1272 THE ORGANS OF DIGESTION 



into a right and left portion. The lesser curvature gives attachment to the 

 two layers of the gastrohepatic omentum, and between these two layers are the 

 gastric artery and the pyloric branch of the hepatic artery. 



The greater curvature (curvatura ventriculi major) is directed mainly forward 

 and to the left, and is three or four times as long as the lesser curvature; starting 

 from the cardiac orifice at the incisura cardiaca it forms an arch backward, up- 

 ward, and to the left; the highest point of the convexity is on a level with the sixth 

 left costal cartilage. From this level it may be followed downward and forward 

 with a slight convexity to the left as low as the cartilage of the ninth rib ; it then turns 

 to the right to end at the pylorus. Directly opposite the incisura angularis of the 

 lesser curvature the greater curvature presents a dilatation, the pyloric vestibule or 

 antrum, which is limited on the right by a slight groove, the sulcus intermedius; this 

 sulcus is about an inch from the duodenopyloric constriction. The portion between 

 the sulcus intermedius and the duodenopyloric constriction is termed the pyloric 

 canal. At its commencement the greater curvature is covered by peritoneum con- 

 tinuous with that covering the front of the organ. The left part of the curvature 

 gives attachment to the gastrosplenic omentum, while to its anterior portion are 

 attached the two anterior layers of the great omentum, separated from each other 

 by the gastroepiploic vessels. 



Surfaces. When the stomach is in the slightly dilated condition, its surfaces 

 are directed more upward and downward respectively, but when the viscus is dis- 

 tended they are directed more forward and backward. They may, therefore, 

 be described as antero-superior and postero-inferior. 



Antero-superior Surface. The left half of this surface is in contact with the Dia- 

 phragm, which separates it from the base of the left lung, the pericardium, the 

 seventh, eighth, and ninth ribs, and intercostal spaces of the left side. The right 

 half is in relation with the left and quadrate lobes of the liver and with the ventral 

 abdominal wall. When the stomach is empty the transverse colon may be found 

 lying on the front part of this surface. The whole surface is covered by peri- 

 toneum. 



The Postero-inferior Surface (paries posterior) is in relation with the Diaphragm, 

 the gastric surface of the spleen, the left suprarenal gland, the upper part of the 

 front of the left kidney, the anterior surface of the pancreas, the splenic flexure 

 of the_colon, and the upper layer of the transverse mesocolon. These structures 

 formasKallow concavity ("stomach bed"), on which the stomach rests. The 

 transverse mesocolon intervenes between the stomach and the duodenojejunal 

 flexure and small intestine. The postero-inferior surface is covered with peri- 

 toneum, except over a small area close to the cardiac orifice; this area is limited 

 by the lines of attachment of the gastrophrenic ligament, and lies in contact with 

 the Diaphragm and frequently with the upper portion of the left adrenal gland. 



Component Parts of the Stomach. The stomach may be divided into a left 

 portion or body and a right or pyloric portion or antrum by a plane passing through 

 the incisura angularis and the left limit of the opposed dilatation (pyloric vestibule) 

 on the greater curvature. The left portion of the body (corpus ventriculi) is known 

 as the fundus, while that which is adjacent to the cardiac orifice is known as the 

 cardiac antrum. The pyloric antrum is divided into a right part, the pyloric canal, 

 and a left, the pyloric vestibule, by a plane passing through the sulcus intermedius 

 at right angles to the axis of this portion (Fig. 994). 



The size of the stomach varies considerably in different subjects. When mod- 

 erately distended its greatest length, from the top of the fundus to the lowest part 

 of the greater curvature, is from ten to twelve inches and its diameter at the 

 widest part from four to five inches. The distance between the two orifices, 

 when the stomach is in situ, is three to four inches, and the measurement from the 

 anterior to the posterior wall three and one-half inches. Its weight, according 



