Effect of Sinus Size on the Mixing in the Stomach During Food Digestion

The stomach is a part of the gastrointestinal tract that plays a crucial role in digestion as it is responsible for mixing, grinding, sieving and chemical breakdown of food. The proximal part of the stomach contains the cardia, fundus and body, and it produces low-frequency tonic contractions. In contrast, the distal stomach, which includes antrum and pylorus, has phasic contractions that produce force for the physical breakdown of food. The antrum holds the food until the stomach is ready to send it to the small intestine. The stomach expands when it is full and deflates on emptying of food. Because of this, the stomach size varies depending on the amount of food, type of food and how recently the food is eaten. The antrum stores the food and mixes the food with the gastric juices in the sinus. In this study, we employ 3D direct simulations to examine the effect of sinus size on gastric mixing. Implications of our findings on the process of gastric digestion are explored.