The three muscle layers in the pyloric sphincter and their possible function during antropyloroduodenal motility

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the muscular arrangement of the human pyloric sphincter using a comprehensive approach that involved microdissection, histology, and microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). The stomachs of 80 embalmed Korean adult cadavers were obtained. In all specimens, loose muscular tissue of the innermost aspect of the sphincter wall ran aborally, forming the newly found inner longitudinal muscle bundles, entered the duodenum, and connected with the nearby circular bundles. In all specimens, approximately one-third of the outer longitudinal layer of the sphincter entered its inner circular layer, divided the circular layer into several parts, and finally connected with the circular bundles. Anatomical findings around the sphincter were confirmed in micro-CT images. The sphincter wall comprised three layers: an inner layer of longitudinal bundles, a middle layer of major circular and minor longitudinal bundles, and an outer layer of longitudinal bundles. The stomach outer longitudinal bundles were connected to the sphincter circular bundles. The inner longitudinal bundles of the sphincter were connected to the adjacent circular bundles of the duodenum.