The stomach
Stomach · gaster
A stretchy muscular bag that churns food in acid and starts digesting protein.
What it does
The stomach sits under the left ribs, below the diaphragm. It stores food, mixes it with strongly acidic juice and enzymes, and churns it into a soupy paste. It then releases the paste in small squirts into the small intestine, where most digestion and absorption take place.
Surprising fact
Your stomach lining replaces its surface cells every few days, and a layer of mucus stops the acid from digesting the stomach itself.
Why it matters
Stomach ulcers were long blamed on stress until two Australian scientists showed in the 1980s that most are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, a discovery that won a Nobel Prize.
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Sources
Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.
Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.