Food bolus

For other uses, see bolus.

A food bolus ( bolus Latin for 'ball') is a ball-like mixture of food and saliva that forms in the mouth during the process chewing in readiness for being swallowed.^[1] It has the same color as the food being eaten, and the saliva gives it an alkaline pH.

This bolus from an albatross has several ingested flotsam items, including monofilament from fishing nets and a discarded toothbrush. Tern Island, French Frigate Shoals

Under normal circumstances, the bolus is swallowed, and travels down the esophagus to the stomach for digestion.^[2] Sometimes a bolus may become lodged in the esophagus either due to the type of food being eaten or to changes in the esophagus itself, when it is known as an esophageal food bolus obstruction.

See also

• Chyme
• Chyle