DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The digestive system is a group of organs working together to convert food into energy and basic nutrients to feed the entire body !ood passes through a "ong tube inside the body known as the a"imentary cana" or the gastrointestina" tract #GI tract$ The a"imentary cana" is made up of the ora" cavity% pharyn&% esophagus% stomach% sma"" intestines% and "arge intestines In addition to the a"imentary cana"% there are severa" important accessory organs that he"p your body to digest food but do not have food pass through them 'ccessory organs of the digestive system inc"ude the teeth% tongue% sa"ivary g"ands% "iver% ga""b"adder% and pancreas To achieve the goa" of providing energy and nutrients to the body% si& ma(or functions take p"ace in the digestive system)

Ingestion Secretion Mi&ing and movement Digestion 'bsorption E&cretion

Digestive System Anatomy Mouth !ood begins its (ourney through the digestive system in the mouth% a"so known as the oral cavity Inside the mouth are many accessory organs that aid in the digestion of food*the tongue% teeth% and sa"ivary g"ands Teeth chop food into sma"" pieces% which are moistened by sa"iva before the tongue and other musc"es push the food into the pharyn&

Teeth The teeth are +, sma""% hard organs found a"ong the anterior and "atera" edges of the mouth Each tooth is made of a bone-"ike substance ca""ed dentin and covered in a "ayer of ename"*the hardest substance in the body Teeth are "iving organs and contain b"ood vesse"s and nerves under the dentin in a soft region known as the pu"p The teeth are designed for cutting and grinding food into sma""er pieces Tongue. The tongue is "ocated on the inferior portion of the mouth (ust posterior and media" to the teeth It is a sma"" organ made up of severa" pairs of muscles covered in a thin% bumpy% skin"ike "ayer The outside of the tongue contains many rough papi""ae for gripping food as it is moved by the tongue.s musc"es The taste buds on the surface of the tongue detect taste mo"ecu"es in food and connect to nerves in the tongue to send taste information to the brain The tongue a"so he"ps to push food toward the posterior part of the mouth for swa""owing Salivary Glands Surrounding the mouth are + sets of sa"ivary g"ands The sa"ivary g"ands are accessory organs that produce a watery secretion known as sa"iva Sa"iva he"ps to moisten food

and begins the digestion of carbohydrates The body a"so uses sa"iva to "ubricate food as it passes through the mouth% pharyn&% and esophagus Pharynx The pharyn&% or throat% is a funne"-shaped tube connected to the posterior end of the mouth The pharyn& is responsib"e for the passing of masses of chewed food from the mouth to the esophagus The pharyn& a"so p"ays an important ro"e in the respiratory system% as air from the nasa" cavity passes through the pharyn& on its way to the "aryn& and eventua""y the lungs /ecause the pharyn& serves two different functions% it contains a f"ap of tissue known as the epiglottis that acts as a switch to route food to the esophagus and air to the larynx Esophagus The esophagus is a muscu"ar tube connecting the pharyn& to the stomach that is part of the upper gastrointestinal tract It carries swa""owed masses of chewed food a"ong its "ength 't the inferior end of the esophagus is a muscu"ar ring ca""ed the "ower esophagea" sphincter or cardiac sphincter The function of this sphincter is to c"ose of the end of the esophagus and trap food in the stomach Stomach The stomach is a muscu"ar sac that is "ocated on the "eft side of the abdomina" cavity% (ust inferior to the diaphragm In an average person% the stomach is about the si0e of their two fists p"aced ne&t to each other This ma(or organ acts as a storage tank for food so that the body has time to digest "arge mea"s proper"y The stomach a"so contains hydroch"oric acid and digestive en0ymes that continue the digestion of food that began in the mouth Small Intestine The small intestine is a "ong% thin tube about 1 inch in diameter and about 12 feet "ong that is part of the lower gastrointestinal tract It is "ocated (ust inferior to the stomach and takes up most of the space in the abdomina" cavity The entire sma"" intestine is coi"ed "ike a hose and the inside surface is fu"" of many ridges and fo"ds These fo"ds are used to ma&imi0e the digestion of food and absorption of nutrients /y the time food "eaves the sma"" intestine% around 324 of a"" nutrients have been e&tracted from the food that entered it Liver and Gall ladder The liver is a rough"y triangu"ar accessory organ of the digestive system "ocated to the right of the stomach% (ust inferior to the diaphragm and superior to the sma"" intestine The "iver weighs about + pounds and is the second "argest organ in the body The "iver has many different functions in the body% but the main function of the "iver in digestion is the production of bi"e and its secretion into the sma"" intestine The gall ladder is a sma""% pear-shaped organ "ocated (ust posterior to the "iver The ga""b"adder is used to store and recyc"e e&cess bi"e from the sma"" intestine so that it can be reused for the digestion of subse5uent mea"s Pancreas

The pancreas is a "arge g"and "ocated (ust inferior and posterior to the stomach It is about 6 inches "ong and shaped "ike short% "umpy snake with its 7head8 connected to the duodenum and its 7tai"8 pointing to the "eft wa"" of the abdomina" cavity The pancreas secretes digestive en0ymes into the sma"" intestine to comp"ete the chemica" digestion of foods Large Intestine The large intestine is a "ong% thick tube about , 9 inches in diameter and about : feet "ong It is "ocated (ust inferior to the stomach and wraps around the superior and "atera" border of the sma"" intestine The "arge intestine absorbs water and contains many symbiotic bacteria that aid in the breaking down of wastes to e&tract some sma"" amounts of nutrients !eces in the "arge intestine e&it the body through the ana" cana" Digestive System Physiology The digestive system is responsib"e for taking who"e foods and turning them into energy and nutrients to a""ow the body to function% grow% and repair itse"f The si& primary processes of the digestive system inc"ude) 1 , + ; : 6 Ingestion of food Secretion of f"uids and digestive en0ymes Mi&ing and movement of food and wastes through the body Digestion of food into sma""er pieces 'bsorption of nutrients E&cretion of wastes

Ingestion The first function of the digestive system is ingestion% or the intake of food The mouth is responsib"e for this function% as it is the orifice through which a"" food enters the body The mouth and stomach are a"so responsib"e for the storage of food as it is waiting to be digested This storage capacity a""ows the body to eat on"y a few times each day and to ingest more food than it can process at one time Secretion In the course of a day% the digestive system secretes around < "iters of f"uids These f"uids inc"ude sa"iva% mucus% hydroch"oric acid% en0ymes% and bi"e Sa"iva moistens dry food and contains sa"ivary amy"ase% a digestive en0yme that begins the digestion of carbohydrates Mucus serves as a protective barrier and "ubricant inside of the GI tract =ydroch"oric acid he"ps to digest food chemica""y and protects the body by ki""ing bacteria present in our food En0ymes are "ike tiny biochemica" machines that disassemb"e "arge macromo"ecu"es "ike proteins! car ohydrates! and lipids into their sma""er components !ina""y% bi"e is used to emu"sify "arge masses of "ipids into tiny g"obu"es for easy digestion Mixing and Movement The digestive system uses + main processes to move and mi& food)

Swallowing Swa""owing is the process of using smooth and ske"eta" musc"es in the mouth% tongue% and pharyn& to push food out of the mouth% through the pharyn&% and into the esophagus Peristalsis >erista"sis is a muscu"ar wave that trave"s the "ength of the GI tract% moving partia""y digested food a short distance down the tract It takes many waves of perista"sis for food to trave" from the esophagus% through the stomach and intestines% and reach the end of the GI tract Segmentation Segmentation occurs on"y in the sma"" intestine as short segments of intestine contract "ike hands s5uee0ing a toothpaste tube Segmentation he"ps to increase the absorption of nutrients by mi&ing food and increasing its contact with the wa""s of the intestine

Digestion Digestion is the process of turning "arge pieces of food into its component chemica"s Mechanica" digestion is the physica" breakdown of "arge pieces of food into sma""er pieces This mode of digestion begins with the chewing of food by the teeth and is continued through the muscu"ar mi&ing of food by the stomach and intestines /i"e produced by the "iver is a"so used to mechanica""y break fats into sma""er g"obu"es ?hi"e food is being mechanica""y digested it is a"so being chemica""y digested as "arger and more comp"e& mo"ecu"es are being broken down into sma""er mo"ecu"es that are easier to absorb @hemica" digestion begins in the mouth with sa"ivary amy"ase in sa"iva sp"itting comp"e& carbohydrates into simp"e carbohydrates The en0ymes and acid in the stomach continue chemica" digestion% but the bu"k of chemica" digestion takes p"ace in the sma"" intestine thanks to the action of the pancreas The pancreas secretes an incredib"y strong digestive cocktai" known as pancreatic (uice% which is capab"e of digesting "ipids% carbohydrates% proteins and nuc"eic acids /y the time food has "eft the duodenum% it has been reduced to its chemica" bui"ding b"ocks*fatty acids% amino acids% monosaccharides% and nuc"eotides A sorption Ance food has been reduced to its bui"ding b"ocks% it is ready for the body to absorb 'bsorption begins in the stomach with simp"e mo"ecu"es "ike water and a"coho" being absorbed direct"y into the b"oodstream Most absorption takes p"ace in the wa""s of the sma"" intestine% which are dense"y fo"ded to ma&imi0e the surface area in contact with digested food Sma"" b"ood and "ymphatic vesse"s in the intestina" wa"" pick up the mo"ecu"es and carry them to the rest of the body The "arge intestine is a"so invo"ved in the absorption of water and vitamins / and B before feces "eave the body Excretion The fina" function of the digestive system is the e&cretion of waste in a process known as defecation Defecation removes indigestib"e substances from the body so that they do not accumu"ate inside the gut The timing of defecation is contro""ed vo"untari"y by the conscious part of the brain% but must be accomp"ished on a regu"ar basis to prevent a backup of indigestib"e materia"s