name: __________________

Human Body Systems D v S

Function of the Digestive System
Digestion is the process that breaks down food into small molecules so that they can be _________________ and moved into the blood, then on to the cells. Food is processed in your body in ______ stages: ingestion _______________ absorption elimination

Mechanical Digestion
Takes place when food is

TYPES OF DIGESTION

Chemical Digestion

occurs when chemical _________ occur that break down large molecules of food into smaller ones.

__________, mixed, and churned. This mainly occurs in the mouth and stomach.

The Enzymes of Digestion

Enzymes help you digest _______________________, fats and proteins. _______________________ is an enzyme produced in a gland near the mouth. Amylase helps speed up the breakdown of complex carbs, such as starch, into simpler carbs - sugar. In your stomach, the enzyme _______________________ helps in the breakdown of complex proteins into less complex proteins. In your small _______________________, many other enzymes continue to speed up the breakdown of proteins into amino acids. The _______________________, an organ on the back outside of the stomach, releases several enzymes through a tube into the small intestine. They breakdown starches that started to be broken down in the mouth. The starches are broken down into glucose to be used by cells. Other enzymes from the pancreas are involved in the breakdown of fatty acids and proteins.

One Long Tube

The human digestive system is like a long tube with specialized sections. If it is stretched out, it would be _________ meters long. Absolutely __________-_________________!

2 SECTIONS OF DIGESTIVE SYSTEM Digestive Tract - which food passes through

mouth esophagus ____________ small intestine large intestine ___________ anus

Accessory Organs - which food doesnt pass through

tongue __________ salivary glands liver _______________ pancreas

Mouth
Mechanical and _______________ digestion begins in the mouth. Mechanical digestion - when you chew with your teeth and mix with your tongue. Chemical digestion - watery substances called saliva is added to your mouth. Saliva is produced by 3 sets of glands near your mouth. _______________ - mostly water, but also contains mucus and an enzyme that helps in the breakdown of starch into sugar. Food mixed with saliva becomes a soft mass and is moved to the back of your mouth by your ______________. It is swallowed and passes into your esophagus. _________________ is now complete.

Esophagus
Food that passes from the mouth into the esophagus, first passes the _______________. Epiglottis - structure that automatically covers the opening to the wind pipe to prevent food from entering the lungs and causing you to choke. Esophagus - muscular tube about ______ cm long. It takes ____________ seconds for food to travel through it. No digestion takes place in the esophagus, but there are _______________ glands in the wall to keep the food moist. The walls are made of smooth muscles, which move the food down to the stomach with a squeezing motion called ___________________________.

Stomach
Stomach - muscular bag, that when empty is sausage shaped with folds on the inside. As food enters, the stomach expands and the ____________ smooth out. Mechanical and chemical digestion take place here. Mechanical - food is mixed by peristalsis Chemical - food is mixed with enzymes and strong digestive solutions, like hydrochloric acid. Specialized cells in the walls of the stomach release about _______ liters of HCl solution each day. WOW!! The acidic solution works with the enzyme ____________ to digest protein. It also destroys bacteria that are present in the food. The stomach also produces ____________, making the food slippery and protects the stomach from the strong, digestive solutions. Food moves out of the stomach after _________ hours and is changed into a thin, water liquid called ______________. Little by little chyme leaves the stomach and moves to the small intestine.

Small Intestine
The small intestine is small in diameter, but is ________ meters longs! Food from the stomach enters the first section of the small intestine called the _________________. Most digestion takes place here. A greenish fluid, _____________, is produced in the liver and stored in the gall bladder. The acid from the stomach makes large fat particles float to the top of the bile. Bile breaks up the large fat particles, similar to the way detergent breaks up grease. Chemical digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats occurs when a digestive solution from the pancreas is mixed in. The solution contains bicarbonate ions to _____________ the stomach acid and enzymes to continue the breakdown. Your pancreas also makes _____________, a hormone that allows glucose to pass from the blood stream into your cells. _____________ of food nutrients takes place in the small intestine. The wall of the small intestine has many ridges and folds that are covered with fingerlike projections called _____________. Villi increase the surface area of the small intestine so that the nutrients in the chyme have more places to be absorbed. By how much do villi increase the surface area of the small intestine? If you were to stretch out the villi of the small intestine they would cover a ___________________!! Peristalsis continues to move and mix the chyme. Nutrients move into the ________________ vessels within the villi. The blood transports the nutrients to all cells of your body. Peristalsis continues to force the remaining ________________ and unabsorbed materials slowly into the large intestine.

Large Intestine
When the chyme enters the large intestine it is still thin and ________________. The main job of the large intestine is to ________________ water from the undigested mass. This keeps large amounts of water in your body and maintains ________________. Peristalsis ____________________ in the large intestine. The chyme might stay there for as long as _____ days. After the excess water is absorbed the undigested material become more ____________. ________________ in the rectum (the last section of the large intestine) and the anus control the release of semisolid wastes from the body in the form of feces.

Bacteria Are Important

Many types of ________________ are in your body. They live in many of the organs in your digestive tract, including your mouth and large intestine, where both your body and the bacteria are ________________. Bacteria in your large intestine feed on undigested material like cellulose. The bacteria make vitamins you need- vitamin K and 2 vitamin Bs. Vitamin K is needed is needed for blood ________________. The Vitamin Bs are needed for your ________________ system for other body functions. The breakdown of intestinal materials by bacteria produces gas.