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1.6: Abdominopelvic Regions and Abdominopelvic Quadrants

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    Abdominopelvic Regions and Abdominopelvic Quadrants

    The abdominopelvic region can divided into four abdominopelvic quadrants or nine abdominopelvic regions. These are very important in clinical practice.

    Four abdominopelvic quadrants:

    • right-upper quadrant (RUQ)
    • left-upper quadrant (LUQ)
    • right-lower quadrant (RLQ)
    • left-lower quadrant

    Nine abdominopelvic regions:

    • right hypochondriac
    • epigastric
    • left hypochondriac
    • right lumbar
    • umbilical
    • left lumbar
    • right iliac
    • hypogastric
    • left iliac

    This illustration has two parts. Part A shows the abdominopelvic regions. These regions divide the abdomen into nine squares. The upper right square is the right hypochondriac region and contains the base of the right ribs. The upper left square is the left hypochondriac region and contains the base of the left ribs. The epigastric region is the upper central square and contains the bottom edge of the liver as well as the upper areas of the stomach. The diaphragm curves like an upside down U over these three regions. The central right region is called the right lumbar region and contains the ascending colon and the right edge of the small intestines. The central square contains the transverse colon and the upper regions of the small intestines. The left lumbar region contains the left edge of the transverse colon and the left edge of the small intestine. The lower right square is the right iliac region and contains the right pelvic bones and the ascending colon. The lower left square is the left iliac region and contains the left pelvic bone and the lower left regions of the small intestine. The lower central square contains the bottom of the pubic bones, upper regions of the bladder and the lower region of the small intestine. Part B shows four abdominopelvic quadrants. The right upper quadrant (RUQ) includes the lower right ribs, right side of the liver, and right side of the transverse colon. The left upper quadrant (LUQ) includes the lower left ribs, stomach, and upper left area of the transverse colon. The right lower quadrant (RLQ) includes the right half of the small intestines, ascending colon, right pelvic bone and upper right area of the bladder. The left lower quadrant (LLQ) contains the left half of the small intestine and left pelvic bone.

    This page titled 1.6: Abdominopelvic Regions and Abdominopelvic Quadrants is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Rosanna Hartline.