DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

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 Contents

1. Digestive System Facts

2. Parts of the Digestive System
3. Major Organs
4. Function of the Digestive System
5. Biological Terms
6. Digestive Problems
7. Famous Scientists
8. Digestion Flowchart
9. Digestive Dos
10. About the Digestive System
11. Body Systems
 Digestive System Facts
The human digestive system is responsible for breaking down the
food we eat into smaller components for the body to easily absorb
nutrients and discard waste. It consists of accessory organs for
digestion including the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver,
gallbladder and the gastrointestinal tract.

Components and Process

of Digestion

★ The process of digestion has two

types:
a. Mechanical digestion, which
physically breaks down food into
smaller pieces through mastication or
chewing.
b. Chemical digestion, which involves
the use of enzymes to break down
food mass into molecules for the
body to use as nutrients and then
discarded as waste.
★ The digestive system consists of the
following parts: Mouth or oral cavity,
pharynx, esophagus, stomach,
gallbladder, liver, pancreas, small
intestine, large intestine, rectum
and anus.
★ These organs are hollow with their inner walls lined with a mucous
membrane that secretes digestive enzymes to aid digestion.
★ Saliva in our mouth moistens food we eat to enable effective
chewing and swallowing. It also contains enzymes useful for
chemical digestion of starchy food.
 Digestive System Facts
★ Aside from saliva, the teeth and tongue are also located in the
mouth and help with chewing and grinding. Food then goes to the
pharynx, which is located at the back of the throat. The epiglottis, a
flap of tissue in our pharynx, closes during swallowing to prevent
food from entering the trachea or larynx.
★ After this process, muscles move in waves pushing the food down
the esophagus, which is about 10 to 14 inches long and 1 inch in
diameter.
★ From the esophagus, food travels for
about 7 seconds to the stomach. The
stomach is a muscular sac-like organ. Its
walls are lined with three layers of muscle.
An adult stomach is relatively small when
empty but can expand to hold up to 1.5
liters of food.
Cross section of the human
stomach
★ The stomach secretes
enzymes called
proteases for breaking
down protein.
★ In addition to protease enzymes, the inner wall of the stomach
releases hydrochloric acid to kill bacteria. It also creates a thick
mucus lining to protect itself from the corrosive acid. The stomach
has wave-like muscular contractions, called peristalsis, which cause
rumblings. Stomach rumbling is louder with an empty stomach.
★ To aid the process of digestion, the pancreas secretes a hormone
called insulin. It also releases enzymes for digesting fats and
proteins.
 Digestive System Facts
★ Another accessory gland for digestion is the liver. The liver is the
second-largest organ in the human body, next to the skin. It is
responsible for the body’s metabolism. Moreover, the liver
synthesizes protein and produces chemicals needed for digestion.
Beneath the liver is the gallbladder, which serves as the storage of
bile produced by the liver. Bile helps to digest fats in the small
intestine.
★ Enzymes continue to break down food in the small intestine. Much
nutrient absorption takes place in this organ. In human adults, females
have longer small intestines, with 7.1 m while males have 6.9 m.

★ The small intestine has an inner

wall covered with villi or
microscopic finger-like structures,
which increase its effective
surface area.
★ A vestigial organ called the
appendix is found at the junction
of the small and large intestines.
It does not perform any function
in the body.
★ Food residue from the small
intestine goes to the large
Fast Facts
intestine. The human large
★ Carbohydrate-rich food
intestine includes the appendix,
stays in the stomach for 2
cecum, colon and rectum. It is
to 3 hours during digestion.
approximately 1.5 m long.
★ Humans have 10,000 taste
★ Moisture from food residue is
buds located on the tongue,
extracted in the rectum and
the throat and the roof of
expelled through feces in the
the mouth.
anus.
★ The liver is the only organ
in the human body that can
regenerate itself.
Name:

Parts of the Digestive System

The human digestive system is responsible for breaking
down food components into chemical compounds that
Digestive can be easily absorbed into the bloodstream. Label the
System
basic parts of your digestive system.

Human Digestive System

 Parts of Digestive System
Answer key
Digestive
System

Mouth Salivary Glands

Esophagus

Liver
Stomach
Gallbladder

Pancreas Large Intestine

Small
Intestine

Appendix
Rectum

Anus

Human Digestive System

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