Mechanical and Chemical phases of digestion in the esophagus and the stomach? Please help..

Question

anonymous · Answer

This will be in your book and/or course materials...

radicalsniper · Answer

Oh yes, there is something in my book but I really can't understand what it is trying to say and by the way, is there chemical phase(s) of digestion happening when the bolus is in the esophagus? I think it was not stated in my reference (Campbell's Biology 9th Ed.).

anonymous · Answer

Ahh, good old Campbell's Biology. I must admit that digestion is NOT something that I know much about (it's been many years since I last took a course that even mentioned it), but... from what I remember, chemical digestion occurs in the mouth via saliva, so I would be very surprised if it did not continue to occur (at least to some extent) in the esophagus. I mean, we swallow a lot of saliva with our food, don't we?

radicalsniper · Answer

Great! Now I have an idea what is happening when the food is in the esophagus. Tomorrow is my first and last reporting in my biology subject and I might fail if I mess it up. Thank you for the answer :)

anonymous · Answer

Isn't it just being sent down to the stomach when it's in there? I thought muscles in the esophagus contract and transport the bolus down to the stomach, where digestion continues, but as I said, it's been a LONG time since I learned about this in class.

radicalsniper · Answer

Yes. From what I have researched, the function of the esophagus is simple: To transport the bolus from the throat to the stomach. That's an extraordinary memory you got there, Calliope. :)

anonymous · Answer

I'm best at remembering weird or gross things, and the idea of saliva being used for digestion is kinda gross. Think about it next time a cat or dog licks you.