Page:Structure and functions of the body; a hand-book of anatomy and physiology for nurses and others desiring a practical knowledge of the subject (IA structurefunctio00fiskrich).pdf/144

 The Esophagus.—From the pharynx the food passes to the cardiac orifice of the stomach, opposite the tenth dorsal vertebra, through the esophagus, a muscular tube about nine inches long, which collapses when empty, its lumen then appearing as a transverse slit. It, too, has three coats: 1. an inner mucous coat; 2. an areolar coat, and 3. a muscular coat, the muscles being arranged in two sets, an outer longitudinal layer and an inner circular layer. By a series of rythmic contractions, especially of the circular fibers, the food is pushed along, though sometimes with liquid food there is no peristaltic action of the esophagus, the pharyngeal muscles alone sending it to the stomach. At the lower end of the esophagus an especially strong band of circular muscle fibers form a sort of sphincter, which prevents the regurgitation of food. The whole act of swallowing is a reflex, not a voluntary, act and is due to irritation set up by the stimulus of the foreign body, the food. ''Stricture of the esophagus'' is common and may be of three kinds: 1. spasmodic, occurring in nervous women; 2. fibrous, due to scar tissue, or 3. malignant, due to cancer.

The Stomach.—The stomach is a pear-shaped dilatation of the alimentary canal, lying under the liver and diaphragm in the epigastrium and left hypochondrium and connecting the esophagus with the small intestine. It lies largely behind the ribs, but the greater curvature is only two fingers' breadth above the umbilicus and can be manipulated through the skin. The cardiac end, into which the esophagus enters, is the larger and points upward to the left. The lesser and lower end, known as the pylorus, is at the right and its opening into the small intestine is guarded by the pyloric sphincter. The lesser curvature is concave and on the upper surface; the greater, convex and on the under surface. The great omentum is attached to the latter.

In size the stomach varies more or less, that of a man generally being larger than that of a woman, but it is usually about ten inches long and four or five inches