Question

What is the name of the sphincter that separates the stomach from the small intestine?

Answer 1

A sphincter is a muscle which is circular in shape and maintains construction of a natural body passage and which relaxes as required by normal physiological functions. It relaxes at death and releases fluids and faeces.

Complete answer:
• The pyloric sphincter is responsible for controlling partially digested food (chyme), moving from our stomach to intestine. It happens at an optimal rate to ensure good and healthy digestion.
• The pyloric sphincter is a smooth muscle and is ring-shaped that connects the stomach with the small intestine.
• It opens and closes to control the passage of partially digested food. Sometimes it doesn't work properly leading to digestive problems including gastroparesis.
• When the pyloric sphincter doesn't work properly, bile makes its way up to the digestive tract and leads to bile reflux. Bile reflux includes upper abdominal pain, heartburn,etc.

Note:
When the pyloric valve doesn't work properly, food remains in the stomach and leads to bloating, nausea, vomiting, etc. If food doesn't get absorbed, then loss of weight also occurs. It is also life threatening sometimes.