Identifying Digestive and Excretory Organs - Anatomy

The left renal vein and third part of the duodenum lie between the superior mesenteric artery and abdominal aorta.

Compression of the left renal vein will cause pooling of blood in the left gonadal vein and subsequent varicocele formation, known as nutcracker syndrome. Compression of the third part of the duodenum is known as superior mesenteric artery syndrome and will result in malnutrition and symptoms of small bowel obstruction.

The inferior vena cava lies to the right of the abdominal aorta, while the pancreas lies superior and anterior to the superior mesenteric artery. The left gonadal vein drains into the left renal vein and is to the left and inferior to the superior mesenteric artery. The splenic vein lies superior to the superior mesenteric artery and joins with the superior mesenteric vein to form the hepatic portal vein. The transverse colon lies anterior to the superior mesenteric artery.

Only the stomach is intraperitoneal from the listed structures. The peritoneum is a membrane within the abdominal cavity; organs contained within the membrane are considered intraperitoneal and are almost completely covered with visceral peritoneum.

The kidneys are retroperitoneal (posterior to the intraperitoneal space), while the bladder and descending colon are subperitoneal (below the intraperitoneal space). The pancreas is superior to the peritoneum.

The stomach is involved in mechanical degradation of food, as well as a small amount of chemical degradation. Its function is to break food down so that the nutrients and electrolytes from the food can be absorbed in the small intestine and large intestine. The duodenum, ileum, and jejunum are all parts of the small intestine, where the majority of chemical digestion and nutrient absorption takes place. Absorption of water and certain nutrients occurs in the large intestine.

The liver synthesizes bile, however it is stored in the gall bladder. Bile is released into the duodenum of the small intestine in order to emulsify fats and aid in their digestion.

The spleen functions in to filter blood and identify potential pathogens. The stomach is involved in mechanical digestion and secretes pepsinogen to initiate protein digestion.

The pancreas functions to secrete the digestive enzymes amylase, lipase, and trypsin, which break down carbohyrdates, lipids, and proteins, respectively. The endocrine role of the pancreas is to secrete the hormones insulin and glucagon, which regulate blood glucose levels.

The function of the appendix is not well classified; it is considered a vestigial structure, which may have once aided in the breakdown of cellulose. The cecum is referred to as the "blind pouch" and is the first part of the ascending colon. The liver functions to manufacture and excrete bile, and removes toxins from the blood. The esophagus transports food that enters the mouth to the stomach.

The tongue is the organ for taste. The papillae contain the taste buds. The tongue is attached to the hyoid bone, mandible, styloid process, palate, floor of the mouth, pharynx, and epiglottis.

The tonsils are masses of lymphoid tissue at the base of the tongue. The epiglottis is cartilagenous tissue that separates the esophagus from the larynx and trachea. The roof of the mouth is the palate. The uvula closes off the nasopharynx during swallowing.

The stomach has two openings. The upper is surrounded by the esophageal (cardiac) sphincter, and the lower by the pyloric schincter. These sphincters open and close, allowing food to enter and exit the stomach. The rugae are the folds of mucous membrane on the surface of the stomach.

The esophagus is a tube that transports food from the mouth to the stomach. At the distal end of the esophagus is the esophgeal (cardiac) sphincter. The duodedum is the first part of the small intestine and works to absorb nutrients. The pyloric sphincter opens to empty food into the duodenum. The ileum ends at the ileocecal valve, a sphincter that controls entry into the colon. The colon stores waste products until the anal sphincter opens to allow defecation.

The liver is the largest organ in the body. It is roughly triangular, with a smooth brown surface. The liver receives arterial blood through the hepatic artery, venous blood leaves through the hepatic vein, and a third circulatory system, the portal, receives nutrient-rich blood from the gastro-intestinal tract. The liver works to detoxify substances in this blood.

The gallbladder stores bile, which is formed in the liver. Bile is used to digest fatty foods. The pancreas is wedge-shaped and secretes digestive enzymes and hormones. The parotid gland is located inferior and anterior to the ear. This gland secretes saliva. The adenoids are prominences of lymphoid tissue located in the nasopharynx.

The gallbladder is a sac-like structure that contains bile. Bile is produced by the liver and transported to the gallbladder through the hepatic duct. The gallbladder is located on the posterior of the liver.

The pancreas is wedge-shaped and located located posterior to the stomach. The cecum is a pouch at the beginning of the colon. The appendix is attached to the cecum. The term "bursa" refers to a sac or cavity found in the vicinity of joints. The peritoneum is the membrane lining the abdominal cavity and enclosing the digestive organs.

The esophagus enters the abdomen by piercing the diaphragm at the T10 vertebrae level. The esophagus is a muscular hollow tube that connects the pharynx with the stomach. It runs behind the trachea and heart and is located in front of the spine.

Intraperitoneal organs are moveable because they are completely surrounded by a visceral membrane. This membrane is known as a mesentery. Examples of these organs include the stomach and the liver. The opposite of intraperitoneal organs are retroperitoneal organs. This means that the organs only have peritoneum located on their anterior side. All of the listed answer choices other than stomach and liver are retroperitoneal organs because they are not moveable and only have peritoneum lining the ventral side.

Except for the liver, all of the organs are retroperitoneal since they lie behind or are retro to the visceral peritoneum. The liver is an intraperitoneal organ. Intraperitoneal organs are moveable because they are completely surrounded by a visceral membrane. This membrane is known as a mesentery. The opposite of intraperitoneal organs are retroperitoneal organs, meaning they only have peritoneum located on the anterior side of the organ and cannot move.

The epiploic foramen is not a part of the stomach. Rather, it is the opening of the lesser omentum, which leads to the lesser sac. The fundus is the first part of the stomach that stores food after it leaves the esophagus. The greater curvature is the boundary of the stomach that forms a long convex curve from the opening for the esophagus to the opening into the duodenum.

The small intestine is divided into 3 parts, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The duodenum is the first part, and thus receives bile from the liver and gallbladder and digestive enzymes from the pancreas. The jejunum is the location of the small intestine where most of the digestion and absorption occurs.

The falciform ligament divides the liver into a right and left lobe. The round ligament is the inferior part of falciform ligament that is thick and round. The coronary ligament, caudate lobe, and quadrate lobe are all found on the posterior side of the liver, while the falciform ligament is found on the anterior side.

There is no superior lobe of the liver. There are four lobes and they are named as follows: quadrate, caudate, left, and right.

Calyces are horn-shaped tubes that carry urine to the renal pelvis. The medulla is the inner part of the kidney that determines how concentrated urine is; the loop of Henle dips deep into the medulla to use the high osmolarity to drive the concentration of fluid in the renal tubule. The ureter is the muscular tube that connects the kidneys to the bladder. The cortex is where the blood is filtered in the glomerular capillaries.

The epithelia of the small and large intestine form glands called crypts located between villi. The crypts are a collection of cells including columnar secreting cells, goblet cells and stem cells. Stem cells are cells that are capable of self-renewal. They are not located in the muscular layer of the intestine or in any layer of the stomach or esophagus.

The layers of the intestinal wall from the outermost to the inner most are: the adventitia, the muscularis propria, the submucosa and the mucosa. The mucosa contains mostly epithelium, but also connective tissue known as the lamina propria. The adventitia contains connective tissue, blood vessels and nerves that nourish and innervate the other layers of the wall.