The stomach is an important part of the human digestive tract and is primarily used to store and break down food before it is passed on to the intestine for digestion.
As part of the digestive chain, the stomach has a major influence on human health and well-being.
It is a hollow organ made of muscle tissue that is involved in the digestion of food. Its main task is to mix the ingested food with the acidic gastric juice, thereby breaking it down. Only then does it pass it on to the small intestine for digestion in small batches. The video shows you how the digestive system works:
The capacity of the human stomach depends on many factors. It is mainly determined by body weight, gender and height. In addition, eating habits also have a major influence on its maximum capacity. However, the average capacity is 1.5 liters.
The stomach is located in the left upper abdomen directly under the diaphragm. It connects the duodenum with the oesophagus and performs numerous other functions for digestion.
The gallbladder and liver are located directly to the right of the stomach. The spleen is located on the opposite side. Finally, the large intestine and small intestine are located below the stomach. The stomach therefore occupies a central position in the human digestive tract.
The gastrointestinal tract © Sebastian Kaulitzki / Fotolia
The stomach is located in the left upper abdomen directly under the diaphragm. It connects the duodenum with the oesophagus and performs numerous other functions for digestion.
The gallbladder and liver are located directly to the right of the stomach. The spleen is located on the opposite side. Finally, the large intestine and small intestine are located below the stomach. The stomach therefore occupies a central position in the human digestive tract.
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The main function of the stomach is to store the food we eat. It gradually passes it on to the intestine to enable controlled digestion. In this way, people can cover their daily nutritional requirements with just a few meals.
The duration of storage depends on several factors. Among other things, the composition and quantity of food have a decisive influence on this. While fruit and vegetables only remain in the stomach for an average of one hour, fatty foods are stored for up to eight hours.
The stomach also prepares the chyme for subsequent digestion. With the help of powerful muscle movements, it mixes the food and finally transports it into the intestine.
In doing so, it also kills numerous pathogens and thus acts as part of the human immune system . It has so-called parietal cells for this purpose. These are located in the stomach wall and produce small amounts of concentrated hydrochloric acid as required. This lowers the pH value in the stomach to two to three so that most bacteria die quickly.
The so-called accessory cells in the stomach wall therefore produce a protective layer of mucus that covers the entire mucous membrane of the stomach.
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In Germany, infections, inflammations and cancers of the stomach occur most frequently. People of all age groups are affected to the same extent. Inflammation of the gastric mucosa is mainly characterized by the fact that stomach acid increasingly attacks the mucous membrane on the inner wall of the stomach. Without medical treatment, so-called ulcers quickly develop. These are malignant ulcers that can lead to severe internal bleeding and, in rare cases, to a gastric rupture.
Most stomach diseases are characterized by the following symptoms:
In addition to inflammation of the stomach lining(gastritis), so-called irritable stomach syndrome also occurs in Germany. This disease does not cause any pathological changes in the stomach, but nevertheless triggers the usual symptoms of a stomach disorder. Many people are also affected by the so-called gastroenteritis. This disease spreads particularly quickly as it is characterized by a long incubation period and, in some cases, a very mild course.
Another disease of the stomach is reflux disease with heartburn as the main symptom. In this case, gastric fluid containing hydrochloric acid enters the oesophagus. The impaired reflux is caused by an esophageal sphincter that no longer closes properly, as the video shows:
Ultimately, there are numerous new cases of stomach cancer every year.
Stomach diseases usually have a variety of causes. In most cases, however, they are triggered by the following factors:
The frequent occurrence of gastritis is basically caused by an acute imbalance between the stomach's acid protection and acid production. Drugs, bacteria or viruses are usually responsible for this. Smoking and alcohol consumption promote the development of the disease.
Chronic illnesses are often triggered by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. It causes deep wounds in the stomach and duodenum and thus contributes to the formation of ulcers.
In most cases, hereditary factors in particular favor the development of stomach cancer. In addition, an unhealthy diet is also responsible for many diseases. Infections with Helicobacter pylori as well as heavy smoking and frequent alcohol consumption promote the development of cancer. Irritable stomach syndrome, on the other hand, has no known causes. As doctors have not yet been able to identify a clear cause, nutritional disorders, stress and food intolerances are considered triggers.
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There are numerous tried-and-tested methods available to doctors for diagnosing these diseases. These are mainly
Almost every doctor starts with a physical examination. He mainly palpates the patient's stomach and listens to the stomach sounds with a stethoscope. The diagnosis is often made on the basis of a pain reaction typical of a particular disease. However, if the examination does not lead to the desired result, a stool examination usually follows in the case of diarrhea symptoms and bloody stools.
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Otherwise, the doctor will initiate a variety of special examinations in order to diagnose the stomach disease conclusively. In addition to X-ray examinations, endoscopy in particular plays a central role. The advantage of this is that the doctor takes tissue samples during the examination, which he later examines in detail.
