abdomen

abdomen, belly, stomach, paunch, gut are synonyms when naming the front part of the human trunk below the chest

{

crawl on his stomach

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{

crawl on his belly

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an appendectomy scar on his abdomen

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In technical usage abdomen more specifically denotes the cavity below the diaphragm (and sometimes above the brim of the pelvis) together with the structures in that cavity and the walls (often the front wall) enclosing it

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a pain in the abdomen

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{

the risks inherent in all surgery on the abdomen

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Stomach in nontechnical use is interchangeable with abdomen but technically it is restricted to the saccular abdominal organ in which the earlier processes of digestion take place

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a blow to the stomach

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the digesting mass or chyme in the stomach is continually churned . . . by muscular activity of the walls— Potter

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Belly and paunch are decidedly informal terms that, when used in place of abdomen, suggest roundness and protuberance

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fell flat on his belly in the mud

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a comfortable paunch swelled out beneath the buttons of his dinner jacket— Basso

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Gut in technical use denotes the alimentary canal or one of its parts

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the embryonic gut arises from the third germ layer

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the blind gut or cecum

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In general use it is interchangeable with belly or paunch but in the plural, especially when designating the abdominal contents (viscera, intestines), it is usually considered vulgar although the corresponding verb is freely used of the evisceration of a carcass for food

{

gut a herring

}