All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Age-related characteristics of the stomach
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
The stomach of a newborn has the shape of a cylinder or a bull's horn, a fish hook. The cardiac part, fundus and pyloric section are poorly expressed, the pylorus is wide. The volume of the stomach is about 50 cm 3; length - 5 cm, width - 3 cm. By the end of the first year of life, the stomach lengthens, and in the period from 7 to 11 years it acquires the shape of an adult. The formation of the cardiac part is completed only by the beginning of the period of second childhood (8 years). At the end of the first year of life, the length of the stomach reaches 9 cm, the width is 7 cm, and the volume increases to 250-300 cm 3. At the age of 2 years, the volume of the stomach is 490-590 cm 3, 3 years - 580-680 cm 3, by 4 years - 750 cm 3. By the end of the period of second childhood (12 years) the volume increases to 1300-1500 cm 3. In children on artificial feeding, the stomach is stretched, especially in the area of the anterior wall. A significant part of the newborn's stomach (cardia, fundus, part of the body) is located in the left hypochondrium and is covered by the left lobe of the liver. The greater curvature is adjacent to the transverse colon. With the reduction of the left lobe of the liver, the stomach approaches the anterior abdominal wall and shifts to the epigastric region.
The inlet of the stomach in a newborn is at the level of the VIII-IX, and the pyloric opening is at the XI-XII thoracic vertebrae. As the child grows and develops, the stomach descends, and at the age of 7, with the body in a vertical position, its inlet is projected between the XI-XII thoracic vertebrae, and the outlet is between the XII thoracic and I lumbar vertebrae. In old age, the stomach descends even more.
The mucous membrane of the stomach in newborns is relatively thick, the folds are high. The gastric fields are 1-5 mm in size, there are about 200,000 gastric pits. By 3 months of life, the number of such pits increases to 700,000, by 2 years - to 1,300,000, by 15 years - 4 million.
The muscular membrane of the newborn's stomach has three layers, the longitudinal layer and oblique fibers of this membrane are poorly developed. The muscular membrane reaches its maximum thickness by 15-20 years.
[