A. The stomach is a muscular sac in the abdomen that receives food, stores it, breaks it up, and begins digestion to produce chyme.
1. The stomach is divided into four regions.
a. Cardiac region
b. Fundus region
c. Body region
d. Pyloric region
2. Between the esophagus and duodenum, the stomach has two margins called the lesser and greater curvatures.
B. Microscopic anatomy shows that the stomach wall has tissue layers similar to those of the esophagus with some variation.
1. The mucosa is covered with simple columnar epithelium.
2. The gastric mucosa is pocked with depressions called gastric pits lined with columnar epithelium.
i. Parietal cells are found mostly in the upper half of the gland and secrete hydrochloric acid, intrinsic factor, and ghrelin.
ii. Chief cells, which are the most numerous, are found in the lower half of gastric glands; they secrete pepsinogen and gastric lipase.
C. Most digestion and nearly all nutrient absorption occur in the small intestine.
1. The stomach does not absorb significant nutrients but does absorb aspirin and some lipid-soluble drugs.
2. Alcohol is absorbed mainly by the small intestine, so its intoxicating effects are delayed until it reaches the bloodstream.
V. The Small Intestine
A. Nearly all chemical digestion and nutrient absorption occur in the small intestine, so called because of its small diameter (2.5 cm).
B. In terms of gross anatomy, the small intestine:
1. The duodenum constitutes the first, beginning at the pyloric sphincter, arching around the head of the pancreas, and ending at a sharp bend called the duodenojejunal flexure.
a. Here stomach acid is neutralized, fats are emulsified by bile, pepsin is inactivated by elevated pH, and pancreatic enzymes take over chemical digestion.
2. The jejunum is the first 40% of the small intestine beyond the duodenum (1.0 to 1.7 m in a living person).
a. Most digestion and nutrient absorption occur here.
3. The ileum forms the last 60% of the postduodenal small intestine.
4. The end of the small intestine is the ileocecal valve, where the ileum joins the cecum of the large intestine.