(e-soph´-a-gus).

~10. The Stomach.~--At the lower end of the oesophagus the digestive
tube becomes enlarged, and has a shape somewhat like a pear. This is the
_stomach_. In a full-grown person the stomach is sufficiently large to
hold about three pints. At each end of the stomach is a narrow opening
so arranged that it can be opened or tightly closed, as may be
necessary. The upper opening allows the food to pass into the stomach,
the lower one allows it to pass out into the intestines. This opening is
called the _pylorus_ (py-lo´-rus), or gate-keeper, because it closes so
as to keep the food in the stomach until it is ready to pass out.

~11.~ In the membrane which lines the stomach there are many little
pocket-like glands, in which a fluid called the _gastric juice_ is
formed. This fluid is one of the most important of all the fluids formed
in the digestive canal.

[Illustration: GASTRIC GLAND.]

~12. The Intestine~(in-tes´-tine).--At the lower end of the stomach
the digestive canal becomes narrow again. This narrow portion, called
the _intestine_, is about twenty-five feet long in a grown person. The
last few feet of the intestine is larger than the rest, and is called
the _colon_. This long tube is coiled up and snugly packed away in the
cavity of the abdomen. In the membrane lining the intestines are to be
found little glands, which make a fluid called _intestinal juice_.

~13. The Liver.~--Close up under the ribs, on the right side of the
body, is a large chocolate-colored organ, called the _liver_. The liver
is about half as large as the head, and is shaped so as to fit snugly