Anatomy for Radiology: Abdomen

In this post, I will introduce the anatomy of the abdomen. Abdominal x-rays and abdominal CTs are common imaging studies performed in a variety of medical settings. First I will introduce the concepts, organs, and structures related to the abdomen, and then I will go over some diagrams.

Path of Food

One popular organ in the abdomen is the stomach, but the stomach is just one stop in the journey of food. It can be helpful to understand the path of food through the body in order to understand the abdomen (which contains most of that path.) Voila:

1. Mouth. The mouth starts the digestive process by mixing food with saliva. The tongue can taste at least five flavors: sour, sweet, salty, bitter, and umami (triggered by monosodium glutamate, aka MSG.) Recent evidence suggests that there may be additional fundamental flavors: fat and “complex carbohydrate” (e.g. bread, rice). The finer details of different flavors actually come from the nose (i.e. smell.)
2. Esophagus. The esophagus is the tube that carries food from your mouth, through your chest, and into your stomach. In its resting state, the esophagus resembles a flattened soft pink hose — it’s not propped open. This is contrast to the windpipe, which is a hollow tube held open at all times by the firmness of its walls. The esophagus runs behind the windpipe and in front of the spine.
3. Stomach. Your stomach can hold about a half-pound of food. It mixes food with hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes. Some cells…