In anatomy, the stomach is a bean-shaped hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. The word stomach is derived from the Latin stomachus, which derives from the Greek word stomachos (). The words gastro- and gastric (meaning related to the stomach) are both derived from the Greek word gaster (). Functions The stomach is a highly acidic environment due to gastric acid production and secretion which produces a luminal pH range usually between 1 and 4 depending on the species, food intake, time of the day, drug use, and other factors. Combined with digestive enzymes, such an environment is able to break down large molecules (such as from food) to smaller ones so that they can eventually be absorbed from the small intestine. The human stomach can produce and secrete about 2 to 3 liters of gastric acid per day with basal se

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