The Digestive System
The digestive system is a group of organs that perform the process by which food, containing nutrients, is eaten and broken down into different components. This breakdown makes it possible for the digested material to pass through the intestinal wall into the blood stream. The digestive process contains many different steps that take place in many different organs.The first step of digestion begins at the mouth, where the food enters the mouth. Saliva is secreted from the salivary glands. The saliva contains enzymes such as Ptyalin, which starts sugar digestion. The enzymes also provide lubrication to help in the chewing and swallowing of the food.
The food then goes down the esophagus and into the stomach, where the next step of digestion takes place. In the stomach, a mixture of hydrochloric acid and Pepsin, which is secreted by the stomach wall, liquefies the food. At the same time, a substance called intrinsic factor binds Vitamin B in food and various gastric enzymes, such as Pepsin (which begins protein digestion), which are secreted by the stomach wall. Secretions of mucus protect the stomach from its digestive enzymes. The food is then mixed in the stomach, turning it into chyme(digested food).
The muscular pumping motion called peristalsis churns the chyme around.The chyme then passes through the pyloric valve by peristalsis to the first portion of the small intestine, the duodenum. The duodenum is where most of the chemical digestion takes place. Here, bile from the gallbladder and enzymes from the pancreas and intestinal walls combine with the chyme to begin the final part of digestion.Bile liquid is created in the liver, and stored in the gallbladder. Bile aids in the mechanical digestion of fat.
The pancreas and gland cells of the small intestine secrete digestive enzymes that chemically break down complex food molecules into simpler ones. These enzymes include trypsin for protein digestion, amylase for carbohydrate digestion, and lipase for fat digestion. When the food passes through the duodenum, the digestion is complete.From the duodenum, the chyme passes to the jejunum and ileum, where tiny finger-like objects called villi, cover the walls. These villi start the absorption of food. During the absorption, food molecules enter the blood stream through the walls of the intestine.
From the small intest...
... middle of paper ...
...um often affects the amount or frequency of one’s bowel movements. People should see a doctor if they experience any change in their bowel movements or pain while having a movement. Most patients whose cancer is confined to the intestine have the growth removed by surgery. They may also receive radiation therapy or chemotherapy. These patients have an excellent chance of being cured. Patients whose cancer has spread beyond the intestine usually have surgery, supplemented by radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Works Cited
Broitman, Selwyn A. “Digestive System.” Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1998.
“Digestive System.” A.D.A.M. The Inside Story. Vers. 2.01. Computer Software. A.D.A.M. Software Inc., 1996
Dubois, Andre. “Constipation.” World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999
Dubois, Andre. “Diarrhea.” World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999
Dubois, Andre. “Digestive System.” World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999
Franklin, James L. “Ulcer.” World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999
Lindsay, Mary. The Visual Dictionary of the Human Body. New York: Dorling Kindersley, Inc., 1991.
Plaut, Andrew G. “Appendicitis.” World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1999
•The forty five year old patient is diagnosed with the progressive cirrhosis inflaming the liver along with the parenchymal cells. The plain symptoms is manifested primarily because of the augmentation of edema internally in the lower abdomen.
Mouth: The process of digestion starts in the mouth. Where the food is broken down into small pieces and these pieces can be easily absorbed.
The digestive system otherwise known as the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) is a long tube which runs from the mouth to the anus. It operates to break down the food we eat from large macromolecules such as starch, proteins and fats, which can’t be easily absorbed, into readily absorbable molecules such as glucose, fatty acids and amino acids. Once broken down, these molecules can cross the cells lining the small intestine, enter into the circulatory system and be transported around the body finally being used for energy, growth and repair.
The digestive systems functions are to digest food, absorb any end products that were digested (including vitamins and minerals). The physiological processes of the digestive system are ingestion, propulsion, mechanical breakdown, digestion, absorption and defecation. Mechanical digestion means to use force in order to break down food for example the use of chewing or the contraction of muscles. Chemical digestion is when the food is broken down chemically into smaller particles such as the use of the saliva in the mouth.
Mouth- Digestion begins in the mouth. Physical actions, such as chewing, breaks food into small parts so it can be easily digested. Next, salivary glands secrete an enzyme called saliva to mix with food to start the breaking down of carbohydrates (WebMD (2).) From the mouth, food travels to the pharynx, or throat, by swallowing,
The whole purpose of your digestion system is to break down and absorb the energy and nutrients it needs from the food you eat. The sandwich, strawberries, and orange juice you have just consumed is going through this process right now! The process of digestion begins with ingestion, this is when you take a bite of what you have planned to eat. When you took a bite of your sandwich and strawberry slices you were essentially beginning the process of digestion. Second comes the job of your digestion, which is a much more time-consuming and complex process for your digestive system. It begins once you have began chewing your food. There are two known types of digestion, these include Mechanical digestion, which is when you “physically break down the food into smaller pieces”, for instance chewing a burger and having it result in several chunks, and Chemical Digestion which is when you chemically break down your food, such as eating a slice of br...
Once in the stomach, the glands that are there begin to secrete enzymes and a mucous that help to protect the stomach from its own acids. While this is being done, the muscles of the stomach are contracting. This causes the food to be turned and moved all throughout the stomach. This process turns the food into chyme, which is just a liquefied version of the food that was first taken...
What happens to food once it is ingested? Where does it go? How is it broken down into smaller pieces? The digestive process is very complex, but simple to understand. It involves several steps that include from being chewed inside the mouth, to landing in the stomach for more breakdown, traveling through the intestines, and finally exiting the body.
Haven't you ever wondered what would happen if you didn't have a digestive or circulatory system? Well, basically you wouldn't be able to be reading this or even be alive. While there are many important systems in the body, the circulatory and digestive are the two most important. There are many ways that they are similar, different, and how they work together.
During digestion, the body breaks down food into smaller molecules that could then be used by the body’s cells and tissues in order to perform functions. This starts off in the mouth with the physical movements of chewing and the chemical breakdown by saliva. Enzymes in the stomach break food down further after traveling from the mouth through the esophagus. The food from here then moves into the small intestine, where pancreatic juices and enzymes dissolve proteins, carbohydrates, and fibers, and bile from the liver breaks down fats into these small molecules. Any portion of the fibers or food that were unable to be broken down are passed from the small intestine to the large intestine, which is where the digestive tract transitions into the excretory tract, then the colon and out of the rectum. Any liquids that have been stripped of their nutrients by the body proceed from the stomach to the kidneys. In the kidneys, sodium ions (Na+), uric acid, and urea are exchanged with water, which moves urinary bladder and is excreted through the
Absorption is the way of digesting the food molecules into the small intestine. This process of absorption pass throughout the wall of the small intestine into the bloodstream. The bloodstream carried out all important nutrients to the
Weston, M. D. Know Your Body: The Atlas of Anatomy. Berkeley, CA: Marshall Cavendish Books Limited, 2005
The digestive system has of a chain of linked organs that work with each other to digest, and break down food into molecules that are put in the circulatory system. Then takes them to the body’s tissues. The most important structures in the digestive system are the tongue, mouth, intestines, esophagus, stomach, and anus. The liver, gallbladder, and pancreas are with the digestive system also.
The exocrine function of the pancreas is that it produces enzymes that aids in the digestion of food. There are three important enzymes that are crucial in helping with digestion. The first digestive enzyme is amylase. Amylase function is to break down carbohydrates. The amylase enzyme is made in two places: the cells in the digestive tract that produces saliva and the main one specifically found in the pancreas that are called the pancreatic amylase (Marie, Joanne; Media Demand, “What Are the Functions of Amylase, Protease and Lipase Digestive Enzymes”). The amylase in the pancreas passes through the pancreatic duct to the small intestines. This amylase in the pancreas completes the process of digestion of carbohydrates. Consequently, this leads to the production of glucose that gets absorbed into the bloodstream and gets carried throughout the body. The next enzyme that aids in digestion of food is protease. While amylase breaks down carbohydrates, protease breaks down protein. Protease breaks down protein into the building block form of amino acids. The three main proteases that it produces are: pepsin, trypsin and chymotrypsin (Marie, Joanne; Media Demand, “What Are the Functions of Amylase, Protease and Lipase Digestive Enzymes”). Pepsin does not occur in the pancreas but it is the catalysis in starting the digestion of proteins. Trypsin and chymotrypsin are the two proteases that occur in
The digestive system is a very important system in the human body. It is a group of organs that work together to turn food into energy and nutrients in the entire body. The food that was chewed in a humans’ mouth now passes through a long tube that is inside of the body that is known as the alimentary canal. The alimentary canal is made of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestines, and large intestines. Those few things are not the only important accessories of the digestive system there is also the teeth, tongue, salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.