no 



OUR BODIES AND HOW WE LIVE 



155. The Stomach. The food, a moistened, partly 

 digested mass, has now reached the stomach, which is a 

 pear-shaped bag, or pouch, capable of holding about four 

 pints. It lies under the diaphragm, chiefly on the left 

 side of the abdomen. 



The stomach has two openings. The opening, or ring, 

 through which the food enters, is called the cardiac orifice. 

 The opening at the right end, where 

 the intestines begin and by which food 

 leaves the stomach, is known as the 

 pyloric orifice. It is guarded by a kind 

 of valve called the pylorus, or gate keeper. 

 156. The Coats of the Stomach. The 

 outer coat of the stomach is the smooth, 

 glistening serous membrane which lines 

 the abdomen, \\\t peritoneum. 



The inner lining, or mucous mem- 

 brane, of the stomach is loose and wrin- 

 kled when the stomach is empty, and 

 smoothed out when it is full of food. 

 Between the outer smooth coat and the 

 inner lining lies the muscular coat. 



The inner coat of the stomach has its surface honey- 

 combed with millions of little pits. We have all seen this 

 in tripe. In the floor of each of these tiny pits a number 

 of tubes open. These are the openings of the gastric 

 glands. 



pass them along. In swallowing a pill there is the same process. The 

 smaller the pill, the greater the difficulty oftentimes in swallowing, because 

 the muscles have more trouble in getting the necessary grasp on it. Some of 

 us have seen an acrobat or juggler stand on his head, and drink a glass of 

 water, and even eat in this position. We may see the same thing when we 

 watch a horse or a cow drinking from a pail of water on the ground. 



FIG. 71. A Gastric 

 Gland. 



