The pyloric orifice is the opening by means of which the stomach communicates with the duodenum.
This orifice is guarded by the pyloric valve. When the stomach is empty the pylorus is situated just to the right of the median line of the body on a level with the upper border of the first lumbar vertebra. On the anterior surface of the body its position would be indicated by a point one inch below the tip of the ensiform process and a little to the right.
The size of the stomach varies considerable in different subjects. The distance between the two orifices is from three to six inches. The weight of the stomach is about four and one-half ounces.
The capacity of the adult male stomach is from five to eight pints. The stomach of a new born child holds about one ounce.
The stomach is held in place by the attachment of the esophagus to the diaphragm and the fixation of the duodenum to the front of the vertebral column.
The wall of the stomach consists of four coats: serous, muscular, areolar, and mucous.
The glands of the stomach are of three kinds: gastric, pyloric, and cardiac. These glands furnish the digestive enzymes of the stomach, namely: pepsin, renin, and hydrochloric acid.
Arteries.—The arteries that supply the stomach are the gastric, and branches from the splenic and the hepatic.
It must be remembered that when a body is arterially injected after death, that the fluid only goes to the stomach walls and there ends in the capillary system. No doubt a little of this fluid will soak through into the inside of the stomach, and tend to preserve the contents of the stomach, but it must be added that if the stomach contains a considerable quantity of food and water, that there will not be enough fluid soak through the stomach wall to preserve the contents of the stomach and as a result gases arise which cause distention of the abdomen and perhaps purging from the mouth and nose. As a rule then it is safe to say that when we have purging from the mouth and nose, with a visible distention of the abdominal cavity, indicating gases in the stomach and the intestines that fluid has not reached the contents of the stomach and the fecal matter of the intestines, and therefore it will be necessary to introduce fluid to these parts, in order to preserve the contents, and prevent further formation of gases. The method for doing this will be given under cavity embalming.