i6i8 



HUMAN ANATOMY. 



. — Fundus 



The shape of the stomach may be compared to that of a pear, somewhat flat- 

 tened, with the large end up and the point bent to the right. The fundus is the 

 highest part of the stomach which projects upward above the level of the end of the 

 oesophagus. The greatest breadth of the stomach is at about the level of the oeso- 

 phageal or cardiac orifice, and exceeds the antero-posterior diameter. The fundus 

 generally contains air, if nothing 



else, and is somewhat distended, •^- ^3 • 



although thrown into uncertain 

 contours by the partial contraction 

 of its walls. Towards the lower 

 or Pyloric end the stomach gradu- 

 ally becomes more tubular, but 

 the termination is often dilated 

 into a cavity known as the antrum 

 pylori. The constriction on its 

 left may be very slight, so that 

 the antrum is hardly to be seen, 

 or it may be so deep as to be 

 mistaken for the pylorus. The 

 antrum may be double or even 

 triple. Sometimes, on the other 

 hand, the terminal part of the 

 stomach is tubular and to be dis- 



Gastro-phrenic 

 ligament 



CEsophagus 



Gastro-hepatic 

 omentum 



Pylorus 



Antrum 



Anterior aspect of stomach, moderately distended. 



tinguished from the intestine only by its thick walls. Fig. 1368 shows such a case 



which seems to extend beyond the usual limits of the stomach. The superior or 



cardiac orifice faces upward and to the right, being much nearer the front than the 



back of the stomach. Its diameter is at least 2 cm. and may be much more. When 



the stomach is distended a well-defined groove appears between the fundus and 



the left of the oesophagus. Further details have been given with the gullet (page 



1609). The position of the lower orifice or pylorus may not be recognizable on the 



outer surface, or it may be marked by a groove. Internally, it presents a distinct 



ring caused by the thickening of the layer of circular muscular fibres, improperly 



called the valve of the pylorus, which raises the mucous membrane. This can 



always be felt through the walls. It is only by touch that the position of the pylorus 



can be certainly recognized when the 

 Fig. 1367. 



-Greater 



omentum (cut) 



Gastro-splenic 

 omentum 



Gastro-phrenic 



ligament 



Uncovered 



area 



CEsophagus 



Posterior 

 surface 



Gastro-hepatic 

 omentum 



Fundus 



Anterior 

 surface 



parts are unopened. The gastric cavity 

 gradually narrows towards the pylorus 

 on the stomach side, but from the duo- 

 denum there seems to be a perforated 

 partition across the tube like an optical 

 diaphragm. The opening, although 

 nearly always elliptical, is sometimes 

 almost circular. Some of the larger 

 openings in a series of thirty casts ' 

 show a long diameter of from 17-18 mm. 

 and a short one of from 13-15 mm. 

 Some of the smaller openings measure 

 6x7 mm. and 8x8 mm. We have 

 observed more extreme figures at both 

 ends of the series than those quoted. 

 It is difficult to say whether some of 

 the smaller ones would admit of greater 

 dilatation. Probably 13x15 mm. is 

 not far from the average size. The 

 position of the longer axis of the orifice is uncertain, although it usually runs down- 

 ward and backward.^ 



Owing to the difference in size of the two ends of the organ, the axis of the 



^ Dwight : Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, vol. xxxi., 1897. 

 ' Berry and Crawford : Ibid., vol. xxxvi., 1902. 



Pylorus^ 



Antrum 



Right aspect of sloinacli, moderately distended. 



