Jul 22, 2008

The small intestines.

After being processed in the stomach, food is passed to the small intestines via the Pyloric sphincter. The majority of digestion and absorption that occurs here as chyme enters the duodenu. Here it is further mixed with three different liquids:

  1. Bile, which emulsifies fats to allow absorption, neutralises the chyme, and is used to excrete waste products such as bilin and bile acids. It is not an enzyme, however. The bile juice is stored in a small organ called the gall bladder.
  2. Pancreatic Juices made by the pancreas.
  3. Intestinal enzymes of the alkaline mucosal membranes. The enzymes include: maltase, lactase and sucrase, to process sugars; trypsin and chymotrypsin are also added in the small intestine.

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