THE STOMACH 



968 



wards. This rcjtatioii al)<)Ut its long axis is inlluciiccd hy the tixitv <tf the Icsst-r 

 curvature of the ortran. 



Structure. — TIk- Avails of the stomach consist of four coats, — serous, muscular, 

 sultnnicous, and mucous. 



Fig. 568. — MrsciLAK Coat of the .^tomacii. (Luschka.) 



LONGITUDINAL LAYER 



CIRCULAR LAYER 



The external serous coat is formed by the peritoneum, and has to the naked eye 

 the usual shiny appearance of that membrane. 

 The muscular coat consists of three layers: 

 A longitudinal layer externally, which is continued from similar fibres on the 



Fig. 569. — MuscuLAE Coat of the Stomach. (Luschka.) 



OBLIQUE UYER 



T 



ft 



CIRCUUR UYER 



oesophagus, and is thickest along the curvatures, more ]iarticularly tlie lesser. At 

 the pylorus the fibres are more regularly placed round that orifice (fig. .508). 



A circular lai/er. which regularly surrounds the whole stomach and becomes 

 much thicker at the pyloric end. where it forms the sphincter. These circular 

 fibres are arranged perpendicularly to the long axis of the stomach (fig. 560). 



