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The Digestive System

The Digestive System

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John Rex Villanueva
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51 views2 pages

The Digestive System

The Digestive System

Uploaded by

John Rex Villanueva
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The digestive system is a complex series of organs and glands that processes food, extracts

nutrients, and expels waste. Here’s an overview of the digestive system, including the main
organs involved and their functions:

Main Organs and Functions

1. Mouth: The process of digestion begins here.


o Teeth: Chew and break down food into smaller pieces.
o Salivary Glands: Produce saliva, which contains enzymes (like amylase) that
begin the breakdown of carbohydrates.
o Tongue: Helps in mixing food with saliva and forming the bolus (a ball of
chewed food) for swallowing.
2. Pharynx (Throat): Passageway for food from the mouth to the esophagus.
3. Esophagus: A muscular tube that connects the pharynx to the stomach. Peristalsis (wave-
like muscle contractions) moves the food down.
4. Stomach:
o Gastric Juices: Contains hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes (like pepsin)
that further break down food, especially proteins.
o Churning: The stomach muscles mix the food with gastric juices to form chyme
(a semi-liquid mixture).
5. Small Intestine: The major site of digestion and nutrient absorption.
o Duodenum: First part of the small intestine where most chemical digestion
occurs. It receives bile from the liver and gallbladder, and pancreatic juice from
the pancreas.
o Jejunum and Ileum: These sections are primarily involved in the absorption of
nutrients and minerals from food.
6. Liver: Produces bile, which helps break down fats into fatty acids, making them easier to
digest.
7. Gallbladder: Stores and concentrates bile, releasing it into the small intestine as needed.
8. Pancreas: Produces pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes and bicarbonate,
which neutralizes stomach acid entering the small intestine.
9. Large Intestine (Colon): Absorbs water and salts from the material that has not been
digested as food, and is thus responsible for forming and storing feces.
o Cecum: First part of the large intestine.
o Ascending, Transverse, Descending, and Sigmoid Colon: Sections that absorb
water and salts.
o Rectum: Stores feces until they are expelled.
o Anus: The opening at the end of the digestive tract through which feces leave the
body.

Accessory Organs

 Salivary Glands: Produce saliva for carbohydrate digestion.


 Liver: Produces bile for fat digestion.
 Gallbladder: Stores bile produced by the liver.
 Pancreas: Produces enzymes for digestion and bicarbonate to neutralize stomach acid.
Process of Digestion

1. Ingestion: Taking in food via the mouth.


2. Propulsion: Swallowing and peristalsis move food through the digestive tract.
3. Mechanical Digestion: Chewing, churning in the stomach, and segmentation in the
intestines.
4. Chemical Digestion: Enzymatic breakdown of food into its building blocks
(carbohydrates into sugars, proteins into amino acids, and fats into fatty acids and
glycerol).
5. Absorption: Nutrients and water are absorbed into the blood and lymphatic systems
through the walls of the small and large intestines.
6. Defecation: Elimination of indigestible substances as feces.

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