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Pepsin is a protease that can digest and damage stomach cells. To prevent these disastrous effects, mucus and bicarbonate ions (HCO 3 −) are secreted by the foveolar cells. The mucus allows the acid at pH above 4 to penetrate lining, but below pH 4 (i.e. when acid is more concentrated) the acid cannot penetrate the mucus.
The mucus is basic, while the stomach acid (A) is acidic. In the human digestive system, mucus is used as a lubricant for materials that must pass over membranes, e.g., food passing down the esophagus. Mucus is extremely important in the gastrointestinal tract.
Goblet cells secrete mucus, which lubricates the passage of food along and protects the intestinal wall from digestive enzymes. In the small intestine, villi are folds of the mucosa that increase the surface area of the intestine. The villi contain a lacteal, a vessel connected to the lymph system that aids in the removal of lipids and tissue ...
"Mucus is very helpful in terms of our immune system," Elliott says. "When you have a foreign particle like pollen or a virus or bacteria, your mucosal cells — which produce mucus — are ...
The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and assimilated into the body.
The mucus prevents large particles from contacting the epithelial cell layer while allowing small molecules to pass. The mucus also facilitates passage of the luminal contents along the length of the intestines, protects the epithelial cells from digestive enzymes , and prevents the direct contact of microorganisms with the epithelial layer.
Mucous membranes line the digestive, respiratory and reproductive tracts and are the primary barrier between the external world and the interior of the body; in an adult human the total surface area of the mucosa is about 400 square meters while the surface area of the skin is about 2 square meters.
In humans the glands are known as the esophageal submucosal glands and are a part of the human digestive system. [1] They are a small compound racemose exocrine glands of the mucous type. [citation needed] There are two types: Esophageal submucosal glands are compound tubulo-alveolar glands. Some serous cells are present.