The gastric juice is one of the digestive fluids. It is clear, colorless
liquid, with a salty taste and an acid reaction. The gastric juice is
manufactured in gastric cells or glands, situated in the inner lining of
the stomach and opening into its cavity.
The amount secreted is large, equaling in weight about one-eleventh of the human body daily. Only a portion is in the stomach ay any one time. The chief ingredients are three: hydrochloric acid, rennin and pepsin. The first element preserves food from decay, disolves nitrogenous food, and soften tissues. Rennin curdless milk. Pepsin produces a change in nitrogenous foods that prepares them for absorption. oils and fats are not digested by the gastric juice. The mixture of gastric juice and food produces a grayish liquid known as chyme.
