Four Quadrants and Nine Regions of Abdomen

Why the abdomen is divided by an imaginary line of quadrants?

In short, there are four quadrants and nine abdominal regions which provide the point of reference while studying human anatomy.

The abdomen is one the most complex area of the body and as a basic human nature its complexity most brought into a normal understanding and therefore it becomes an official norm to divide the abdomen using a line of quadrants to easily and more efficiently separate the area of abdomen based on their organ location in no time, and therefore it is most appreciated term of use in anatomy.

Following are the benefits of Abdominal Quadrants:

1. The abdomen is accommodated by a wide range of organs therefore quadrants help to narrow by specific region with a specific organ.

2. Helps to locate the organs and area affected based on the quadrant region during an emergency and diagnosis.

3. It acts as a site of reference for the medical professional in a hospital or during the first aid response to focus on a specific site and its solution.

What is the rule of 4 quadrants?

Following are some basic rules of quadrants:

1. The navel or belly button always acts as a point of reference from where two lines cross each other.

2. Right quadrants or Left quadrants of the abdomen are termed as such in reference to the patient’s perceptive of location and the same goes in the case of the heart as well (right and left atrium or ventricles).

What are the four quadrants of the abdomen?

Following are the four quadrants of the abdomen:

Right Upper Quadrant (RUQ)

1. Part of the liver

2. Gallbladder

3. Right kidney

4. Part of the stomach

5. Part of the large bowel (colon)

Left Upper Quadrant (LUQ)

1. Most of the stomach

2. Spleen

3. Part of the liver

4. Left kidney

5. The main part of the pancreas

6. Small & large bowel

Right Lower Quadrant (RLQ)

1. Appendix

2. Right ovary

3. Part of the large bowel

Left Lower Quadrant (LLQ)

1. Left ovary

2. Part of the large bowel

3. Left ureter

What are the nine regions of quadrants?

Biology is a Universe in a nutshell and complicated enough to take you off the track from diagnosis easily. Therefore, to be more precise about the location and complications it is further sub-branched individually into nine regions of quadrants.

Though it looks complicated it can be memorized with various learning tactics one of which is mnemonics. Out of nine regions of quadrants, three of them have a common name and are only separated by either right or left column therefore, the right and left Hypochondriac region, right and left lumbar region, right and left iliac region.

Following the middle region, there lies the Epigastric Region, Umbilical Region, Hypogastric Region.

And therefore a simple mnemonics can be formulated to remember the nine regions of quadrants. Here’s our mnemonics to help you remember:

Hector Loves Injections Even Uncle Hank. It stands for HLI EUH

Hypochondriac Region : H for Hector     

Lumbar Region : L for Loves        

Iliac Region : I for Injections

Epigastric Region : E for Even

Umbilical Region : U for Uncle

Hypogastric Region : H for Hank

Following are the nine regions of quadrants:

Right Hypochondriac

1. Liver

2. Gallbladder

3. Right kidney

4. Parts of the small intestine

Left Hypochondriac

1. Part of the spleen

2. Left kidney

3. Part of the stomach

4. Pancreas

5. Parts of the colon.

Epigastric

1. Majority of the stomach

2. Part of the liver

3. Part of the pancreas

4. Part of the duodenum

5. Part of the spleen

6. Adrenal glands

Right Lumbar

1. Gallbladder

2. Left kidney

3. Part of the liver

4. Ascending colon.

Left Lumbar

1. Descending colon

2. Left kidney

3. Part of the spleen.

Umbilical

1. Umbilicus (navel)

2. Parts of the small intestine

3. Duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum.

4. Transverse colon

5. Bottom portions of both the left and right kidney.

Right Iliac

1. Appendix

2. Cecum

3. Right iliac fossa

Left Iliac

1. Part of the descending colon

2. sigmoid colon

3. left iliac fossa (commonly known as left inguinal region)

Hypogastric

1. Bladder

2. Part of the sigmoid colon

3. Anus

4. Uterus and ovaries

5. Prostate