Question

What is the stomach? How does it work?

Answer 1

Stomach:

1. The stomach is a muscular bag that is situated towards the left side of the abdominal cavity, beneath the diaphragm.
2. This vital organ acts as a storage for the food and provides enough time to digest meals.

Function of stomach

1. The stomach’s main job is to store and digest the food and drink we take in during our meals.
2. It produces hydrochloric acid and enzymes that aid in the digestion of food.
3. This acid release can create stomach ulcers, however, the acid does not burn the stomach because the stomach lining is protected by sticky mucus.
4. The undesirable bacteria are also killed by the stomach’s acidic environment.
5. The stomach structure is such that the stomach muscles contract at regular intervals to churn the food and enhance the digestion process.
6. About 40 minutes to a few hours are taken by the stomach to break down the food.