This pH is necessary to activate the gastric enzymes. The role of the parietal cell is to pump hydrogen ions out into the lumen of the stomach. It accomplishes this task by extensive infolding of its apical surface and an enormous number of mitochondria. The localized concentration gets so high that the ions diffuse out into the lumen of the gland and eventually into the stomach. The third category of gastric glands is pyloric glands , found in the region of the pylorus , the junction with the first part of the intestine.
Pyloric glands produce a mucous secretion.
Structurally they closely resemble the glands of the cardiac region, though in the pyloric stomach the gastric pits tend to be deeper and the glands larger and more obvious. To see the pyloric region of the stomach, click here. To prevent too-rapid erosion of the gastric mucosa, the surface cells and cells of the gland necks produce mucous secretions which act to protect them. The protection isn't perfect, and there is a constant shedding of dead cells from the gastric pits into the lumen. They are replaced by new cells, moving up from the deep regions.