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Digestive System Anatomy Quiz

Twenty questions on the organs of the abdomen and where food goes. The diagram is a front view, so the patient’s right is on your left. Tap an answer to see if you’re right.

  1. Question 1 of 20

    Name the highlighted organ.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Liver
    2. Spleen
    3. Stomach
    4. Pancreas
    Show answer

    Answer: Liver. The largest solid organ, under the right ribs. It makes bile and clotting factors and clears drugs and toxins.

  2. Question 2 of 20

    Name the highlighted organ.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Liver
    2. Stomach
    3. Transverse colon
    4. Spleen
    Show answer

    Answer: Stomach. A muscular bag in the left upper abdomen. Acid and enzymes start breaking down protein.

  3. Question 3 of 20

    Name the highlighted organ.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Pancreas
    2. Duodenum
    3. Gallbladder
    4. Appendix
    Show answer

    Answer: Gallbladder. Tucked under the liver. It stores and concentrates bile, and gallstones form here.

  4. Question 4 of 20

    Name the highlighted organ, which makes insulin and digestive enzymes.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Spleen
    2. Duodenum
    3. Gallbladder
    4. Pancreas
    Show answer

    Answer: Pancreas. It lies behind the stomach, its head cupped by the duodenum.

  5. Question 5 of 20

    Name the highlighted organ, tucked under the left lower ribs.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Pancreas
    2. Spleen
    3. Stomach
    4. Left kidney
    Show answer

    Answer: Spleen. It filters old red cells and fights infection. It can rupture after a blow to the left lower ribs.

  6. Question 6 of 20

    Name the highlighted tube.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Trachea
    2. Aorta
    3. Oesophagus
    4. Duodenum
    Show answer

    Answer: Oesophagus. About 25 cm long, it carries food from throat to stomach, passing through the diaphragm on the way.

  7. Question 7 of 20

    Name the highlighted C-shaped part of the bowel.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Jejunum
    2. Stomach
    3. Caecum
    4. Duodenum
    Show answer

    Answer: Duodenum. The first part of the small intestine. Bile and pancreatic juice enter here.

  8. Question 8 of 20

    Name the highlighted structure.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Appendix
    2. Rectum
    3. Caecum
    4. Sigmoid colon
    Show answer

    Answer: Appendix. A small blind-ended tube off the caecum, usually in the right lower abdomen. Appendicitis is the commonest emergency abdominal operation.

  9. Question 9 of 20

    Name the highlighted pouch where the small bowel meets the large bowel.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Ascending colon
    2. Caecum
    3. Rectum
    4. Appendix
    Show answer

    Answer: Caecum. The start of the large intestine, in the right lower abdomen. The appendix hangs off it.

  10. Question 10 of 20

    Name the highlighted part of the large bowel.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Descending colon
    2. Small intestine
    3. Stomach
    4. Transverse colon
    Show answer

    Answer: Transverse colon. It hangs across the upper abdomen between the two bends of the colon.

  11. Question 11 of 20

    Name the highlighted S-shaped part of the colon.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Rectum
    2. Descending colon
    3. Sigmoid colon
    4. Caecum
    Show answer

    Answer: Sigmoid colon. It joins the descending colon to the rectum, and it’s the commonest site of diverticular disease in Western countries.

  12. Question 12 of 20

    Where are most nutrients absorbed?

    1. Small intestine
    2. Large intestine
    3. Oesophagus
    4. Stomach
    Show answer

    Answer: Small intestine. Several metres long and lined with villi, it gives a huge surface for absorption. The large bowel mainly takes back water and salt.

  13. Question 13 of 20

    Which organ makes bile?

    1. Liver
    2. Duodenum
    3. Gallbladder
    4. Pancreas
    Show answer

    Answer: Liver. The liver makes it; the gallbladder only stores it. Bile helps digest and absorb fats.

  14. Question 14 of 20

    Where is vitamin B12 absorbed?

    1. Stomach
    2. Terminal ileum
    3. Colon
    4. Duodenum
    Show answer

    Answer: Terminal ileum. The end of the small bowel absorbs B12 bound to intrinsic factor from the stomach. Iron is mostly absorbed in the duodenum.

  15. Question 15 of 20

    Name the highlighted part of the colon on the right side of the abdomen.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Transverse colon
    2. Descending colon
    3. Ascending colon
    4. Caecum
    Show answer

    Answer: Ascending colon. It climbs from the caecum up to the liver, where it bends to become the transverse colon.

  16. Question 16 of 20

    Name the highlighted part of the colon on the left side of the abdomen.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Small intestine
    2. Ascending colon
    3. Sigmoid colon
    4. Descending colon
    Show answer

    Answer: Descending colon. It runs down the left side to the sigmoid colon.

  17. Question 17 of 20

    Name the highlighted final part of the bowel.

    Abdomen, front view
    1. Anal canal
    2. Caecum
    3. Rectum
    4. Sigmoid colon
    Show answer

    Answer: Rectum. It stores stool until it’s convenient. Bleeding from here is bright red.

  18. Question 18 of 20

    This is a CT-style slice across the upper abdomen, seen from the feet. Name the highlighted organ.

    Abdomen, cross-section at L1–L2 (viewed from below, like CT)
    1. Left kidney
    2. Pancreas
    3. Duodenum
    4. Spleen
    Show answer

    Answer: Pancreas. It lies across the back of the abdomen, behind the stomach. Pancreatitis pain often goes through to the back.

  19. Question 19 of 20

    On the same slice, name the highlighted organ at the far left of the patient.

    Abdomen, cross-section at L1–L2 (viewed from below, like CT)
    1. Spleen
    2. Stomach
    3. Left kidney
    4. Liver
    Show answer

    Answer: Spleen. On scans the patient’s left is on your right. The spleen sits under the left ribs, behind the stomach.

  20. Question 20 of 20

    On the same slice, name the highlighted round vessel in front of the spine.

    Abdomen, cross-section at L1–L2 (viewed from below, like CT)
    1. Portal vein
    2. Inferior vena cava
    3. Splenic vein
    4. Aorta
    Show answer

    Answer: Aorta. The aorta sits just left of the midline in front of the spine; the inferior vena cava is to its right.

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Common questions

What are the main organs of the digestive system?

The mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum) and large intestine (caecum, colon, rectum), helped by the liver, gallbladder and pancreas, which add bile and enzymes.

How long is the digestive tract?

In a living adult it’s roughly 5 to 7 metres from mouth to anus, most of it small intestine. Figures vary because the bowel relaxes and lengthens after death.

What does the large intestine do?

It absorbs water and salts, houses trillions of gut bacteria that ferment fibre, and stores and moves out waste.

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Updated 16 November 2026. Diagrams are simplified, original sketches, not to scale. General education, not personal medical advice.