Stomach

Anatomy · Abdomen & pelvis anatomy

The stomach is a J-shaped organ that lies below the diaphragm. It is a muscular sac with two openings. The cardiac opening superiorly and the pyloric opening inferiorly.

It has two curvatures. The lesser curvature is attached to lesser omentum. The greater curvature is attached to greater omentum.

The pyloric sphincter is a true anatomical sphincter (unlike the cardiac sphncter/LES/GOJ) and lies at L1 level in the recumbent position.

Arterial and nerve supply to the stomach

Stomach supply	Structure
Arterial supply	coeliac trunk: Left gastric artery Splenic artery Common hepatic arteries
Parasympathetic nerve supply	vagus nerves
Sympathetic nerve supply	coeliac plexus T5-T9
Lymph drainage	coeliac nodes

Anatomical relations to the stomach

Anterior relations	Posterior relations
Anterior abdominal wall Diaphragm (mainly anterior and superior) Gall bladder Greater omentum (starts at the anterior inferior part of the stomach) Left lobe of liver	Pancreas Lesser sac Left adrenal gland Left kidney Spleen Splenic artery Transverse mesocolon

Diagram illustrating the sections of the stomach

Diagram illustrating blood supply of the stomach

Diagram illustrating the nerve supply of the stomach. Note how the left vagus lies on the anterior wall near the GOJ

Diagram illustrating the position of the stomach relative to the omentum and position of lesser and greater sacs