Swallowing and the stomach
When you swallow, the soft palate shuts off the nose and the epiglottis lies over the windpipe, so food goes down the oesophagus. Muscles in the oesophagus squeeze behind each mouthful in a wave that pushes it down, even upside down. The stomach is a muscly bag that churns food for hours with gastric juice: acid that kills germs and an enzyme that starts to break down proteins, while mucus protects its own wall.
Depth 1 · Foundation
You can say how swallowed food is kept out of the windpipe, how muscle waves move it down the oesophagus, and what the stomach's churning, acid and enzyme do.
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- 1
Foundation
You can say how swallowed food is kept out of the windpipe, how muscle waves move it down the oesophagus, and what the stomach's churning, acid and enzyme do.
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TeethSwallowing comes after chewing.
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