DIGESTIVE SYSYTEM

FUNCTION OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

By the time you place the food in your mouth,
the digestive system starts working. The
mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small and
large intestines work together to break down
food so that the body will absorb food
nutrients. There are three main functions of
the digestive system:

1. Breaks down food into smaller

portions.
2. Absorbs nutrients into the bloodstream
and transfers nutrients to the cells to
produce energy.
3. Aids the elimination process of
undigested food.

Parts of the Digestive System:

I. Mouth:
1. Teeth and Tongue- are involved in the
digestion of food in the mouth.
 2. Incisors- front teeth that have sharp
edges for biting and cutting food.
3. Canines- pointed teeth which grip and
tear food.
4. Premolars- crush and grind the food.
5. Molars- are flat teeth used for chewing
food.

ORGAN CHARACTERISTICS
Esophagus  The esophagus is long muscular tube
that connects the pharynx to the throat
to the stomach.
 The wall of the esophagus is lined with
smooth muscles that contract
rhythmically to move the food through
the digestive system in the process
called peristalsis.
Stomach  The stomach is the large J-shaped
organ at the end of the esophagus, on
the left side of the body. The capacity of
the stomach is 50mL when empty and
can expand up to 2 to 4 liters when full.
 The end of the stomach has a sphincter
muscle that closes and opens to allow
the flow of from the esophagus to the
stomach.
Liver  The liver is the largest gland in the
body. It secretes bile that helps digest
fats. The bile is stored in a small pouch
called the gallbladder. Bile has
substances that aid in the digestion of
fats or lipids.
Pancreas  The pancreas produces pancreatic
juices that neutralize the acidic stomach
contents before they are move into the
small intestine. The pancreas also
secretes lipase, an enzyme that breaks
fat molecules.
Small  The small intestine is the narrow coiled
Intestine tube connected to the stomach. If it is
stretched, it is about seven meters long.
 There are three parts of small intestine-
the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. The
duodenum is the upper 20 centimeters
connected to the stomach. The jejunum
is about 2.5 meters long and the ileum
is the longest, half coiled through the
abdominal cavity.
 The small intestine has villi, small
finger- like projections that protrude in
the lining of intestinal wall. The villi
increase the internal surface of the
intestinal wall to increase the absorptive
area. The absorption of nutrients occurs
in the small intestine with the help of
villi.
Large  The large intestine or colon is a large
Intestine coiled tube attached to the end of the
small intestine. It is only about 1.5
meters long, which includes the colon,
rectum and appendix and twice as wide
as the small intestine.
 The last 20 or 30 centimeters colon are
called rectum.

DIGESTIVE PROCESS

There are two stages in the digestive

process- the mechanical phase and the
chemical phase.

MECHANICAL PHASE OF DIGESTION

 Mechanical digestion is the breaking of
food by means of cutting, tearing, grinding
and smashing of food into very fine mixture.
Mechanical digestion involves chewing of
food to break it down into smaller pieces.
The mechanical digestion is done by the
teeth and tongue through the contraction of
 the stomach and trough the movement of
the small intestine.

CHEMICAL PHASE OF DIGESTION

 Chemical digestion involves the
breakdown of large molecules in food into
smaller substances by enzymes. Enzymes
found in the digestive system constitute the
chemical stage. Digestive enzymes are fluid
that speeds up the chemical reaction
needed to break down starch into simpler
form called glucose, protein into amino
acids, fats into fatty acids, and glycerol. The
smaller substances can be absorbed into
the body’s cell.

How does the Digestive System Work?

Think about the food you eat.

 Biting is the first step in breaking down food.

When you chew your food, your teeth grind
into smaller pieces.
 As you chew, the salivary gland makes
saliva. Saliva is carried through tiny tubes to
your mouth to make your food wet and easy
to swallow. Enzyme in the saliva is called
amylase.
 After chewing, your tongue moves chewed
food to the back of your mouth. As you
swallow the food, the epiglottis covers the
trachea, allowing the food to enter to the
esophagus.
 As food enters long tube called esophagus,
muscles in the esophagus squeeze and
push the food toward the stomach by
peristalsis. When food reaches the end of
the esophagus, it goes past cardiac
sphincter muscles. The cardiac sphincter
opens and closes to allow the food from the
esophagus to the stomach.
 As the food reaches the stomach, stomach
muscles squeeze and mix with gastric
juices. Gastric juices contain mucus,
enzymes, hydrochloric acid and water.
 As chyme reaches the end of the stomach,
it passes through a pyloric sphincter to the
 small intestine. The food that reaches the
small intestine contains undigested
nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins. The liver produces bile, which
goes through the gall bladder, then the
small intestine, to help digest fats. Food
nutrients move through the thin lining of the
small intestine and through the wall of the
blood vessels into the blood.
 Chyme with undigested food move from the
small intestine to the large intestine. The
water in the chyme is removed and passes
through the thin lining of the large intestine
into the blood vessels. Solid undigested
waste called feces remains after the water
is absorbed.
 STRUCTURE PRIMARY TIME FOOD/
FUNCTIO MATERIAL STAYED
N
Mouth Mechanical 5 to 30 seconds
and
chemical
digestion
Esophagus Transport 10 seconds
Stomach Mechanical 2 to 3 hours
and
chemical
digestion
Small Intestine Mechanical 3 to 4 hours
and
chemical
digestion
Large Intestine Water 18 hours to 24 hours
absorption
Colon Water 1 to 2 days
storage