DIGESTION

AND
ABSORPTION
 The Alimentary Canal
Your mouth is the entrance
to a long tube called the
alimentary canal. The other
end of the tube is called the
anus.
The food inside the alimentary canal can only reach
your body cells if it can get out through the walls of
tube. This process is called absorption.
 Protein, starch and fat
are important nutrients.
Each of these nutrients is
made up of large
molecules.
Molecules of protein, starch and fat are so big that they
can not get through the walls of the alimentary canal.
So, in order to get these nutrients to your cells, the big
molecules have to be broken down into much smaller ones.
Then the small molecules can be absorbed.
 HUMAN
DIGESTIVE
SYSTEM
 MOUTH
Teeth chew food into smaller
pieces. Saliva starts to break
down starch to sugar.
 OESOPHAGUS
Food just passes through here
without changing.
 STOMACH
Hydrochloric acid kills micro-
organisms in the food. Stomach
juices begin to break down to
protein to amino-acids.
 SMALL INTESTINE
Juices from the pancreas finish breaking down
starch, protein and fat to small molecules. These
small molecules are then absorbed through the
walls of the small intestine. Water, vitamins and
minerals (which are already made of small
particles) are also absorbed.
LARGE INTESTINE
All the food that could not be
digested and absorbed passes
through here. A little more of the
water in it is absorbed. The
undigested food collects up and
forms faeces.
 LIVER
The liver makes bile. The bile is
stored in the gall bladder. Bile
flows into the small intestine,
where it helps with fat digestion.
 PANCREAS
The pancreas make pancratic juice.
Pancreatic juice flows into the
small intestine, where it helps to
digest protein, starch and fat.