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Human Body Study

Stomach

A muscular, J-shaped sac that stores and breaks down food.

The digestive tract The GI tract from mouth through oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine, with liver, gallbladder and pancreas as accessory organs. Each label links to the article for that part. Mouth Esophagus Liver Stomach Gallbladder Pancreas Small intestine Large intestine The digestive tract and its accessory organs — schematic, not to scale.

What it does

Section titled “What it does”
  • Stores a meal, releasing it gradually to the intestine.
  • Mechanical digestion — churns food with strong muscular contractions.
  • Chemical digestion — secretes hydrochloric acid and enzymes that begin breaking down protein and kill most swallowed microbes.
  • Produces chyme — the soupy mixture passed onward.

Protection

Section titled “Protection”

A thick mucus lining shields the stomach wall from its own acid.

Key idea

Section titled “Key idea”

The stomach is a holding tank and a blender — it does little absorption, but it turns a meal into the processed slurry the intestine can handle.