The stomach is a complex muscular tissue that is present in all mammals and other animals whose main function is to digest and process different foods to convert them into nutrients or disposable matter. In the case of humans, the stomach is found in the abdominal cavity and is one of the largest organs, and can even become larger since its tissue is elastic unlike other organs. The stomach has an irregular shape, similar to that of a pouch and is located between the esophagus and the small intestine.
The digestive system has many organs, all of them fulfilling equally important functions since in the absence or complications of one of them the individual immediately presents discomfort. The stomach is, however, the main element of the entire complex digestive system since it is there where the digestion processes begin. The stomach is divided into several parts according to the type of function performed in each one: the first and immediately following the esophagus is the cardia, then the fudus, the central body, the antrum, the pylorus and the duodenum, which is the final section that connects to the small intestine.
The stomach is essential in the digestive process for two basic reasons: first, because it is the space that serves as a deposit or reservoir for all the food that will later be processed. While the rest of the organs are only tissues for the transfer or circulation of this matter, the stomach is the only one in which it remains. This is where the second reason comes in: the stomach, in addition to being the deposit, is also the organ that performs the most important part of transforming what was previously food into nutrients that can be later assimilated by the body or discarded. Thus, the stomach leaves the food material ready so that it circulates without great difficulty through the intestine or is later discarded.
