4 Abdominal Quadrants | Digestive System | Abdominal Radiology
4 Abdominal Quadrants | Digestive System | Abdominal Radiology
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this lab, students will:
- Identify the vasculature of the digestive system and accessory organs including the great vessels and associated branches.
- Identify the structures of the alimentary canal (digestive tract) and the accessory organs of the digestive system.
- Identify the ducts carrying bile from the liver and gallbladder to the duodenum.
- Identify the quadrants of the abdomen and list the organs found in each quadrant.
- Identify structures of the abdominal cavity using various imaging modalities.
Terms to Know
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Vasculature
Digestive Tract
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Accessory Digestive Organs
Abdominal Quadrants
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Introduction
In this lab, you will explore the organs of the digestive system located in the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis. This includes both the organs of the alimentary canal or digestive tract, as well as the accessory digestive organs. Though the spleen is not part of the digestive tract, we will discuss it in this lab due to its location in the abdomen. You will also organize the organs into their abdominal quadrants.
Lab Activities
Activity 1: Abdominal Quadrants Exercise
How do you evaluate the location of internal organs when you can’t see them? It is of critical importance for clinicians in a variety of health science fields to navigate the location of these organs when looking at the abdomen. Where to palpate (feel with your hands), what type of pain is produced, and does pain move or extend into other quadrants are all key questions a clinician may want to know. Fortunately, the umbilicus (aka your belly button) sits right in the center and allows us to create a grid or quadrant. We orient by designating the quadrants by anatomical location (not the way YOU look at them, but how they sit with respect to the patient’s right & left sides): Upper Right Quadrant (URQ), Upper Left Quadrant (ULQ), Lower Left Quadrant (LLQ), and Lower Right Quadrant (LRQ). The umbilicus (belly button) represents where each line crosses.
Activity 2: Digestive System Organs
Watch the videos on Canvas that explore the organs of the digestive system as well as the spleen. There are several videos, with some showing the cadaveric tissue and others using the digital atlas. Be sure to watch all of the videos, as some structures are not visible using one modality or another (tissue vs. atlas). Observe the structures of the digestive system in the images provided in the Abrahams‘ and Netter’s atlases as well.
- Observe the spleen. This structure is part of the lymphatic system, not the digestive system, but we will examine it today due to its location in the superior abdomen, surrounded by digestive organs. This organ recycles old blood cells, kills bacteria and other foreign particles, and plays an important role in the immune system.
- Observe the sections of the liver. The liver is involved in many functions, including bile production; detoxification of drugs, metabolites