Topic summary
Gastric phase
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Phases of digestion.
Gastric phase
50-60% of total gastric acid secretion occurs during this phase. The gastric phase is a period in which swallowed food and semidigested protein (peptides and amino acids) activate gastric activity. Ingested food stimulates gastric activity in two ways: by stretching the stomach and by gastric contents stimulating receptors in the stomach. Stretch activates two reflexes: a short reflex mediated through the myenteric plexus, and a long reflex mediated through the vagus nerves and brainstem.