Organ: StomachBiology 120

Section WW2By: Linda Khauv

What is a Stomach?

The stomach is a hollow, muscular J-shaped organ of digestion. Everything we consume, such as food and drinks is stored and mixed in the stomach for a short period of time. It travels from the Esophagus to the stomach and through the small intestines.

It collects, churn, and digests food.

Where is our Stomach located?

The stomach is located between the Esophagus and the Duodenum above the small intestines.

The Esophagus is the passage between the mouth and the stomach.

The Duodenum is the first part of the small intestines.

The stomach is on the upper left quadrant of the abdomen and lies against the diaphragm.

The above photo shows the Esophagus to the stomach.

Food travels through the Esophagus into the Stomach and through the small intestines.

Stomach Size

When it is expanded, the stomach measures about 10 inches by 4 inches.

Its capacity holds

about one quart.

Stomach Divisions

Consists of three sections: Stomach Wall: layers

1. The Fundus- This is at the upper part of the stomach close to the Esophagus.

2. The Body- This is where the middle section of the stomach is located.

3. The Antrum- the bottom part of the stomach.

1. The mucous

2. The submucous

3. The muscular

4. The peritoneal layers

Details of the Wall LayersThe mucous and submucous layers are made

up of ridges. The ridges are gastric glands made up of many cells. The cells assist in the breaking down of food for digestion.

The muscular layer is responsible for mixing the chyme (which is a semiliquid mass of partially digested food) and moving it through the stomach to the small intestine.

The peritoneal layer is the outer layer. It lines the inside of the abdomen and covers most of the organs.

This photo shows the layers of the human stomach

Storage

The stomach acts as a receptacle, where it stores food for a limited time and is mixed with gastric juices and is broken down by cells and digested.

The muscle of the stomach stretches and send nervous impulses to the brain that tells us when we are no longer hungry.

Stomach Process: 3 phase

1. Cephalic- Sense of smell and sight, as well as thinking about food sends a message to the brain indicating that the stomach is hungry.

2. Gastric- Food enters the stomach and stretches and sends impulses to the brain, then the gastrin begins secreting.

3. Intestinal- Food enters the small intestines and is digested.

Health ProblemsMany problems can

occur if there are issues with your digestive system:◦ Ulcers◦ Gastritis◦ Gastroenteritis◦ Gastroesophageal

reflux◦ Stomach Cancer◦ Black Stool

Causes◦ Ulcers-affects is the nerves that is around it.

It becomes agitated and causes pain.◦ Gastritis-  inflammation, irritation, or erosion

of the lining of the stomach◦ Gastroenteritis- causes irritation and

inflammation of the stomach and intestines◦ Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)-affects

the lower esophageal sphincter◦ Stomach Cancer- disease in which stomach

cells become cancerous◦ Black Stool- darkening or blackness of stool

Prefixes, Combining Forms & Suffixes

Dys-: painful, difficultAbdomin/o : AbdomenCrin/o: SecreteDuoden/o: DuodenumEsophag/o: EsophagusGastr/o:Stomach -emises: Vomit -itis: Inflamation -pepsia: Digestion -rrhage: Excessive, abnormal flow -rrhea: Discharge,flow

Resources Fremgen, Bonnie F. & Frucht, Suzanne S. Medical

Terminology: A Living Language. 4th edition. Prentice Hall Publishing, 2009. Page 603.

McFarlane-Parrot,Sally.Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health. Stomach.The Gale Group Inc., Gale. 2002.

< http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/stomach/6>

Stomach. 2010 MamasHealth, Inc.

< http://www.mamashealth.com/organs/stomach.asp>

Resources

Photos:1. http://test.teachengineering.org/collection/cub_

2. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.webmd.com/dtmcms/live/webmd/consumer_assets/site_images/

3. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://instruct.westvalley.edu/granieri/stomach.jpg&imgrefurl=http://instruct.westvalley.edu/granieri/biology103coursepage.html&usg=_

4. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/eraxion/eraxion0711/eraxion071100013/2020998-human-stomach.jpg

5. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.byhealth.com/files/digestive-system.jpg