STOMACH AND INTESTINAL DIGESTION 27 



free from work and care. We will also have a joyous 

 table atmosphere, both for the pleasure it affords 

 and the help it gives in accomplishing the purpose 

 of eating, which is to furnish our bodies building 

 material in the best form for their use. 



Three other fluids aid in changing food to such 

 form that it may be taken into the blood. The first, 

 called bile, is secreted by the liver, which is the largest 

 gland in the body. As can be seen in the illustration 

 on page 22, the liver is situated in the right side of 

 the abdomen. Under normal conditions it is said to 

 secrete about one twenty-eighth of the body's weight 

 in bile daily. This, in a person weighing one hundred 

 forty pounds, would amount to about two and one- 

 half quarts, or five pounds. 



In the same illustration we can see a curious 

 little sac shaped like a radish. This is called the bile 

 or gall bladder. It opens into the small intestine 

 about five inches beyond the point where the latter 

 joins the stomach. As chyme passes through the 

 small intestine, the bile pours out and quickly mixes 

 with it. Bile stimulates the flow of the two remain- 

 ing digestive juices, the pancreatic juice and the in- 

 testinal fluid, and better prepares chyme to be acted 

 on by them. 



Pancreatic juice enters the small intestine at the 

 same place as the bile. The pancreas, the gland 

 which secretes it, can be seen in the illustration. 

 In a person weighing one hundred forty pounds, 



