Elsewhere the stomach shows appreciable
mobility. The principal functions of the stomach are (i) to act as
a receptacle and reservoir for ingested food and to release the food
into the duodenum in small and physiologically appropriate amounts;
(ii) to secrete hydrochloric acid and proteolytic enzymes that initiate protein
digestion and neutralize many harmful bacteria in the ingested food;
and (iii) to churn the ingested food and soften it by means of gastric juice
to produce a liquefied mixture termed chyme.