The stomach has four major regions: the cardia, fundus, body, and pylorus.
1. Cardia (Cardiac Region)
The cardia is the uppermost part of the stomach. It's located where the esophagus connects to the stomach. Think of it as the entry point for food. [Source: Lumen Learning, Cleveland Clinic, Canadian Cancer Society]
2. Fundus
The fundus is the rounded, dome-shaped portion of the stomach superior and to the left of the cardia. It's the area that expands as you eat a large meal. [Source: Lumen Learning, Cleveland Clinic, Canadian Cancer Society]
3. Body (Corpus)
The body, or corpus, is the largest part of the stomach. It's the main area where digestion occurs. [Source: Lumen Learning, Cleveland Clinic]
4. Pylorus
The pylorus is the lower, funnel-shaped part of the stomach. It connects to the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine) via the pyloric sphincter, a muscular valve that controls the passage of partially digested food (chyme) into the small intestine. [Source: Lumen Learning]
These four regions work together to receive, store, mix, and partially digest food before passing it along to the intestines. While the stomach wall has several layers (mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa, and serosa) as described in other sources, the question focuses specifically on the four major regions. [Source: NCBI Bookshelf]
