What is the function of the stomach?

The stomach is one of the most important organs in the human body. The main function of the stomach is to help digest food. When food enters the digestive tract, it slowly enters the stomach. The upper part of the stomach is connected to the esophagus, and the lower part is connected to the intestine and pylorus, etc. The structure of the stomach is also quite complex, with gastric arteries and blood vessels, etc. You should take good care of your stomach in order to better digest food.

What is the function of the stomach?

The stomach is the human body's digestive organ, located below the diaphragm, connected to the esophagus above and the small intestine below. The upper opening of the stomach is the cardia, and the lower opening is the pylorus. The stomach is also called Weiwan (guǎn管, also pronounced wǎn碗). The ancient pronunciation of "Wan" is the same as "Guan", and the meaning is also the same. Therefore, the esophagus is above the stomach, the intestinal tube is below the stomach, and the stomach is located between the two and is called the gastric tube (wan). It is divided into three parts: upper, middle and lower. The upper part of the stomach is called Shangwan, including the cardia; the middle part of the stomach is called Zhongwan, which is the body of the stomach; the lower part of the stomach is called Xiawan, including the pylorus.

Innervation:

The gastrointestinal tract is mainly controlled by the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric nervous system (ENS). Although the enteric nervous system is regulated by the central nervous system, it has an independent reflex arc and an integration function. It can directly receive various information from the gastrointestinal tract. It can be said to be a relatively independent system that participates in regulating gastrointestinal functions. At the same time, the number of nerve cells in the wall of the digestive tract is second only to the brain, so the ENS is called the brain of the intestine.

Blood supply:

The blood supply to the stomach mainly comes from the three major branches of the celiac artery: the left gastric artery, the common hepatic artery, and the splenic artery.

1. Left gastric artery: It arises straight from the celiac artery and may have branches: cardiac branch, esophageal branch, and gastric branch. ① Left accessory liver; ② Left accessory stomach; ③ Direct anastomosis between the left stomach and the liver.

2. Right gastric artery: originates from the proper hepatic artery.

3. Right gastroepiploic artery: originates from the stomach and duodenum.

4. Left gastroepiploic artery: originates from the main trunk and branches of the splenic artery.

5. Short gastric artery: originates from the main trunk and branches of the splenic artery.

6. Posterior gastric artery: originates from the upper edge of the middle 1/3 of the splenic artery trunk.

The above is the blood supply to the stomach, with veins accompanying the arteries.

Clinical application of gastric sonosonography:

1. Using gastric sonosonography, the size, shape and range of lesions in the gastric cavity can be clearly observed under real-time ultrasound, and the location of the lesions can be fully determined, and the condition of adjacent organs can be observed.

2. Gastric B-ultrasound is a cross-sectional image that cannot show the entire picture of the stomach. Therefore, it has certain limitations. Especially when suffering from superficial gastritis, the superficial inflammatory area of ​​the mucosal layer is often difficult to identify and easily missed because the gas in the gastric cavity cannot be completely eliminated.

3. Although gastroscopy is an intuitive method for diagnosing gastric diseases with a high diagnostic positive rate, it is very painful and many patients find it difficult to accept, especially those with serious heart, brain, and vascular diseases. Gastroscopy is not suitable for them. Gastric B-ultrasound is a convenient, non-invasive, and repeatable examination method. It can complement other examination methods in diagnosing gastric diseases and is worthy of clinical application.