The angle of His, also known as the esophagogastric angle, is the acute angle created between the

cardia The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach ...

at the entrance to the

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...

, and the

esophagus The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...

. It helps to prevent acid reflux of stomach acid into the esophagus. It is commonly undeveloped in

infants An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used t ...

, making acid reflux more common.

Structure

The angle of His is the

acute angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the '' vertex'' of the angle. Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles ...

between the

and the

. It is created by the collar sling fibres and the circular muscles around this gastroesophageal junction.

Variation

The angle of His is normally undeveloped in

, with the esophagus making a vertical junction with the stomach. As a result, reflux of stomach contents is common.

Function

The angle of His forms an anatomical sphincter. This prevents the reflux of

stomach acid Gastric acid, gastric juice, or stomach acid is a digestive fluid formed within the stomach lining. With a pH between 1 and 3, gastric acid plays a key role in digestion of proteins by activating digestive enzymes, which together break down the ...

, digestive enzymes, and duodenal

bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), or gall, is a dark-green-to-yellowish-brown fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is produced continuously by the liver (liver bile ...

from entering the esophagus. This is important in preventing

gastroesophageal reflux disease Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is one of the upper gastrointestinal chronic diseases where stomach content persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms and/ ...

and

inflammation Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molec ...

of the esophagus.Hiatal Hernia
eMedicine Retrieved 30 January 2010

History

The angle of His is also known as the esophagogastric angle.

References

Digestive system {{Digestive tract