114 THE MUSCLES OF THE STOMACH. 



be watched. Since then the careful observations made 

 by his physician have been confirmed by the study of 

 several similar cases. 



The chief kinds of foods acted on in the stomach, are 

 of albuminous nature (p. 85), lean meat, white of egg, 

 cheese, the gluten of bread, and so forth. They are 

 turned into a condition in which they can be dissolved 

 and absorbed. 



7. The Muscular Coat of the Stomach (Fig. 19) per- 

 forms two duties: first, it thoroughly mixes our food 

 with the gastric juice; and next, it drives it on into the 

 intestine. The pyloric orifice (c, Fig. 31) is narrow, 

 and surrounding it is a thick ring of muscle which 

 keeps the passage closed, for an hour or more after eat- 

 ing. During this time, the muscles of the stomach con- 

 tracting, now in one direction and now in another, keep 

 its contents in constant motion and bring every part of 

 the food into contact with the gastric juice. 



When the digestive process has gone on until some 

 food is ready to enter the intestine, the muscle around 

 the pylorus relaxes a little from time to time; thus 

 some liquified food is passed through the opening. 

 When all the things which can be dissolved in the 

 stomach have been passed on, the pyloric orifice opens 

 wider and lets solid indigestible things get through. 

 In this way buttons, coins, cherry-stones, and other such 

 things which may have been swallowed reach the 



7. What are the duties of the muscular coat of the stomach ? 

 What surrounds the pyloric orifice ? Its use ? What happens while 

 the passage is closed ? What occurs when some food has been pre- 

 pared to enter the intestine ? What occurs when the stomach has 

 done all it can towards digesting its contents ? How soon after an 

 ordinary meal is the stomach empty ? 



