ABSTRACT
A1 D The stomach develops from the foregut and is recognisable by the fifth week of gestation. During the fifth week of gestation the dorsal wall of the stomach grows rapidly compared with the ventral wall, giving rise to the greater curvature of the stomach. During the seventh and eighth weeks of gestation the stomach rotates 90 degrees (craniocaudal) and the greater curvature lies to the left. The blood supply of the gastrointestinal tract (foregut, midgut, hindgut) is based on the coeliac trunk, the superior mesenteric and the inferior mesenteric artery, respectively. The stomach is supplied by the right and left gastric arteries along the lesser curvature, the right and left gastroepiploic arteries along the greater curvature, and the short gastric vessels from the spleen. There is also a contribution from posterior gastric artery (branch of splenic artery), as well as the phrenic arteries. The transpyloric plane lies at the level of L1 vertebra and the gastro-oesophageal junction typically lies at T10.
