Digestion in the Stomach

It is a pear-shaped and an enlargement of the alimentary canal.

Food from the mouth is stored here temporarily. The stomach secretes an acid from its stomach wall in response to its expansion.

The stomach secretes gastric juice which contains the hydrochloric acid.

The gastric juice performs three main functions during digestion.

They are:

I. It contains the hydrochloric acid that stops the fuction of the ptyalin in the stomach. Starch do not continue digestion in the stomach.

Digestion of protein starts in the stomach.

II. It contains an enzyme called peptin that breaks down proteins into smaller peptides.

III. It is also contains an enzyme called rennin which is also known as chymosin. In ruminant animals, it is used to curdle milk. In humans, it is the milk-curdling enzyme.

The food in the stomach, is broken down into liquid or paste form. This moves into the small intestine.