Cephalic and caudal ends the stomach originally lie the midline
| Trachea | D | Proximal blind- | E | C | Communication | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| end part of | ||||||
| esophagus | ||||||
| fistula | ||||||
| Bronchi |
|
|
of esophagus | |||
| with trachea | ||||||
| A | ||||||
Chapter 15 Digestive System213
Longitudinal
Esophagus
| Anteroposterior | Greater | E |
|
Greater | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| axis | |||||
| D | curvature | curvature | |||
The stomach rotates 90° clockwise around its longitudinal axis, causing its left side to face ante-riorly and its right side to face posteriorly (Fig. 15.8A–C). Hence, the left vagus nerve, initially innervating the left side of the stomach, now innervates the anterior wall; similarly, the right nerve innervates the posterior wall. During this rotation, the original posterior wall of the stomach grows faster than the anterior portion, forming the greater and lesser curvatures (Fig. 15.8C).
The cephalic and caudal ends of the stomach originally lie in the midline, but during further growth, the stomach rotates around an antero-posterior axis, such that the caudal or pyloric part moves to the right and upward, and the cephalic or cardiac portion moves to the left and slightly downward (Fig. 15.8D,E). The stom-ach thus assumes its fi nal position, its axis running from above left to below right.
