Anatomy of the alimentary system

The material is arranged into 12 chapters. The first two chapters deal with the structures of the oral cavity, including the teeth, salivary glands and tongue. Subsequent chapters focus in turn on the different parts of the alimentary canal from the pharynx to the rectum. Separate chapters focus on accessory organs such as the liver, gallbladder and pancreas, and finally on the peritoneum. The last chapter contains a set of review questions that, allow you to check your knowledge.

The individual organs are described in terms of their location, external description, their relationship to neighbouring structures and their vascular supply, lymphatic drainage and innervation are also described in detail. A partial description of the internal structures is also given, but more in terms of macroscopic anatomy.

For better understanding and imagination, the text section is supplemented with schematic figures, photographs of formalin-fixed cadaveric specimens and summary tables. Although the textbook contains many illustrations, it is necessary to combine study with the use of anatomical atlases.

Photographs of formalin-fixed specimens were obtained during dissection exercises in the Department of Anatomy, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University Bratislava. Thanks are due to all the teachers of the Department of Anatomy who participated in the dissection exercises and guided the students professionally.

We hope you will find this textbook useful for individual study and review of anatomy.