how does your body turn food into the poop mechanical digestion begins in the mouth as
the food is chewed chemical digestion begins in the mouth when the food mixes with saliva
saliva contains an enzyme amylase that begins the breakdown of carbohydrates
the epiglottis is a flexible flap at the end of the larynx in the throat it acts as a switch
between the larynx and the esophagus to permit air to enter the airway to the lungs and food to pass
into the esophagus the esophagus is a muscular tube connecting the throat with the stomach
the esophagus is about eight inches long the esophagus muscle acts with peristaltic action
to move swallowed food down to the stomach the action of peristalsis looks like an ocean wave
moving through the muscle the food then enters the stomach which is a rounded hollow j-shaped organ
located between the esophagus and the duodenum the stomach has three mechanical tasks to do
first the stomach must store the swallowed food in liquid this requires the muscle of
the upper part of the stomach to relax and accept large volumes of swallowed material?
the inner layer of the stomach is full of wrinkles known as rugae. rugae both allow the stomach
to stretch in order to accommodate large meals and help to grip and move food during digestion
the second job is to mix up the food liquid with digestive juice
produced by the stomach the lower part of the stomach mixes these materials as a blunder
by its muscle action and breaks down the food into tiny particles in three millimeters
finally, the stomach empties this acidy mash slowly into the small intestine
the small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the end
absorption of nutrients and materials from food takes place it lies between the stomach and large
intestine and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the pancreatic duct to aid in digestion
duodenum the first part of the small intestine which receives partially digested food from the
stomach and begins the absorption of nutrients the duodenum is the shortest segment of the intestine
and is about 23 to 28 centimeters 9 to 11 inches long it is roughly horseshoe shaped
the pancreatic juices and bile that are released into the duodenum help the body to digest fats
carbohydrates and proteins the food is in intestine now and have very long way to go
as a person grows the small intestine increases 20 times in length from about 200 centimeters in a
newborn to almost six meters in an adult the inner walls of the small intestine show mucosal folds
these are called the plicai circulares the plickeye are more numerous in the early and
reduce in numbers in the later part and are completely absent digestion is important
because your body needs nutrients from food and drink to work properly and stay healthy
proteins fats carbohydrates vitamins minerals and water are nutrients your digestive system breaks
nutrients into parts small enough for your body to absorb and use for energy growth and cell repair
proteins break into amino acids fats break into fatty acids and glycerol carbohydrates break
into simple sugars what is left over which is mostly liquid then moves into the colon
in this small bowel the food particles get even smaller
the food takes the nutrients to other organs in the body
the water is absorbed in the colon bacteria in the colon break down the remaining material
then the colon moves the leftover material into the rectum is like a storage holder for
the waste muscles in the rectum move the waste called stool out of the body through the anus
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