Digestive system anatomy in 3D

Parts of the digestive system

Food passes from the mouth through the pharynx and oesophagus into the stomach, then through the C-shaped duodenum, the jejunum and the ileum. At the ileocaecal junction it enters the large intestine: caecum with the appendix, ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid colon, rectum and anal canal.

The liver lies under the right dome of the diaphragm and divides into eight functional segments, each with its own branches of the portal vein, hepatic artery and bile duct. Bile drains through the hepatic ducts and is stored in the gallbladder; the pancreas sits behind the stomach with its head in the curve of the duodenum.

What the 3D model shows

The model has 106 digestive parts: the tongue and the submandibular and sublingual glands; the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum; the jejunum and ileum in proximal, middle and distal parts with their mesentery; the ileocaecal junction, appendix and mesoappendix; the ascending, transverse and descending colon with the taeniae and transverse mesocolon; and the rectum. The liver is divided into its segments with the caudate lobe, intrahepatic bile tributaries, hepatic, common hepatic and cystic ducts, and gallbladder; the pancreas shows its parenchyma and duct tree.

How to study the digestive system

Begin with the system inside the see-through skeleton in the anterior view to place each organ in its abdominal region. Switch to the isolated view and turn to the posterior view to see the duodenum curve around the pancreas. Use the explode slider to separate the liver segments and number them. Trace bile from the intrahepatic tributaries through the hepatic ducts to the gallbladder, then trace food from the oesophagus to the rectum. Close the model and repeat both routes from memory.