THE INTESTINES. 2g 
inner walls are millions of tiny glands which are known as gastric 
glands. These little glands become excited, and pour out a 
sticky juice, which is known as gastric juice. It oozes out, just 
like perspiration upon the skin. The muscular walls of the 
stomach are meanwhile twisting, writhing, and turning, with 
the object of swishing and swirling the food round its inner walls, 
so that the gastric juice may be washed off. This gastric juice 
mingles with the food, 
and begins to break it 
up. The churning 
process goes on for 
four to five hours, 
until the whole of the 
food has been broken 
up into a creamy- 
looking, liquid mass. 
It then passes out into 
the first part of the 
intestine, called the 
duodenum. Its pre- 
sence excites certain 
nerve ends, which 
cause the bile from the 
gall bladder to run 
out into the food. 
The secretion known 
as the pancreatic juice, 
manufactured by the 
pancreas or melt, is 
also poured into the 
food for the purpose 
g 6 Fic. 119.—The organs of the human body, in situ, the 
of completing its abuse of which induces disease, sarering and pre- 
digestion mature death. (From Blackie’s Physiology.) 
THE INTESTINES. 
By a sort of squeezing process performed by the muscular walls 
of the intestines or bowels, and which is known as the peristaltic 
movement, the food is worked slowly down. As it proceeds, more 
juices are poured out to complete the digestion of any parts of 
