What is our stomach made of?
Our stomach is bag shaped with a capacity of about one litre. It receives the food from the oesophagus and mixes and churns the food with enzymes and acid. Food remains in the stomach for three to four hours and then passes to intestine for further digestion.
The stomach wall has three layers of muscles lengthwise, circular and slanting. These muscles help in churning the food.
It has a rich supply of blood vessels which bring nutrients and oxygen to the stomach. The stomach wall contains glands which secrete gastric juice, a liquid containing acid and enzymes to digest the food.
The stomach wall is protected from the corrosive action of the acid as it is lined with thick mucus. If due to some reason, the wall comes in contact with the acid, painful ulcers are formed inside.
