In digestion, a bolus (from Latin bolus, "ball") is a ball-like mixture of food and saliva that forms in the mouth during the process of chewing (which is largely an adaptation for plant-eating mammals).[1] It has the same color as the food being eaten, and the saliva gives it an alkaline pH.
![](http://upload.luquay.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Toothbrush_regurgitated_by_albatross_on_Tern_Island%2C_Hawaii_-_20060614.jpg/220px-Toothbrush_regurgitated_by_albatross_on_Tern_Island%2C_Hawaii_-_20060614.jpg)
Under normal circumstances, the bolus is swallowed, and travels down the esophagus to the stomach for digestion.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Digestion in the Mouth, Pharynx and Esophagus". Boundless. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ^ "Bolus – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved June 4, 2016.