THE OESOPHAGUS THE STOMACH 



483 



THE (ESOPHAGUS 



The oesophagus is short and nearly straight. It has (according to Rubeli) a 

 potential caliber m the adult of nearly 3 inches (ca. 7 cm.) at either end, and about 

 Ittt inches (ca. 4.2 cm.) in its middle part.' The muscular coat is striated, except 

 near the cardia, where the deep part is unstriped. There are numerous tubulo- 

 alveolar glands m the anterior half of the tube; further back they occur in decreas- 

 ing numbers. Many lymph nodules and much lymphoid tissue are present. 



THE STOMACH 



The stomach is large; its average capacity is about IJ/^ to 2 gallons (ca. 

 5.7 to 8 liters). When full, its long axis is transverse and its greater curvature 

 extends backward on the floor of the abdomen a little further than a point midway 



Diverti- 

 culum 

 Oesopha- 

 gus 



Lesser 

 curvature 



Pylorus 



Dirirti- 

 ^ cnluin 



Fig. 418. — Stomach op Pig; Parietal Surface. 

 The organ contained a rather small amount of ingesta 

 and hence is somewhat contracted. 



Fig. 419. — Stomach op Pig; Visceral Surface. 

 Organ was fixed in situ and is somewhat contracted. 



between the xiphoid cartilage and the umbilicus. The left part is large and rounded, 

 while the right part (Pars pylorica) is small, and bends sharply upward to join the 

 small intestine. The parietal surface faces chiefly forward, and is related to the 

 liver and diaphragm. The visceral surface faces chieflj^ backward, and is related 

 to the intestine, greater omentum, mesentery, and pancreas. The greater cur- 

 vature is related to the diaphragm, spleen, liver, and abdominal floor. The 

 pyloric end lies against the right lateral lobe of the liver, about opposite to the middle 

 of the next to the last intercostal space. The left extremity is opposite to the last 

 intercostal space or preceding rib, and is related to the dorsal end of the spleen and 

 the left extremity of the pancreas; it presents a flattened conical blind pouch, the 

 diverticulum ventriculi, the apex of which projects backward. The oesophagus 

 joins the stomach very obliquely, almost in the median plane, and about three or 

 four inches (ca. 8 to 10 cm.) ventral to the twelfth thoracic vertebra. The cardiac 



' It is usually stated that the cardiac end is funnel-shaped, but it is not so in formalin-hardened 

 cadavers nor in frozen sections. The hiatus oesophagus is a long slit in the right cms of the dia- 

 phragm, and the terminal part of the oesophagus, which lies in it, is flattened transversely. 



