Which feature provides protection for the interior surface of the stomach against the acids and enzymes in the gastric lumen?

A) the shallow depressions called gastric pits
B) the carpet of mucus secreted by the columnar epithelium, which covers the luminal portions of the stomach
C) the rapid rate of mechanical mixing of the stomach contents, which exposes the lining to chyme for only a short time
D) the esophageal sphincter
E) chief cells of the deepest portions of a gastric gland