{"id":1605,"date":"2020-08-14T11:12:14","date_gmt":"2020-08-14T11:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/abdomen-and-pelvis\/structures-and-regions\/"},"modified":"2022-08-25T19:01:23","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T17:01:23","slug":"structures-and-regions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/abdomen-and-pelvis\/structures-and-regions\/","title":{"rendered":"Structures and regions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"intro\">We can describe the abdomen and pelvis by dividing them into cavities, or based on the way they are divided into quadrants or regions.<\/div><\/p>\n\n\n<span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_1\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title2\">Cavities<\/h3>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_1\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<strong>abdominopelvic cavity<\/strong>&nbsp;is split into the larger abdominal cavity and the smaller pelvic cavity.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_2\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title3\">Abdominal cavity<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_2\">\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Extends between the thoracic diaphragm superiorly and the pelvic cavity inferiorly (they are continuous, therefore this border is only arbitrary and no physical)<\/li><li>Houses the majority of the GIT, spleen, and kidneys<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_3\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title3\">Pelvic cavity<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_3\">\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Extends between the abdominal cavity superiorly (once again \u2014 they are continuous), and the&nbsp;<strong>pelvic diaphragm<\/strong>&nbsp;(discussed in the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/course\/anatomy-abdomen-and-pelvis\/lessons\/perineum\/\">Perineum<\/a>&nbsp;lesson)<\/li><li>Houses part of the GIT and the urogenital system (excluding the kidneys)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"attachment_20395\"><a href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/body-cavities.png\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Structures and regions\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/body-cavities-600x347.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20395\"\/><\/a><figcaption><strong>Body cavities<\/strong>&nbsp;(Credit: OpenStax,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_4\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title2\">Divisions<\/h3>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_4\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We can divide the abdomen and pelvis into quadrants or into 9 regions.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_5\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title3\">Abdominopelvic quadrants<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_5\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The quadrants are divided based on the&nbsp;<strong>median plane&nbsp;<\/strong>and the&nbsp;<strong>transumbilical plane<\/strong> (a transverse plane passing at the level of the umbilicus).<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_6\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title3\">Abdominopelvic regions<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_6\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The nine regions are formed based on the&nbsp;<strong>midclavicular lines<\/strong>&nbsp;of each side, the&nbsp;<strong>transpyloric<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>transtubercular planes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The midclavicular line passing right in the middle of the clavicle<\/li><li>The transpyloric plane is a transverse plane passing at the level of the L1 vertebra, where the pylorus is usually located<\/li><li>The transtubercular plane is a transverse plane passing through the two iliac tubercles<\/li><li>The name \u201clumbar\u201d (for example, left lumbar) is also known as \u201cflank\u201d (left flank)<\/li><li>The name \u201ciliac\u201d is also known as \u201cgroin\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"attachment_20390\"><a href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/planes.png\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Structures and regions\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/planes-600x295.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20390\"\/><\/a><figcaption><strong>Planes and lines of the abdomen and pelvis<\/strong>&nbsp;(Credit: OpenStax,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"attachment_20380\"><a href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/abdomen-divisions.png\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Structures and regions\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/abdomen-divisions-600x310.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20380\"\/><\/a><figcaption><strong>Regions and quadrants of the abdomen and pelvis<\/strong>&nbsp;(Credit: OpenStax,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_7\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Contents<\/h2>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_7\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The organs located within each of the regions and quadrants are listed here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table tableborders\" style=\"font-size:11px\"><table class=\"pure-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Right upper quadrant (RUQ)<\/strong><br>Right lobe of the liver and gallbladder<br>Pylorus of the stomach<br>Duodenum<br>Head and neck of the pancreas<br>Right kidney and adrenal gland<br>Distal ascending colon and hepatic flexure<br>Proximal transverse colon<\/td><td><strong>Left upper quadrant (LUQ)<\/strong><br>Left lobe of the liver<br>Spleen<br>Most of the stomach<br>Jejunum<br>Proximal ileum<br>Body and the tail of the pancreas<br>Left kidney and the left suprarenal gland<br>Distal transverse colon<br>Proximal descending colon and splenic flexure<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Right lower quadrant (RLQ)<\/strong><br>Cecum and appendix<br>Ileum<br>Proximal ascending colon<br>Right ureter<br>Right ovary, fallopian tube, and part of the uterus (women)<br>Right ductus deferens, seminal vesicle, and part of the prostate (men)<br>Part of the urinary bladder<\/td><td><strong>Left lower quadrant (LLQ)<\/strong><br>Distal descending colon<br>Sigmoid colon<br>Left ureter<br>Left ovary, fallopian tube, and part of the uterus (women)<br>Left ductus deferens, seminal vesicle, and part of the prostate (men)<br>Part of the urinary bladder<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption><strong>Table 1.<\/strong> Contents by quadrants<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table tableborders\" style=\"font-size:11px\"><table class=\"pure-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Right hypochondriac region<\/strong><br>Part of the liver<\/td><td><strong>Epigastric region<\/strong><br>Majority of the liver and gallbladder<br>Part of the stomach<br>Duodenum<br>Pancreas<\/td><td><strong>Left hypochondriac region<\/strong><br>Small part of the liver<br>Spleen<br><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Right lumbar region<\/strong><br>Small part of the liver<br>Right kidney and suprarenal gland<br>Hepatic flexure<br>Ascending colon<\/td><td><strong>Umbilical region<\/strong><br>The transverse colon<br>Part of the small intestines<\/td><td><strong>Left lumbar region<\/strong><br>Left kidney and suprarenal gland<br>Descending colon<br>Splenic flexure<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Left iliac region<\/strong><br>Sigmoid colon<\/td><td><strong>Hypogastric region<\/strong><br>Majority of the small intestines<br>Ovaries and fallopian tubes and uterus (women)<br>Ductus deferens, seminal vesicles and prostate (men)<br>Urinary bladder<\/td><td><strong>Right iliac region<\/strong><br>The cecum and appendix<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption><strong>Table 2.<\/strong> Contents by regions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/span><div id=\"the_titles\" style=\"display:none;\"><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cavities<\/h3><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Abdominal cavity<\/h4><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pelvic cavity<\/h4><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Divisions<\/h3><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Abdominopelvic quadrants<\/h4><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Abdominopelvic regions<\/h4><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contents<\/h2><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cavities The&nbsp;abdominopelvic cavity&nbsp;is split into the larger abdominal cavity and the smaller pelvic cavity. Abdominal cavity Extends between the thoracic diaphragm superiorly and the pelvic cavity inferiorly (they are continuous, therefore this border is only arbitrary and no physical) Houses the majority of the GIT, spleen, and kidneys Pelvic cavity Extends between the abdominal cavity [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":281,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1605","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Structures and regions &#8211; Meddists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/abdomen-and-pelvis\/structures-and-regions\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/abdomen-and-pelvis\\\/structures-and-regions\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/abdomen-and-pelvis\\\/structures-and-regions\\\/\",\"name\":\"Structures and regions &#8211; 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