Editing Chyme (section)

==Path of chyme==
After hours of mechanical and chemical digestion, food has been reduced into chyme. As particles of food become small enough, they are passed out of the stomach at regular intervals into the small intestine, which stimulates the [[pancreas]] to release fluid containing a high concentration of [[bicarbonate]]. This fluid neutralizes the gastric juices, which can damage the lining of the intestine and result in [[duodenal ulcer]]. Other secretions from the pancreas, [[gallbladder]], [[liver]], and [[glands]] in the intestinal wall help in digestion, as these secretions contain a variety of [[digestive enzyme]]s and chemicals that assist in the breakdown of complex compounds into those that can be absorbed and used by the body.

When food particles are sufficiently reduced in size and composition, they are absorbed by the intestinal wall and transported to the bloodstream. Some food material is passed from the small intestine to the [[large intestine]]. In the large intestine, bacteria break down any proteins and starches in chyme that were not digested fully in the small intestine.

When all of the nutrients have been absorbed from chyme, the remaining waste material changes into semisolids that are called [[feces]]. The feces pass to the [[rectum]], to be stored until ready to be discharged from the body during [[defecation]].