A special mucous layer covers the inner lining of the stomach
and protects the stomach from damage by this powerful acid.
So the stomach does not digest itself.
The next place on the digestive route is the intestines.
Nutriments are broken down into even smaller particles and
are made usable by the body as they pass through the two in-
testines, the large and the small. What is useful in these nu-
triments is introduced into the bloodstream and the
47
Different types of
stomach cells secrete
different secretions to
digest the foodstuffs
we eat.
mucous sur-
face cell
(secretes
mucus)
mucous
neck cell
(secretes
mucus)
parietal cell
(secretes hy-
drochloric acid
and intrinsic fac-
tor)
chief cell
(secretes
pepsinogen)
hormone-produc-
ing G cell
(secretes gastrin)
stomach
mucous surface
cells
gastric
pit
I N N E R S T R U C T U R E
O F T H E S T O M A C H
