Stomach acid is made by the cells which line the stomach (called parietal cells). These cells make the acid, which contains hydrochloric acid (a very strong acid), potassium chloride and sodium chloride (otherwise known as salt, the kind you eat), and secrete it into the stomach.
Stomach acid is secreted in response to eating and helps to digest food by changing its chemical structure. This allows digestive enzymes to cut it into tiny pieces that would be invisible to the naked eye as they are only a couple of molecules long.
The stomach lining is resistant to damage by this acid, but excess secretion can lead to ulcers and inflammation.
Yes, hydrochloric acid, I think. There are also molecules that chew stuff up in there – these guys do the real work, actually, and act like scissors to cut up the big molecules (like steak). They’re the enzymes. If you put a steak in hydrochloric acid it wouldn’t do much, let me tell you. Your stomach is efficient because of those digestive enzymes.
The whole thing is kept moving by stomach movements. Digestion carries on after the stomach, and the body, incredibly, knows just what to do so that the useful stuff is absorbed and the useless stuff keeps moving on down.
Yes, hydrochloric acid. This is essentially the same stuff you can buy at swimming pool suppliers to put into the water if it is way too basic (high pH or alkaline). Hydrochloric acid is also called muriatic acid.
cassburga
Stomach acid is made by the cells which line the stomach (called parietal cells). These cells make the acid, which contains hydrochloric acid (a very strong acid), potassium chloride and sodium chloride (otherwise known as salt, the kind you eat), and secrete it into the stomach.
Stomach acid is secreted in response to eating and helps to digest food by changing its chemical structure. This allows digestive enzymes to cut it into tiny pieces that would be invisible to the naked eye as they are only a couple of molecules long.
The stomach lining is resistant to damage by this acid, but excess secretion can lead to ulcers and inflammation.
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Yes, hydrochloric acid, I think. There are also molecules that chew stuff up in there – these guys do the real work, actually, and act like scissors to cut up the big molecules (like steak). They’re the enzymes. If you put a steak in hydrochloric acid it wouldn’t do much, let me tell you. Your stomach is efficient because of those digestive enzymes.
The whole thing is kept moving by stomach movements. Digestion carries on after the stomach, and the body, incredibly, knows just what to do so that the useful stuff is absorbed and the useless stuff keeps moving on down.
0
Yes, hydrochloric acid. This is essentially the same stuff you can buy at swimming pool suppliers to put into the water if it is way too basic (high pH or alkaline). Hydrochloric acid is also called muriatic acid.
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