Begin by identifying the:

• Abdominal esophagus: the part of the esophagus that extends ~3 cm from the esophageal hiatus of the diaphragm, which is located at about the level of the T10 vertebra;

• Stomach: begins at the distal end of the esophagus, which pierces the diaphragm and then enters the stomach at the cardiac opening at the level of the eleventh thoracic vertebra (T11) to the left side of the midline; the stomach is relatively fixed at its esophageal and its pyloric ends; the intervening stomach is quite mobile; it usually lies entirely within the left upper quadrant of the abdomen but may descend into the pelvis; it may be J-shaped or steer horn-shaped.

The stomach is an organ of the digestive system specializing in the accumulation and digestion of food.

It lies between the esophagus and duodenum and represents the most dilated part of the gastrointestinal tract. Its functions include mechanical and chemical digestion, a small degree of absorption, and several hormone secretions.

It has two curvatures and consists of four parts - cardia, fundus, body, and pyloric part.

The stomach wall has four layers (from inside out) - mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa, and serosa.

The stomach receives blood supply mainly from branches of the celiac trunk and is innervated via the vagus nerve and the coeliac plexus.