Mastication

In the oral cavity, mastication (chewing) breaks up food particles. The teeth and tongue play a major role in this process. The salivary glands secrete a watery fluid that mixes with foods to make them easier to swallow. Taste receptors on the tongue also require tastants to be dissolved in order to be detected. Salivation is mostly under parasympathetic control by cranial nerves VII and IX.

Salivary amylase begins digestion of complex carbohydrates (mostly starches) to disaccharides in the oral cavity. This digestion is stopped by acids in the stomach and continues in the small intestine where pancreatic amylase is secreted. Once the food has been thoroughly chewed, mixed with saliva, and partially digested, it forms a bolus, which is soft and can readily be swallowed.

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