Food is chemically and mechanically broken down into smaller particles like building blocks, the smallest of these are a basic unit called monomers. In the <em>stomach</em>, the enzyme pepsin breaks proteins, like those found in salmon, into smaller peptides by splitting the peptide bonds holding the proteins together. The <em>duodenum</em> processes these newly-formed peptide chains or polypeptides, into smaller ones, through the enzyme action of elastase, trypsin and chymotrypsin; these are produced in the pancreas. Peptidases convert these fragments into amino acid monomers for absorption into the bloodstream via the small intestines.
