Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach is involved in the gastric phase of digestion, following chewing. It performs a chemical breakdown by means of enzymes and hydrochloric acid.
| Stomach | |
|---|---|
Scheme of digestive tract, with stomach in red | |
Sections of the human stomach | |
| Details | |
| Precursor | Foregut |
| 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 |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | ventriculus |
| Greek | gaster |
| MeSH | D013270 |
| TA98 | A05.5.01.001 |
| TA2 | 2901 |
| FMA | 7148 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
| Major parts of the |
| Gastrointestinal tract |
|---|
In humans and many other animals, the stomach is located between the esophagus and the small intestine. The stomach secretes digestive enzymes and gastric acid to aid in food digestion. The pyloric sphincter controls the passage of partially digested food (chyme) from the stomach into the duodenum, where peristalsis takes over to move this through the rest of the intestines.