What Is the Umbilical Region?

The umbilical region is a term that anatomists use for describing the abdominal area around the navel of the human body. It is named after the navel’s clinical term, which is umbilicus, or the area from which the umbilical is severed after birth. Also known as the region umbilicalis, this region is usually split into nine sections.

Comprising most of the umbilical region is the abdomen, also known as the belly. In the cavity that the abdomen encloses, also known as the abdominal cavity, the umbilical region covers parts of or entire organs. These include the stomach, intestines, pancreas and kidney. This region is split in such a way that it produces three sections: an upper section, middle section and bottom section. Each of these sections is split into three parts, with the left and right parts flanking the middle.

The upper region consists of the left and right hypochondriac regions, which flank the epigastric region. The hypochondriac regions are named for their location at the hypochondrium, which is the upper part of the abdomen. The epigastric region gets its name for being positioned at the abdomen’s upper central region, or the epigastrium.

At the middle of the umbilical region are the left and right lumbar regions, located at the torso’s abdominal area. It is also where the lower spine is located, directly behind the abdominal cavity. Flanked by the lumbar sections is the umbilical region, which contains the navel itself.

The bottom part of the umbilical region consists of the left and right inguinal regions, as well as the hypogastric region. “Inguinal” is a reference to the bottom left and right sections located at the lower section of the abdomen, immediately above the groin. The hypogastric region is named after the hypogastrium, which is actually closer to the groin than the inguinal parts. It is usually described, however, as the middle section of the abdomen directly below the navel.

The umbilical region can also be topographically split into four sections, using a horizontal and a vertical line that cuts through the navel. This results in a top section, which consists of the right upper quadrant and left upper quadrant, and a lower section, which yield the right lower quadrant and left lower quadrant. This method of splitting, however, is less commonly used than the nine-section scheme.