10. What would happen if HCl were not secreted in the stomach?
The function of hydrochloric acid in the stomach is to dissolve food particles and maintain an acidic medium. The acidic medium is required for the pepsinogen to be converted into pepsin which is essential for the process of digestion of proteins. Hence, if HCL were not secreted in the stomach, then pepsin would not be activated leading to impaired protein digestion.