Digest This!

The Mouth & Esophagus

By: Calie Siplon, Mary Gray, Ryan Smith

Digestion is the _______ and _______ breakdown of nutrients into small pieces so it can
be ______ into the bloodstream more easily. Digestion starts with the mouth, where the
_____ and ______ start the process of the mechanical breakdown. The teeth rip into the
food to make smaller pieces, and are then pushed around by the tongue in order to get
closer to _____. Saliva is made by the _______ glands; these glands secrete the saliva
which contains an ______ called _______ that breaks down ___________.
Once we go past the oral cavity, we get to the _______. The pharynx is a part of your
your throat that is behind the nasal and oral cavity. You would probably know the
pharynx because it literally keeps you from dying. Inside the pharynx is the ________
which is a flap of connective tissue that closes over the _______ when food is swallowed.
If not for this tiny flap of connectivity, you would be dead by asphyxiation. The
pharynx allows the small pieces of food into the esophagus by a muscular process
known as _________.
Following the pharynx, we finally get into the ________. The esophagus transports the
food into the stomach. The esophagus walls are made of two layers of ______ _______.
After the food is swallowed it goes down to the stomach.