Stomach Stomach The stomach (from ancient Greek στόμαχος, "stomachos," "stoma" means mouth) is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital digestive organ. In the digestive system the stomach is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication (chewing). In humans and many other animals, the stomach is located between the oesophagus and the small intestine. It secretes digestive enzymes and gastric acid to aid in food digestion. The pyloric sphincter controls the passage of partially digested food (chyme) from
Embryological origins of the mouth and anus that the structures are equivalent homologous, and that the older ideas about protostome mouth formation were correct. An alternative way to develop two openings from the blastopore during gastrulation, called amphistomy, appears to exist in some animals, such as nematodes. In many animals these early development stages later evolved in ways that no longer reflect these original patterns. For instance, humans have already formed a gut tube at the time of formation of the mouth and anus. Then the mouth is formed first, during the fourth week of development, and the anus is created four weeks later, temporarily forming a