Stomach facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stomach |
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| The stomach is located centre left in the human body. | |
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| 1. Body of stomach 2. Fundus 3. Anterior wall 4. Greater curvature 5. Lesser curvature 6. Cardia 9. Pyloric sphincter 10. Pyloric antrum 11. Pyloric canal 12. Angular incisure 13. Gastric canal 14. Rugae | |
| Latin | Ventriculus |
| System | Digestive system |
| Artery | Right gastric artery, left gastric artery, right gastro-omental artery, left gastro-omental artery, short gastric arteries |
| Vein | Right gastric vein, left gastric vein, right gastroepiploic vein, left gastroepiploic vein, short gastric veins |
| Nerve | Celiac ganglia, vagus nerve |
| Lymph | Celiac lymph nodes |
| Precursor | Foregut |
The stomach is part of the digestive system. It is an internal organ between the oesophagus and the small intestines. The stomach is the third stage in the digestive process. It holds food after ingestion. Food in the stomach then passes through to the small intestine where most of the food's nutrition is absorbed.
The stomach contains hydrochloric acid made by stomach cells. As a useful side-effect, the acid kills bacteria in the food. However, its main function is to help the protein-digesting enzymes called proteases work. In general, the food is churned, squeezed and mixed. This prepares it for digestion. The partially digested food is called chyme.
The stomach acid may cause problems. It can make peptic ulcers worse. It can also cause heartburn—pain in the chest when acid from the stomach refluxes (backs up into) the oesophagus. These can usually be treated by neutralizing the acid. Vomiting occurs when food goes back up the oesophagus and out the mouth. Vomiting can be a symptom of disease.
Stomachs of other mammals work differently to human stomachs. Ruminants, for example, have a stomach with multiple compartments. In that system, food goes through the first part of the digestive system twice, and the work of digesting the grass is done by bacteria.
Other words for stomach include belly and tummy.
Images for kids
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Sequence of total-body scintigraphies of a woman after intravenous injection of iodine-123 demonstrating iodine uptake by the gastric mucosa
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Comparison of stomach glandular regions from several mammalian species. Frequency of glands may vary more smoothly between regions than is diagrammed here. Asterisk (ruminant) represents the omasum, which is absent in Tylopoda (Tylopoda also has some cardiac glands opening onto ventral reticulum and rumen) Many other variations exist among the mammals.
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Micrograph showing a cross section of the human stomach wall, in the body portion of the stomach. H&E stain.
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An endoscopy of a normal stomach of a healthy 65-year-old woman.
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Human cardiac glands (at cardia)
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Human pyloric glands (at pylorus)
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Human fundic glands (at fundus)
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Human stomach
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A more realistic image, showing the celiac artery and its branches in humans; the liver has been raised, and the lesser omentum and anterior layer of the greater omentum removed.
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he gastrointestinal wall of the human stomach.
See also
In Spanish: Estómago para niños
