The stomach plays a huge role in the digestive system of the body. Food can stay in the stomach for hours and while the food sits in the stomach, there are different enzymes that start breaking down the food.
The body helps to break down proteins and other substances that the body can use. The stomach can store up to four liters at a time.
The stomach helps the digestion with three steps. It accepts a bolus of food from the esophagus. A bolus is just a tube of food.
The stomach then can churn the food to help it to break down. The stomach then makes chyme which is the food that is stored until it moves to the small intestine.
The stomach has a layer of cells that help to make gastric juice that helps to break down food.
Even though most people think that the stomach is the main part of the digestion, the main part of the stomach is really to hold the food while the good nutrients are being absorbed by the small intestine.
The stomach holds food for small amounts of time and the stomach then mixes the food with the digestive juices and releases them to the small intestine.
There are four regions of the stomach, the cardia, which is where the esophagus connects to the stomach and this is where the food passes.
The fundus which is a part of the stomach and is dome shaped, the pylorus which connects the stomach to the small intestine and the body which is the main part of the stomach.
The pylorus contains a pyloric antrum which is a wider part of the funnel and the narrow part is called the pylori canal.
The stomach is lined with a protective coating that helps to keep the stomach healthy.