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Chyme is the semifluid mass of partly digested food expelled by the stomach into the duodenum. In other words, chyme is half digested food.

Also known as Chymus, it is the liquid substance found in the stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
 before passing through the pyloric valve and entering the duodenum
Duodenum

The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine may be used instead of duodenum....
. It results from the mechanical and chemical breakdown of a bolus
Bolus (digestion)

In digestion, a bolus is a mass of food that has been Mastication and swallowed. Once a bolus reaches the stomach, digestion begins.* Compare to chyme....
 and consists of partially digested food, water, hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid

Hydrochloric acid is the solution of hydrogen chloride in water. It is a highly corrosive, strong acid mineral acid and has major industrial uses....
, and various digestive
Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be Absorption, for instance, by a blood stream....
 enzyme
Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
s.






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Chyme is the semifluid mass of partly digested food expelled by the stomach into the duodenum. In other words, chyme is half digested food.

Also known as Chymus, it is the liquid substance found in the stomach
Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
 before passing through the pyloric valve and entering the duodenum
Duodenum

The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine may be used instead of duodenum....
. It results from the mechanical and chemical breakdown of a bolus
Bolus (digestion)

In digestion, a bolus is a mass of food that has been Mastication and swallowed. Once a bolus reaches the stomach, digestion begins.* Compare to chyme....
 and consists of partially digested food, water, hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid

Hydrochloric acid is the solution of hydrogen chloride in water. It is a highly corrosive, strong acid mineral acid and has major industrial uses....
, and various digestive
Digestion

Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breaking down of food into smaller components, to a form that can be Absorption, for instance, by a blood stream....
 enzyme
Enzyme

Enzymes are biomolecules that catalysis chemical reactions. Almost all enzymes are proteins. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process are called Substrate , and the enzyme converts them into different molecules, the products....
s. Chyme slowly passes through the pyloric sphincter
Sphincter

A sphincter is a structure, usually a circular muscle, that normally maintains constriction of a natural body passage or orifice and which relaxes as required by normal physiological functioning....
 and into the duodenum, where the extraction of nutrients begins. Depending on the quantity and contents of the meal, the stomach will digest the food into chyme anywhere between 40 minutes and a few hours.

With a pH
PH

pH is a measure of the Acid or Base of a solution. It is defined as the cologarithm of the Activity of dissolved hydrogen ions . Hydrogen ion activity coefficients cannot be measured experimentally, so they are based on theoretical calculations....
 of around 2, chyme emerging from the stomach is very acidic. To raise its pH, the duodenum
Duodenum

The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine may be used instead of duodenum....
 secretes a hormone
Hormone

Hormones are chemicals released by cells that affect cells in other parts of the body. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism....
, cholecystokinin
Cholecystokinin

Cholecystokinin is a peptide hormone of the gastrointestinal system responsible for stimulating the digestion of fat and protein. Cholecystokinin, previously called pancreozymin, is synthesised by I-cells in the mucosal epithelium of the small intestine and secreted in the duodenum, the first segment of the small intestine, and ca...
 (CCK), which causes the gall bladder to contract, releasing alkaline bile
Bile

Bile or gall is a bitter yellow or green fluid secreted by hepatocytes from the liver of most vertebrates. In many species, bile is stored in the gallbladder between meals and upon eating is discharged into the duodenum where the bile aids the process of digestion of lipids....
 into the duodenum. The duodenum also produces the hormone secretin
Secretin

Secretin is a peptide hormone produced in the S cells of the duodenum in the crypts of Lieberk?hn. Its primary effect is to regulate the pH of the duodenal contents via the control of gastric acid secretion and buffering with bicarbonate....
 to stimulate the pancreatic secretion of large amounts of sodium bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate

Sodium bicarbonate or sodium hydrogen carbonate is the chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. Sodium bicarbonate is a white solid that is crystalline but often appears as a fine powder....
, which raises the chyme's pH to 7 before it reaches the ileum
Ileum

The ileum is the final section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear and the terms posterior intestine or distal intestine may be used instead of ileum....
. As it is protected by a thick layer of mucus
Mucus

In vertebrates, mucus is a slippery secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is a viscous colloid containing antiseptic enzymes and immunoglobulins that serves to protect Epithelium in the respiratory,...
 and utilizes the neutralizing actions of the sodium bicarbonate and bile, the duodenum is not as sensitive to highly acidic chyme as the rest of the small intestine.

At a pH of 7, the enzymes that were present from the stomach are no longer active. This then leads into the further breakdown of the nutrients still present by anaerobic bacteria which at the same time help to package the remains. These bacteria also help synthesize Vitamin-B and Vitamin-K.