From Greek pylorus; pyl- = gate, -orus = guard. The inferior part of the stomach.
The pylorus is the region of the stomach that connects to the duodenum. It is divided in two parts: the pyloric antrum, which connects to the body of the stomach, and the pyloric canal, which connects to the duodenum. The pyloric sphincter, or valve, is a strong ring of smooth muscle at the end of the pyloric canal and lets food pass from the stomach to the duodenum.
One medical condition associated with the pylorus is pyloric stenosis.
In such conditions as stomach cancer, when tumours may partly block the pyloric canal, a special tube can be implanted surgically to connect the stomach to the duodenum to assist food to pass from one to the other. This tube is called a "pyloric stent".
Ruch and Patton (l973) state that the pyloricsphincter is a true anatomic sphincter, formed by a distinct thickening of the circular fibres of the muscularis externa.
The pyloricsphincter is located at the entrance to the small intestine from the stomach.
Using retroviral misexpression technique, we show that Sox9 expression in the pyloricsphincter is under the control of the BMP signaling pathway, known to play a key role in the development of this structure.
Once the initial stomach digestive process is complete, the partially digested food exits the stomach through the pyloricsphincter area and then enters the duodenum (small intestine).
The pyloricsphincter constricts and dilates to regulate the flow of food from the stomach into the small intestine.
Occasionally, for unknown reasons, the pyloricsphincter constricts or spasms, causing an abnormal narrowing (stenosis) of the entrance into the small intestine.
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