These are axial views of the upper abdomen as seen by Computed Tomography. The numbered lines on the scout view to the far left correspond to the numbered thumbnail images at the bottom. Click on one of these thumbnail images to show a larger numbered version of the image to the near left.

Click on a number or anatomic structure on the image to the left and the text in this frame will advance to the text corresponding to the structure.

(1) Liver. The liver is made up of four different lobes: the right lobe, left lobe, caudate lobe, quadrate.  The right lobe of the liver occupies the right upper quadrant.  The inferior edge of the liver may be palpated just below the right cost margin.  The left lobe is much smaller and has a different blood supply and portal drainage from the right lobe. The organ is the largest in the body. It secretes bile salts and bilirubin into the bile ducts.  It is covered by a thin capsule of Glisson which causes pain when it is stretched by an enlarging liver. The caudate lobe is functionally part of both right and left lobes because it receives its blood supply from both right and left hepatic arteries. The quadrate lobe however, receives its blood supply form the left hepatic artery and is therefore functionally part of the left lobe. Because of it is a very vascular organ, the liver can be a source of massive bleeding in patients who have sustained blunt abdominal trauma, especially to the right upper quadrant.

It is important to understand the complex blood flow through the liver. The blood supply entering the liver comes from the portal vein which itself takes blood from the superior mesenteric, inferior mesenteric, and splenic veins. The other source of blood coming into the liver originates from the common hepatic artery which is one of the three branches of the celiac trunk. The right, left, and middle hepatic veins form the venous drainage. These three vessels form a confluence which drains into the inferior vena cava.

(2) Spleen The spleen is located in the left upper quadrant. Its upper pole is related to the lower ribs. The most inferior part of the spleen extends to L2. The tip of the spleen is usually palpable only when it is enlarged in pathologic conditions such as thallasemia or leukemia. The spleen is held in place by the gastrosplenic and splenorenal ligaments. The tail of the pancreas is also found in in the splenorenal ligament in the hilum of the spleen. Its blood supply is from the splenic artery, which is one of three branches of the celiac trunk. The splenic vein receives the inferior mesenteric vein then merges with the superior mesenteric vein to form the portal vein. The spleen is a highly vascular organ that is residence to cells of the reticuloendothelial system. These cells are involved in producing antibodies and opsonins to foreign invaders. The spleen can be a source of profuse hemorrhage in patients who have sustained blunt abdominal trauma to the left upper quadrant.

(3) Pancreas The pancreas is located in epigastrum. It is divided into four parts: head (3+ on images), body, tail (3*), and uncinate process (3-). The head and body lie outside the peritoneum. It has important anatomical relations to the organs that surround it. The head of the pancreas is surrounded by the duodenum as it makes it C-loop around the pancreas. The common bile duct traverses through the head of the pancreas and joins with the pancreatic duct at the ampulla of Vater to empty bile into the second or descending part of the duodenum.  In cases of pancreatic cancer, the head of the pancreas enlarges and presses against the common bile duct thus causing an obstruction in bile flow. This leads to clinical jaundice. Both the pancreatic duct of Santorini and Wirsung drain the exocrine pancreas. The endocrine functions of the pancreas include producing insulin and glucagon. The tail of the pancreas lies in the splenorenal ligament and enters the hilum of the spleen. The blood supply of the pancreas originates from the superior and inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery. These two vessels arise from the gastroduodenal (which comes from the celiac artery) and superior mesenteric artery, respectively.

(4) Gallbladder The gallbladder is an organ that sits in between the right and quadrate lobes of the liver. It sits anterior to the duodenum and transverse colon. It is palpable under the right costal margin only when it enlarges under conditions of inflammation (cholecystitis), gallstones, or cancer. In cholecystitis, a gallstone may erode through the gallbladder wall into the adjacent duodenum causing intestinal obstruction. The gallbladder derives its blood supply from the cystic artery, which is usually a branch of the right hepatic artery.  The variation in origin of the cystic artery may cause problems for surgeons when they remove the gallbladder. There are also variations in the bile ducts which may cause difficulties in surgery.  The function of the gallbladder is to store bile produced by the liver. It contracts to release bile when the enzyme cholecystekinin is secreted by the cells of the duodenum.

(5) Right Adrenal Gland The right adrenal gland lies superior and medial to the kidney. The right adrenal gland is said to be horseshoe-shaped. The adrenal gland is divided into the medulla and the cortex. These two parts have different embryological origins.  The outer cortex secretes mineralcorticoids which control the salt metabolism in the body. The cortex is also home to cells which produce the glucocorticoid called cortisol. The cortex also produces male and female sex hormones. The adrenal medulla is resident to chromaffin cells, which have neural crest origin, and produce epinephrine and norepinephrine.  In a disease called pheochromocytoma, the adrenal medulla cells produce epi/norepi in excessive amounts to cause hypertension and headaches.  The gland derives its blood supply form the superior, middle, and inferior suprarenal arteries.

(6) Left Adrenal Gland See above. The left adrenal is located higher than the right adrenal gland.

(7) Inferior Vena Cava The inferior vena cava is a large vein that returns blood from the blood in the lower part of the body.  It is a reservoir for the common iliac, lumbar, right gonadal, renal, right adrenal, and hepatic veins.  It and the superior vena cava empty into the right atrium. The inferior vena cava assumes a retroperitoneal position to the right of the aorta as it ascends from the abdomen into the thorax. The IVC traverses its own foramen in the diaphragm to enter the thorax.  The foramen is located at at T-8. A Greenfield filter is placed in the IVC in people who have persistent clots that travel up the IVC into the right heart and into the lung causing pulmonary embolism. 

(8) Aorta The abdominal aorta travels in the abdomen anterior to the vertebrae. It is retroperitoneal. It traverses through the diaphragm at a foramen located at T-12. The aorta maintains a relation to the left of the inferior vena cava. The aorta then bifurcates into the common iliac vessels near the level of the umbilicus. Aneurysms can form in the abominal aorta below the origin of the renal vessels.  This is a life threatening cause of backpain and pulsatile abdominal mass in the elderly.

(9) Portal Vein The portal vein is formed by the confluence of the inferior mesenteric, superior mesenteric, and splenic veins. It is ensheathed along with the common hepatic artery and common bile duct in the hepaticoduodenal ligament and form the portal triad entering through the portal hepatis. The portal veins brings nutrients absorbed from the intestines into the liver where the cells process the nutrients.  The portal vein is located anterior to the inferior vena cava. The portal vein is a site of thrombosis in patients at high risk for clotting.

(10) Superior Mesenteric Artery This artery is the second branch of the abdominal aorta (the first is the celiac trunk).  The vessel travels through the pancreas in between the head and the uncinate process. The artery is located to the left of the superior mesenteric vein.  As was discussed in embryology, the vessel provides blood to the mid-gut. This includes the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.

(10*) Superior Mesenteric Vein The superior mesenteric vein drains the blood coming from the small intestine and empties it into the portal vein. The SMV joins with the splenic vein and inferior mesenteric vein to form the portal vein. This vein also travels through the pancreas between the head and uncinate process to the right of the superior mesenteric artery.

(11) Ascending Colon This is the first part of the colon and it lies on the right side of the abdomen. Only the transverse and part of the ascending colon are considered to be intra-peritoneal organs. The colon has fat filled tags called appendices epiploicae on its its surface.  On X-ray, the colon is identified by the sacculations called haustra scattered all along the colon.  These two features separate the large from the small intestine. Both the small intestine and ascending colon derive their blood supply from the superior mesenteric artery and are therefore classified as midgut organs. The first part of the ascending colon is the cecum which sits at the junction of the colon and ileum of small intestine. The cecum has a valve that prevents back flow of fecal material into the small intestine, but this valve is often incompetent. The cecum also has attached to it the vermiform appendix which is attached to the cecum at its posterior and medial aspect.  There is open communication between the appendix and cecum which if plugged can cause appendicitis. The arterial blood supply to the cecum comes from the ileocecal branch of the superior mesenteric artery. The arterial supply to the ascending colon comes from the ileocolic and the right colic branches of the superior mesenteric artery.

(12) Descending Colon This part of the colon is also retroperitoneal and derives its blood supply from the left colic branch of the inferior mesenteric artery. The descending, part of the transverse, and sigmoid colon make up the embryological hindgut.  The hindgut takes it blood supply form the inferior mesenteric artery. The descending colon is located on the left side of the abdomen and lies along the left paracolic gutter. This part of the colon is connected to the posterior abdominal wall from the splenic flexure to the pelvis. Its function is in storing stool and absorbing water from the stool to form solid feces.

(13) Transverse Colon This part of the colon is intraperitoneal because it is suspended by the part of the mesentery called the transverse mesocolon. It begins at the hepatic flexure and ends at the splenic flexure. The hepatic flexure is where the ascending turns into the transverse colon. The splenic flexure is where the transverse turns into the descending colon. The transverse colon is the longest part of the colon. It may dip down to the pelvis. The blood supply to this part of the colon comes from the middle colic artery, a branch of the superior mesenteric artery.

(14) Stomach The stomach is made up of the cardia, fundus, body, antrum and pylorus  The cardia is the intersection of the stomach and esophagus. The fundus is the most superior part of the stomach. On X-ray, air is usually seen in the fundus, allowing the identification of the stomach by finding this gastric "bubble". Both the stomach and the esophagus are considered to be foregut organs. The stomach lies in the left hypogastric and epigastric regions. When it is full of food, the stomach may extend down as far as into the pelvis.The blood supply comes from the left gastric, splenic, as well as common hepatic arteries, all branches of the celiac plexus. The blood supply is rich with anastamoses so that ligation of a single blood supply to the stomach usually does not result in ischemia. The parietal cells that reside in the fundus of the stomach secrete a substance known as gastric intrinsic factor which is important in the absorption of vitamin B12. Gastric ulcers usually occur in the lesser curvature of the stomach and require biopsy to rule out cancer if the ulcer does not heal after 6 weeks of conventional treatment. The fundus of the stomach can herniate into the thorax. The paraesophageal type hernia can cause intense pain. The appearance on X-ray is the presence of the stomach bubble lying in the thorax. This condition usually requires surgical repair.

(15) Distal Stomach As described above. The distal stomach consists of both the pylorus, antrum, and part of the body. The antrum forms the beginning of the distal stomach. The pylorus is the 3 cm canal of the stomach that leads to the duodenum. The pylorus can become hypertrophied in a condition called congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. This condition can present in babies between 4 to 12 weeks old as non-bilious projectile vomiting. 

(16) Right Kidney The right kidney is a retroperitoneal organ that is located in the posterior abdomen. The right kidney is situated 2-8 cm lower than its left counterpart because of the large liver which sits superior to it. It is related to the 12th rib posteriorly and to the liver, duodenum, and hepatic flexure of the colon anteriorly. The kidney is surrounded by a distinct layer of fascia (called Gerota's renal fascia) that separates the fat surrounding the kidney into the perinephric and paranephric fat. The kidney is surrounded by a fibrous capsule that is easily removed from the kidney. This capsule protects the body from the spread of infection occurring within the kidney.

The structure of the kidney is complex. Each of the pyramids in the medulla come together to form the papilla. There are 9-14 pyramids in the medulla. The pyramid is home to the Henle's loops and collecting ducts. Each of the papillae come together to form the minor calyx which join to form 4-6 major calyces. The calyces form the renal pelvis which drains into the ureter. The kidney gets its blood supply from the renal artery, a branch of the abdominal aorta. The right renal artery travels posterior to the IVC to reach the right kidney. The renal artery enters the capsule then divides into segmental branches which divide into the interlobar branches into arcuate branches into interlobular branches to afferent glomerular arterioles. The function of the kidney is to regulate the electrolyte and water balance in the body.

(17) Left Kidney As described above. The left kidney is higher than the right kidney. The left renal vein is long and has to cross the aorta anteriorly to reach the left kidney. The left kidney rises to as high as the 11th thoracic rib posteriorly. The kidney has relations with the pancreas, splenic flexure, spleen anteriorly.

(18) Inferior Mesenteric Artery (Not visualized on the provided images of the upper abdomen) The inferior mesenteric artery provides blood supply to the embryological hindgut organs including the distal transverse colon, descending colon and sigmoid colon. It is the third branch of the abdominal aorta after the celiac and superior mesenteric branches. This vessels branches into the left colic, rectosigmoid, sigmoid, and superior rectal arteries.  The ascending branches of the left colic artery forms anastomosis with the middle colic artery (a branch of the superior mesenteric artery) to form the marginal artery of Drummond.

(19) Duodenum, 2nd part The duodenum is the first part of the small intestine. It is also the shortest part. It is divided into four parts.  The first part is encased in the hepatoduodenal ligament. The second part, or descending part, sits behind the transverse colon and anterior to the right kidney and inferior to the liver. It is a retroperitoneal structure. The second part also contains the ampulla into which the pancreatic duct and common bile duct drain. The first, second, third parts of the duodenum form a C-loop around the head of the pancreas. The blood supply to the duodenum comes from the superior pancreaticoduodenal arteries, branches of the celiac artery, and the inferior pancreaticoduodenal arteries, which are branches of the superior mesenteric arteries.

(19*) Duodenum, 3rd part The third part of the duodenum is the transverse part that is about 2 inches in length. It connects to the fourth and last part of the duodenum, which is held in place by the ligament of Treitz. This ligament connects the duodenum to the right crus of the diaphragm.

(20) Left Renal Vein The left renal vein courses between the aorta and superior mesenteric artery to join the inferior vena cava. The left gonadal vein will drain into to left renal vein. The right gonadal vein drains directly into the inferior venal cava.

(20*) Left Renal Artery The left renal vein originates from the abdominal aorta at about L1 or L2, below the origin of the superior mesenteric artery.

(21) Rt. Renal Vein
The right renal vein is anterior to the right renal artery. It is shorter than the left vein.

(21*) Rt. Renal Artery
As with the left renal artery, the right renal artery originates from the aorta at about L1 or L2. This vessels passes posterior to the IVC.

(22) Small Intestine
The small intestine is the longest part of the gastrointestinal tract, usually measuring 6-7 meters. It forms the embryological midgut and is supplied by the superior mesenteric artery. It is divided into duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. On abdominal x-ray, the small bowel is located in the center of the abdomen whereas the colon is located at the superior and lateral edge of the abdomen. The small intestine is identified by valvulae circulares or circular folds of mucosa on barium x-ray study. It is sometimes referred to as the small bowel.  On this cross sectional image, the small bowel is identified by white coloration due to filling of the barium contrast agent. The organ is responsible for the digestion and absorption of nutrients such as protein and carbohydrates. The terminal ileum is responsible for the absorption of vitamin B12, fatty acids, bile salts. Most digestion of food occurs in the small instestine. In small bowel obstruction caused by either hernias or adhesions, the abdominal x-ray shows multiple dilated loops of small intestine with air-fluid levels as the patient is asked to sit upright.

(+) Splenic Artery
This artery is one of three branches of the celiac trunk. It is also the largest branch of the celiac trunk due to the high amount of blood flow to the speen. It travels posterior to the fundus of the stomach and gives a branch called the left gastro-omental artery before entering the hilum of the spleen. The splenic artery divides into five or more branches in the splenorenal ligament before entering the hilum of the spleen. The left gastro-omental artery supplies blood to the greater curvature of the stomach. This artery can be a site of aneurysm formation. This aneurysm may be identified by egg-shell calcifications on the abdominal x-ray. Pregnancy is a predisposition to the formation of splenic artery aneurysm.

(x) Common Hepatic Artery
This artery is also a branch of the celiac trunk and it supplies the liver as well as the stomach and duodenum. It gives a gastroduodenal branch which supplies the duodenum with blood. This branch also wraps around the greater curvature of the stomach, supplying it with blood, and anastomoses with the left gastro-omental artery, which is a branch of the splenic artery.  Another branch of the common hepatic artery is the proper hepatic artery, which supplies blood to the liver. One branch of the proper hepatic artery is the right gastric artery. This vessel supplies blood to the lesser curvature of the stomach and forms an anastomosis with the left gastric artery, which is a branch of the celiac trunk.

(#) Celiac Trunk Soon after entering the abdomen, the celiac trunk originates from the anterior aspect of the aorta. It has three major branches: the common hepatic artery, the splenic artery and the left gastrtic artery.

(*) Splenic Vein
The splenic vein is formed by several veins that drain the spleen at the hilum.  It travels posterior to the body and tail of the pancreas. It joins the inferior mesenteric vein and then merges with superior mesenteric vein to form the portal vein. Splenic vein thrombosis is a disease where there is occlusion of the splenic vein by a thrombus. The result of splenic vein thrombosis is portal hypertension and formation of gastric varices. The most common cause of splenic vein thrombosis is pancreatitis.

References

Atlas of Human Anatomy
by Frank Netter, M.D.
1989 edition.  Ciba Pharmaceuticals Division
 
Clinically Oriented Anatomy
by Keith L. Moore
Third edition
Williams and Wilkins, 1992. 
 
National Medical Series for Independent Study
2nd edition.  Anatomy
by Ernest April
1990 Harwal Publishing Company