DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

WHAT IS DIGESTION?

The process of digestion is a fascinating and complex

one that takes the food we place in our mouth and
turns it into energy and waste products. This process
takes place in the gastrointestinal tract, a long,
connected, tubular structure that starts with the mouth
and ends with the anus. The food is propelled
forward within the system, altered by enzymes and
hormones into usable particles and absorbed along
the way. Other organs that support the digestive
process are the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. The
time it takes for food to travel from entering the
mouth to be excreted as waste is around 30 to 40
hours.
CHARACTERISTICS
1) The digestive system is the set of organs responsible for the process of digestion.
2) Digestion is the breakdown of food into small molecules, which are then absorbed into the body.
3) The treatment of food in the digestive system involves the following seven processes:
•INGESTION is the process of eating.
•PROPULSION is the movement of food along the digestive tract.
•SECRETION of digestive enzymes and other substances liquefies, adjusts the pH of, and chemically breaks
down the food.
•MECHANICAL DIGESTION is the process of physically breaking down food into smaller pieces. This process
begins with the chewing of food and continues with the muscular churning of the stomach.
•CHEMICAL DIGESTION is the process of chemically breaking down food into simpler molecules. The
process is carried out by enzymes in the stomach and small intestines.
•ABSORPTION is the movement of molecules (by passive diffusion or active transport) from the digestive
tract to adjacent blood and lymphatic vessels.
•DEFECATION is the process of eliminating undigested material through the anus.
 PARTS
It starts in the oral cavity. In the mouth proper digestion
begins, the teeth crush the food and the secretions of the
glands initiate their chemical decomposition transforming
into the food bolus. Then, the food bolus crosses the
pharynx, continues through the esophagus and reaches
the stomach. In the stomach the food is stirred until it
becomes the chyme. At the exit of the stomach, the
digestive tract is called small intestine. In its first portion or
duodenum receives secretions from the intestinal glands,
bile from the gallbladder and juices of the pancreas. All
these secretions contain a large amount of enzymes that
degrade food and transform them into simple soluble
substances such as amino acids. The digestive tract
continues through the large intestine, just over a meter
and a half in length. Its final portion is the rectum, which
ends in the anus, through which the indigestible remains
of the food are evacuated to the outside.
FUNCTIONS
1. The main function of the digestive system is that the nutrients
in the food can go to the blood and then to all the cells of
the body so that they can obtain energy.
2. Transforms complex food molecules into substances that are simple and easily
used by the body.
3. It also has the mission to reject external microorganisms that can cause diseases
such as viruses, bacteria and others.
THANK YOU!