Sometimes overlooked because of its simple design, the stomach is a salient organ that allows us to eat and digest delicious meals. A bite of food takes a dive down the esophagus and enters the stomach, where its unique gastric strengths and intricacies are unveiled. The innermost linings of the stomach, the mucosa, and submucosa are shaped into a distinctive pattern of folds and ridges called gastric rugae. The rugae have even smaller folds called gastric pits. The pits are full of microscopic glands that secrete gastric enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and mucus, which are essential ingredients of digestion. The acid in our stomach is what breaks down our food, allows the digestive enzymes to activate, and destroys invading microorganisms. Hydrochloric acid is so strong that it can damage skin, teeth, and bones if it comes into contact with them, but our stomach keeps the corrosive acid isolated for its purpose and within its toxic walls. This multilayered and highly organized organ sits inside our abdomen out of sight and out of mind, just waiting for the next bite.