After consuming the pizza for lunch, it undergoes a process of digestion in your stomach. First, the pizza enters the stomach through the esophagus, passing through the muscular ring called the lower esophageal sphincter. Once it enters the stomach, the muscles of the stomach wall contract and mix the pizza with gastric juices, such as hydrochloric acid and enzymes, to break it down into smaller particles.
The stomach's churn and mixing motions, along with the gastric juices, help break down the pizza's proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. The process continues for a few hours, gradually turning the pizza into a semi-liquid mixture known as chyme.
The chyme then moves slowly from the stomach into the small intestine through the pyloric sphincter. In the small intestine, further digestion occurs as pancreatic enzymes and bile from the gallbladder break down the remaining food particles into even smaller molecules. These molecules are then absorbed into the bloodstream through the small intestine lining.
The undigested fiber and some other leftovers of the pizza continue their journey into the large intestine or colon. This is where water is absorbed, and bacteria present in the colon break down any remaining food particles that the body cannot digest. Eventually, the waste material, including the pizza residue, is excreted from the body through the rectum and anus as stool.
Overall, the digestion process in the stomach involves mechanical mixing, chemical breakdown through enzymes and gastric acids, and further breakdown in the small intestine, leading to absorption of nutrients and elimination of waste.
The pizza that you ate for lunch is being digested. Summarize what happens to it in your stomach?
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