Stomach

(stüm'ak.) [Gr. stomach os-stoma, a mouth; literally, an opening.] (Anat.) A hollow membranous receptacle, situated in the epigastric region, immediately under the diaphragm, and obliquely between the liver and the spleen (Figs. 265 and 449); the superior orifice of which is termed the cardia, and the inferior the pylorus. The use of the S. is for the digestion of food; that is, to receive, contain, di olve, and change what is swallowed; and after a sufficient concoction, to expel it through the pylorus into the intestines. It is also the organ in which the sensation of hunger resides. The stomach is largely supplied with nerves, which come from the eighth pair, and the sympathetic; like the intestines, it has three coats, connected together by cellular membrane. [s. 858]