Digestive System Parts and Function

Digestion involves: Breaking down of food into smaller pieces The mixing of food Movement through the digestive tract Chemical breakdown of the large molecules of food into smaller molecules.

Identify the organs of the digestive system

Mouth Mechanical digestion - Teeth bite off and chew food into a soft pulp that is easy to swallow. Chemical digestion – saliva

Esophagus The esophagus is a muscular tube. It takes food from the throat and pushes it down through the neck, and into the stomach. It moves food by waves of muscle contraction called peristalsis.

Stomach The stomach has thick muscles in its wall. These contract to mash the food into a water soup called chyme. The stomach lining produces strong digestive juices.

Small Intestine The nutrients are broken down small enough to pass through the lining of the small intestine, and into the blood. Nutrients are carried away to the liver and other body parts to be processed, stored and distributed.

Large Intestine Water is absorbed. The remains are formed into brown, semi-solid feces, ready to be removed from the body

Rectum Rectum’s job to receive stool from the colon, to let the person know that there is stool to be evacuated, and to hold the stool until evacuation happens.

Anus Anus- It lets you know whether the contents are liquid, gas, or solid. The anus is surrounded by sphincter muscles that control of movement of stool.

Liver It stores some nutrients, and releases them into the blood according to the activities and needs of the body (helps the body maintain homeostasis)

Gall Bladder Bile (enzyme) flows from the gall bladder along the bile duct into the intestine to aid in chemical digestion.

Pancreas Makes digestive juices called enzymes which help to digest food.