ABSTRACT
The gastrointestinal (GI) system is a boundary between the external world and the internal environment of the human body. The stomach plays an important role in the GI system, not only by helping to protect the internal environment from outside pathogens by the bactericidal activity of gastric acid, but also in preparing food for digestion and absorption of nutrients. The stomach functions to act as a reservoir for food by accommodating large quantities of ingested food through receptive relaxation. Through contraction and relaxation of the stomach musculature the stomach mixes and liquefies food with gastric juice, which partially digests food and emulsifies fats. Although simplified here, an intricate and complex relationship between exocrine, endocrine, paracrine, and neurocrine pathways are involved. The aim of this chapter is to summarize these complex interactions as well as to illustrate the physiologic anatomy as it relates to surgical diseases.
