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Stomach: anatomy, location and function

The stomach is a J-shaped, expandable part of the digestive tract that mixes food with acid and enzymes. It stores food, begins protein digestion with hydrochloric acid and pepsin, and churns food into chyme.

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Highlighted in the model: Stomach. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Stomach at a glance

What it is
The stomach is a J-shaped, expandable part of the digestive tract that mixes food with acid and enzymes.
Location
It lies in the left upper quadrant and epigastrium, between the esophagus and duodenum, under the left dome of the diaphragm and the liver. Its position varies with posture and filling; the pylorus usually lies near L1 (transpyloric plane).
Function
It stores food, begins protein digestion with hydrochloric acid and pepsin, and churns food into chyme.
Body system
Digestive · single, midline structure
FMA ID
FMA7148 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • Regions: cardia, fundus, body and pyloric part (antrum, canal and pylorus).
  • Parietal cells secrete acid and intrinsic factor; chief cells secrete pepsinogen.
  • Blood supply comes from branches of the celiac trunk; the vagus nerves give parasympathetic supply.
  • Its capacity is about 1.5 litres in adults, and its wall has an extra inner oblique muscle layer that helps it churn food.

Clinical relevance

Helicobacter pylori infection is the major cause of peptic ulcer disease.

Structures next to the stomach

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Stomach (FMA7148). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §23.1 Overview of the Digestive System. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.