Gastrostomy. Coloured X-ray of a gastrostomy tube (red, round, lower centre) secured in the abdomen of a 72-year-old woman. This tube creates an opening into the stomach through which the patient can be fed. The stomach is the white mass running from upper right to lower centre. The gastrostomy tube allows the throat, mouth or oesophagus (gullet) to be bypassed, for instance if they are cancerous. The blocky bones (vertebrae) running down centre, make up part of the patient's backbone.