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Pylorus



Pylorus
Outline of stomach, showing its anatomical landmarks.
Interior of the stomach. (Pylorus labeled at center left.)
Latin valvula pylori
Gray's subject #247 1164
Dorlands/Elsevier v_02/12844554

The pylorus (from Greek πυλωρος = "gate guard") is the region of the stomach that connects to the duodenum. It is divided in two parts:

  • the pyloric antrum, which connects to the body of the stomach.
  • the pyloric canal, which connects to the duodenum.

The pyloric sphincter, or valve, is a strong ring of smooth muscle at the end of the pyloric canal and lets food pass from the stomach to the duodenum. It receives sympathetic innervation from celiac ganglion.

Medical significance

One medical condition associated with the pylorus is pyloric stenosis. In such conditions as stomach cancer, when tumours may partly block the pyloric canal, a special tube can be implanted surgically to connect the stomach to the duodenum to assist food to pass from one to the other. This tube is called a pyloric stent.

Additional images

References

  • Stedman's/LWW 1557908
 
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Pylorus". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.
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