Fig 5. 93W4506 Esophagus and stomach, H&E.
The junction between the esophagus and stomach is shown
here. The esophagus is on the right, and the cardiac region of
the stomach is on the left. The arrowhead shows the junction of
them. The arrows point out the muscularis mucosa (MM) which
is continuous across the junction. The dashed line demonstrates
the boundary of the submucosa (S) and the muscularis externa
(ME). The muscularis externa of the distal third esophagus
consists only of smooth muscle. [The skeletal muscle adjacent
to the esophagus is the diaphragm (D).] Beneath the muscularis
externa is the serous membrane, serosa (Se), containing
vessels and nerve fiber bundles.