Where is the stomach?

The stomach is located in the abdomen of our human body. There are many organs in the abdomen, and different organs have different functions on our body, and their specific locations are also different. Among them is the epigastric area, which is a tissue located in our stomach. There may still be many people who don’t know its specific location. So where is the epigastric area?

The stomach cavity includes the entire stomach body. The cardia at the upper opening of the stomach is called Shangwan, the pylorus at the lower opening of the stomach is called Xiawan, and the stomach body between the upper and lower openings is called Zhongwan. Weiwan is a term in traditional Chinese medicine. The ancients believed that the stomach is located under the heart, and the area under the xiphoid process is the epigastric area. The pain occurring in this area is called subcardiac pain, chest pain, epigastric pain, and also called heart pain. Many doctors in later generations realized that the anatomical locations of the stomach and the heart are completely different, so they distinguished stomach pain from heart pain.

Common causes of epigastric pain include cold evil invading the stomach , diet damaging the stomach, liver qi invading the stomach, and spleen and stomach weakness. The stomach is responsible for receiving and digesting food and drink. If evil cold invades the stomach, the cold will not dissipate, blocking the qi flow, which can cause stomach disharmony and pain. Or due to improper diet, excessive hunger and fullness, or overeating of fatty and sweet foods, food stagnation and indigestion, qi flow obstruction, stomach disharmony and epigastric pain. The liver has a dredging effect on the spleen and stomach. For example, due to anger and depression, qi stagnation hurts the liver, the liver loses its smooth flow, and it attacks the stomach, which can also cause epigastric pain. If overwork and internal injuries occur, the spleen and stomach are weak due to long-term illness, or the constitution is insufficient, the middle yang is deficient, the stomach loses warmth and nourishment, internal cold grows, and the middle burner is cold and painful. There are also cases where qi stagnation for a long time, blood stasis, qi stagnation and blood stasis, which block the qi flow in the middle burner, causing epigastric pain. In short, the pathogenesis of epigastric pain can be divided into two ends: deficiency and excess. Excess syndrome is caused by blockage of Qi, which causes pain; deficiency syndrome is caused by lack of warmth or nourishment of the stomach, which causes pain.

There are two reasons for epigastric pain: one is caused by worry, anger, liver qi imbalance, and the stomach being attacked. Therefore, the treatment method is mainly to soothe the liver and regulate qi. One is caused by poor spleen function and disharmony of the stomach. It is advisable to use methods such as warming and tonifying the middle to restore the functions of the spleen and stomach.

1. Positive syndrome: The main symptoms are sudden pain in the epigastric region, which is severe and resists pressure. The pain is relieved when hungry and increased after eating.

Sudden onset of epigastric pain, which is relieved by warmth but aggravated by cold, aversion to cold and preference for warmth, no thirst, preference for hot drinks, or aversion to cold, thin white tongue coating, and tight and stringy pulse indicate evil cold invading the stomach; distension and pain in the epigastric region, belching and acid regurgitation, noisy and uncomfortable feeling, pain relieved after vomiting or flatulence, uncomfortable bowel movements, thick and greasy tongue coating, and slippery pulse indicate food stagnation; distension and fullness in the epigastric region, epigastric pain extending to the ribs, frequent belching, acid regurgitation, and difficult bowel movements, which are often triggered by emotional factors, irritability, easy to sigh, thin white tongue coating, and stringy pulse indicate liver qi invading the stomach; epigastric pain that refuses to be pressed, pain in a fixed area, aggravated after eating, or vomiting blood and black stools, dark purple tongue or ecchymosis, and thin and astringent pulse indicate qi stagnation and blood stasis.

2. Deficiency syndrome : The main symptom is dull pain in the epigastric region, which is relieved by pressing on the painful area, which is more severe when the stomach is empty and relieved by eating. Also present with vomiting of clear water, preference for warmth, loose and thin stools, fatigue, or cold hands and feet, pale tongue with thin coating, weak or slow pulse, indicating spleen and stomach deficiency and cold; burning pain in the stomach, feeling hungry but not wanting to eat, dry throat and mouth, dry and hard stools, red tongue with little fluid, and a stringy or fine pulse, indicating insufficient stomach yin.