For the sake of patient safety considerations, puncture position could be confirmed endoscopically by transillumination and clear visualization of the indentation prior to puncture needle insertion. The relation of stomach anatomy to the other abdominal organs is of clinical significance to endoscopists, particularly with the advent of PEG. The stomach is commonly described as a “J-shaped” object that sits

in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. The stomach connects the selleck chemicals llc esophagus at the lower esophageal sphincter, which is fixed in the retroperitoneum region. The duodenum is fixed in position by suspension ligaments, including hepatoduodenal ligament and ligament of Treitz. The stomach is suspended from the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity. The stomach volume normally ranges from 1.5 to 2 L in adulthood. After overnight fasting, shortly before PEG, the stomach was insufflated with 500–1000 mL of air administered through a nasogastric tube or endoscope to obtain selleck chemical adequate distention of the stomach. The PEG feeding tubes were routinely placed through the abdominal wall to the anterior surface of the stomach. The anterior surface of stomach contacts with adjacent organs varies greatly, depending on the gastric sizes, shapes, and patient’s position. When the stomach is empty, the transverse colon may lie on the front part of stomach. As the stomach

fills, it tends to expand forward and downward in the direction of least resistance. The lowest part of the stomach may reach or be below the region of the umbilicus. Our results showed that the shape, size, and position of the stomach on plain abdominal film should replicate the actual anatomy during PEG.[9] This anatomy shares similar reference of marked puncture points, including: (i) the identical volume

of air insufflated into the stomach, (ii) similar gastric muscular tone of the same patient, (iii) similar supine posture during PEG procedure, and (iv) similar surrounding viscera of the same patient.[9] Using the air insufflation technique may help to guide the site selection prior to the PEG and shorten the PEG procedural time. The traditional location for PEG has been in the left upper quadrant 上海皓元 of the abdomen in the vortex formed by the midline and the left costal margin, regardless of variation in the position of the stomach within the peritoneal cavity.[25] The shape and position can be greatly modified by normal anatomic variation and by extrinsic compression from the surrounding viscera. The actual puncture sites of PEG may be hidden in the thoracic cavity,[9, 11, 13] descend near the umbilicus, or reach the pelvic cavity.[9, 26] The location of the puncture points marked on abdominal films varied greatly. The marked puncture points on the abdominal plain films may lie high under the costal margin (Fig. 3a).