Abdominal Regions and Quadrants

To precisely communicate the location of organs and pain, anatomists divide the large abdominopelvic cavity into either four quadrants  or nine regions.

In the first approach, the median and transverse planes intersect at the umbilicus and form four quadrants, namely, the right upper quadrant, left upper quadrant, right lower quadrant, and left lower quadrant.  

For example, most of the stomach is located in the left upper quadrant or LUQ.

Alternatively, the abdominopelvic regions can be divided into a grid of nine sub-regions using two parasagittal and two transverse planes.

The umbilical region is located between the epigastric and hypogastric or pubic regions.

Lateral to the umbilical, the right and left lumbar regions hold the ascending and descending colon, respectively.

The liver occupies the right hypochondriac and epigastric regions, and the spleen occupies the left hypochondriac region.

Likewise, the right and left inguinal or iliac regions are lateral to the hypogastric region.