Preview

How Does Digestion Work

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1691 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does Digestion Work
The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder).[1] In this system, the process of digestion has many stages, the first of which starts in the mouth. Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and assimilated into the body.
Chewing, in which food is mixed with saliva begins the process of digestion. This produces a bolus which can be swallowed down the esophagus and into the stomach. Here it is mixed with gastric juice until it passes into the duodenum, where it is mixed with a number of enzymes produced by the pancreas. Saliva also contains a catalytic enzyme
…show more content…
Digestion works by moving food through the GI tract. Digestion begins in the mouth with chewing and ends in the small intestine. As food passes through the GI tract, it mixes with digestive juices, causing large molecules of food to break down into smaller molecules. The body then absorbs these smaller molecules through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream, which delivers them to the rest of the body. Waste products of digestion pass through the large intestine and out of the body as a solid matter called stool.
The human digestive system is responsible for the intake, breakdown, absorption and finally removal of nutrients and energy needed for the functioning of the human body. It performs these duties by allowing nutrients and energy in the form of food to enter the body, and then removing the materials needed from the food, then absorbing the materials into the body, as well as sending these materials to the place that they're needed, and finally removing the leftover materials from the body. The system consists of the primary organs; the mouth, the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine, the rectum, and the anus, as well as the secondary organs; the liver, the salivary glands, the gallbladder and the
…show more content…
Absorption also begins to occur at this stage in the digestive system. The small intestine is broken down into three parts, the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. The duodenum is the first part of the small intestine, and it is responsible for most of the food digested in the small intestine. The duodenum also regulates the rate of emptying of the stomach via hormonal pathways. The next part of the small intestine is the jejunum, which is the longest portion of the small intestine, but it is also responsible for very little digestion, but is primarily responsible for the first round of absorption, where it takes most of the nutrients out of the food matter. The final portion of the small intestine is the ileum, which is where the final bit of absorption in the small intestine takes place. Once the now digested material finishes its path through the small intestine, it enters the large

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The beginning of the digestive process starts with the smell and sight of food which activate the salivary glands. The mouth is the point at which food enters the digestive tract and continues the digestive process by chewing food. The food is then broken down into pieces and moistened by salivary glands which turn food into a bolus. The bolus goes down the pharynx into the esophagus which connects the pharynx to the stomach. The stomach is an organ that mixes food and secretes gastric juice. The bolus, once in the stomach, is mixed into a semiliquid mass called chime. The stomach is close together with the liver and pancreas but does not get assistance from these organs. The chime then enters…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    When we vomit, the acidic nature of our stomach contents becomes immediately apparent both from the taste and from the burning sensation in our throats. The purpose of this acidity is to kill any bacteria we swallow with our food. In the stomach, digestive enzymes and a muscular churning action combine to reduce our food to a thick liquid called chyme. Chyme exits the stomach through a second sphincter and enters the small intestine. Typically, it takes the stomach about 4 hours to process a meal. The small intestine is about 20 feet long. In the duodenum, the first foot of the small intestine, digestion continues with the breakdown of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. Some of the digestive enzymes at work in the duodenum are made by the small intestine itself. Others are made by the pancreas. Pancreatic enzymes play an important role in neutralizing food, which arrives from the stomach in a highly acidic condition. In addition, the small intestine receives bile, a substance that is produced in the liver and stored in the gall bladder. Bile is an emulsifier?it breaks fats into tiny droplets that are more easily attacked by enzymes. Beyond the duodenum, the rest of the small intestine functions primarily in absorbing nutrients into the body. In order to be able to do this efficiently?that is, rapidly?the small intestine has a huge surface area. It is covered with numerous fingerlike projections called villi, each of which is in turn covered with tiny little projections called microvilli. Flattened, the small intestine would fill the area of a tennis court! Digested nutrients are absorbed across the surface of the small intestine into capillaries found inside each villus.…

    • 4740 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    When a human sees or smells food the salivary glands are the first thing to react in the digestive system. Once the food is placed into the mouth, it is then taken over by the teeth, tongue, and saliva. These three are what help make the food moist and small enough to be swallowed. At this point the food then becomes what is called bolus. The bolus is then traveled through the pharynx then esophagus, and into the stomach. When the food travels through the pharynx, the epiglottis makes sure that the food paces by the without interring the lungs. Once the bolus enters the stomach, it is then broken down even further by the acids within the stomach. The bolus becomes a little more digested before leaving the stomach. Once the food is at this stage, it is then called Chyme. Chyme is a semiliquid food. It normally leaves the stomach within two to six hours. The small intestine is what does most of the digesting and takes the nutrients from the food. It has help from the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. The small intestine is made up of three parts, these parts are called, the jejunum, the ileum, and the duodenum. Anything that is not taken for nutrients in the small intestine goes to the large intestine. At this time it travels through what is called the sphincter. The sphincter prevents any of the food to go back into the small…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Unit 4 Assigment

    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The gastrointestinal tract starts with the mouth, which leads to the gullet via the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and ends at the anus. In due course of the journey, the ingested food is broken down by both physical and chemical means to release nutrients which are absorbed into the blood stream. The ingested food is physically broken down in the mouth by chewing so as to reduce its size for increased surface area over which enzymatic reaction will take place. Enzymatic reaction is known as digestion and this is defined as the chemical breakdown of the ingested complex food molecules by the action of biological enzymes, into simplest form that can be absorbed into the blood stream and assimilated into living cells. In human beings, various components of the ingested food are digested and absorbed at various sections of the alimentary canal .…

    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The digestive system is a group of organs that breakdown the chemical components of food, with fluid (digestive juices) into tiny nutrients which can be absorbed to generate energy. The mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, liver, gall, bladder, jejunum, ileum, and colon break down the food.…

    • 1619 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The digestive system is a group of organs that breakdown the chemical components of food, with fluid (digestive juices) into tiny nutrients which can be absorbed to generate energy. The mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, liver, gall, bladder, jejunum, ileum, and colon break down the food.…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The digestive system takes in food from your environment and then breaks it down to smaller molecules. Through the process of digestion, your body breaks large nutrient molecules into even smaller molecules; these smaller molecules enter the intestine and are then absorbed…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    3

    • 1178 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The digestive system works like an assembly line in reverse. Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are progressively broken down into smaller molecules that can be used by the body. This system extracts needed nutrients and gets rid of any unnecessary wastes. Structurally, the digestive system consists of the long tube, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that serves as the direct pathway for what you eat and excrete. Along the way, various accessory organs help with the mechanical breakdown and the chemical digestion of food. Mechanical digestion involves physically mashing or tearing the bites of food we put in our mouths. We normally think of mechanical digestion occurring in the mouth, but there are other features of your GI tract that also help mash up your food. As what you consume is being smashed, chemical digestion also begins. Enzymes break fats, carbohydrates and proteins into their building blocks so they can be used by the body. Once these molecules are broken down, they can become the raw material for the production of the body’s energy currency, adenosine triphosphate (ATP).…

    • 1178 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The digestive system is made up of organs that break down food into protein, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and fats, which the body needs for energy, growth, and repair. After food is chewed and swallowed, it goes down the esophagus and enters the stomach, where it is further broken down by powerful stomach acids. From the stomach the food travels into the small intestine. This is where your food is broken down into nutrients that can enter the bloodstream through tiny hair-like projections. The excess food that the body doesn't need or can't digest is turned into waste and is eliminated from the body.…

    • 1195 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Human Digestion Paper

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The path that food follows through the digestive system is very interesting. First you put the food to your mouth, take a bite, and chew. The salivary glands begin the digestive process at the sight and smell of food. After food enters the mouth and is moistened by saliva, it transforms into a bolus. Once the bolus leaves the mouth, it moves into the pharynx, where it can be swallowed. The bolus then moves from the pharynx to the stomach. Once the bolus reaches the stomach, it is mixed with acid secretion to transform the bolus into chyme (the semifluid mass into which food is converted by gastric secretion and which passes from the stomach into the small intestine). Food is partially digested in the stomach and chyme usually empties from the stomach in two to six hours. This time frame can be determined by the size and type of meal ingested. Although, the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas are located in close proximity of the stomach, they contribute to the digestive process once the chyme reaches the small intestine. The small intestine is a tube shaped organ of the digestive tract where digestion of ingested food is completed and the majority of nutrient absorption occurs. The small intestine is divided into three parts, known as the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. The large intestine includes both the colon and the rectum. Additional absorption of water and some vitamins and minerals occurs in the colon. Materials not absorbed in the colon are exerted from the body as waste products in the feces. The end of the colon is attached to the anus, which is the external opening of the digestive tract where the feces are eliminated from the body. This is how the digestive process works. Fascinating…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The job of the digestive system is to break down food into substances to provide the body with vitamins, energy and minerals. The digestive system is approximately 20 to 30 feet and acts in stages to be able to digest the food we eat.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Digestive System

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The digestive system is a combination of organs which have been arranged together to help carry out its particular function of turning food into the energy which is necessary to survive and packaging the excess residue for waste disposal. Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller components.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    every part of the gastrointestinal tract is designed to help in the digestive process in a specific way. The mouth is involved in chewing also know as masticating. The purpose is to break down food into small enough pieces to pass through the esophagus and enter the stomach. The food is moistened with saliva helping turning it into bolus in order to turn initiate the digestion of food. The esophagus is a tube like muscle which use contractions to pass food from the mouth into the stomach it does not help with the digestive or absorptive function. The stomach acts like a sort of storage depot for food, but also acts as a place in which mechanical and chemical breakdown of food happens. The small intestine absorbs water, electrolytes, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Whereas the large intestine is where the food matter and water that can’t be absorbed is the formed into stools. The rectum is a temporary storage area for feces before passed.…

    • 513 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The digestive system and the urinary system are two very important systems for the human body. The digestive system helps use break down food to help nourish our bodies and give us energy. The urinary system helps are body gets rid of any waste produces that our body and digestive system doesn’t use. This paper will explain these two systems and how they work.…

    • 1303 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    bio short essay

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The digestive system is made up of the GI tract, also known as the digestive tract. The GI tract is a series of hallow organs going from the mouth to the anus. The organs that make up this tract are the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine which includes the rectum and anus. There are also organs of the digestive system that are solid and help the body digest the food. These include the liver, pancreas and gallbladder.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays