The Human Body
Digestive System
What is the digestive system?
The human body needs energy to perform all its functions.
Unlike plants, humans cannot make their own food. How do
human cells get the energy they need? Esophagus
Digestion is the process by which foods are changed into
Mouth
forms that can be used by the body.
During digestion, the food that you eat breaks down into
smaller pieces. Stomach
Complex chemicals in food are changed into simpler ones
that can be used by your body.
The organs that digest food make up your digestive system. Small
Intestine
Large
Rectum Intestine
and Anus
Mouth
Digestion begins in the mouth. The jaw, teeth, and tongue work together
to cut and crush food into smaller pieces.
Saliva is the liquid in the mouth that mixes with food.
Saliva contains chemicals called enzymes.
These are protein molecules that start to break down the complex
carbohydrates in food into simpler ones as soon as you start to chew
something.
Saliva helps to change the starches in foods into simple sugars that are
easier to digest.
Salivary glands in the mouth create and release the saliva in your mouth.
Sometimes just the thought of food is enough to activate these glands
and make you salivate.
Saliva does two other important things: It moistens food, making it soft
and slippery so that it can be swallowed. Saliva also helps to keep your
mouth clean by washing away tiny food particles that may get stuck
between your teeth.
Esophagus
After food is chewed and mixed with saliva, it is swallowed into a
stronflexible tube called the esophagus.
The esophagus connects the mouth and the stomach.
The muscles of the esophagus contract in a wave-like squeezing motion
that pushes food down to the stomach.
This movement of food by the special muscles throughout the digestive
tract is called peristalsis.
You’ve probably noticed that some things are easier to swallow than
others.
That’s because peristalsis works great on soft, wet globs of food, but if
you hurry and don’t chew well, or are taking supplements or medicine,
sometimes it can get stuck in your throat. It is important to chew your
food well to avoid choking.
Stomach
The esophagus pushes food into the stomach, but not before
“knocking” and opening a little door. Well, not exactly--the
door is a valve. Valves are important structures present in all
kinds of organ systems in the body.
Here in the digestive system, valves open and shut to keep
food headed in the right direction and to keep digestive juices
where they belong.
Stomach fluids would hurt the esophagus if they splashed into
it, which is why the valve stays tightly closed.
When it doesn’t, people call the painful feeling "heartburn,"
but it doesn’t have anything to do with the heart!
A strong coating of mucus constantly recoats the walls of the
stomach so they aren’t hurt by its sour contents. The food has,
by this time, turned into a thin, creamy mixture from which
enzymes release the nutrients in the food. These nutrients will
be absorbed later in the small intestine by the blood.
Small Intestine
The partially digested food moves from the stomach into the small
intestine.
The 12- to 25-foot-long small intestine is lined with thin cell membranes
that allow most nutrients to pass through and enter the bloodstream.
The inside of the small intestine has tiny fingerlike projections, called villi,
Small
Intestine
Villi are coated with hair-like microvilli, which encourage molecules to stay near the villi long enough for
those molecules to be absorbed into the bloodstream.
Large Intestine
.Not all the food you eat enters the bloodstream as
nutrients. Undigested food travels on into the large
intestine--also called the colon--which absorbs water
for the body. This is very important because we need
water more than anything else. Large
The large intestine is only about three to five feet long, Intestine
but it is wide compared to the small intestine.
As the colon removes the water, the more fibrous
parts of the undigested food remain, along with
molecules too big for the system to break down.
This food is not wasted, though: billions of harmless
bacteria live in our large intestine, and they digest for
themselves some of what we can’t.
Gradually, as water is reabsorbed, solid feces form as
our previous meal nears the end of its time with us.
Rectum and Anus
The feces then enters the rectum. The rectum is a muscular
part of the intestine that also uses peristalsis to contract and
push the waste out of the body through the anus.
Rectum
Anus
Which organs help humans digest food?
Digestion starts in the mouth. Food then goes through the esophagus into the stomach and then on
to the intestines.
Finally, waste is removed through the rectum and anus. As the food progresses, it releases nutrients
into the body. There are other organs in the human body that are essential to digestion, though.
These other organs aid in the process of digestion and are essential to the healthy function of the
body.
Liver
.The liver is not directly connected to the
digestive tract. It has many important
functions, including the essential job of
converting nutrients to glucose.
If additional glucose is not needed, the
liver stores materials for making glucose
until it is needed. The liver monitors
when organs, especially the brain, need
glucose.
Liver
The. liver also makes many other chemical molecules that
the body (not just the digestive system) needs.
It filters certain poisons from the blood; it stores
vitamins, minerals, and fat until needed; and it digests
harmful molecules, like alcohol.
The liver works hard. We’d be in trouble without it.
Gallbladder
The. gallbladder stores bile, a fluid produced by the liver that helps
break down fatty foods.
It drips bile into the small intestine, where fats and oils clump
together. Bile is a digestive fluid that breaks down this fat into tiny
droplets.
Although bile is not an enzyme, it does cause change to take place.
This breaking up of fats is called emulsification.
Gallstones are the most common issue; they are composed of
hardened bile and can form in your gallbladder. They are most
common in middle-aged adults, but anyone can get them. You don't
need a gallbladder to live, so doctors might recommend surgery to
remove it if you develop any problems with it.
Pancreas
.
During digestion, your pancreas makes pancreatic juices
called enzymes. These enzymes break down sugars, fats,
and starches. Your pancreas also helps your digestive
system by making hormones, which are chemical
messengers that travel through your blood and help
regulate the absorption of sugars.
Kidneys
. not part of the digestive system, the kidney’s do
While
play a big role in digestion. The kidneys' job is to filter your
blood. They remove wastes, control the body's fluid
balance, and keep the right levels of electrolytes in the
body.
All the blood in your body passes through them about 40
times a day. When blood enters the kidneys, the kidneys
remove waste and adjust salt, water, and minerals as
needed.