THE DIGESTIVE

SYSTEM
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
• The digestive system is a group of organs working together to convert food
into energy and basic nutrients to feed the entire body.
• Food passes through a long tube inside the body known as the alimentary
canal.
• The alimentary canal is made up of the oral cavity, pharynx, oesophagus,
stomach, small intestines, and large intestines.
• In addition to the alimentary canal, there are several important accessory
organs that help your body to digest food but do not have food pass
through them.
• Accessory organs of the digestive system include the teeth, tongue, salivary
glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
IDENTIFY
THE
FUNCTION
OF EACH
PART OF
THE
DIGESTIVE
SYSTEM
 • The digestive system is one of the largest organ systems in the

DESCRIBE THEhuman body.

• It is responsible for processing ingested food and liquids into a
ROLE OF THE
wide array of chemicals to support their metabolic activities of
DIGESTIVE
the cells.
SYSTEM IN •
The digestive system not only effectively chemically reduces the
MAINTAINING compounds in food into their basic building blocks, but also acts
A to retain water and excrete undigested materials.
FUNCTIONING• The functions of the digestive system can be summarized as
ORGANISM follows: ingestion (eat food), digestion (breakdown of food),
absorption (extraction of nutrients from the food), and
defecation (removal of waste products).
PHYSICAL
DIGESTIO
N AND
CHEMICAL
DIGESTIO
N
MECHANICAL VS CHEMICAL
DIGESTION
Mechanical Digestion Chemical Digestion
 This involves the physical breakdown of food  Chemical digestion is the process of using digestive

particles. enzymes to chemically break down the large, complex

 Mechanical digestion begins in the mouth when the

molecules in the food that has been ingested into their
smaller, simpler forms.
different types of teeth break food into smaller pieces
by cutting, tearing, chewing and grinding the food.  Some of the simple substances obtained are glucose

 The churning motion of the stomach continues the

from complex carbohydrates, amino acids from
proteins, glycerol and fatty acids from lipids, and
process of mechanical digestion.
nucleotides from nucleic acids.
 DIGESTION IN MOUTH
• Breakdown of food begins in the mouth.
• The human mouth has three main types of teeth: incisors (the front ones),
canines (the pointy teeth next to the incisors) and molars (the flatter ones
toward the back).
• The tongue is a large muscular organ in the mouth that can push upwards,
sideways and backwards to help move food onto the teeth to be chewed.
• Saliva is the liquid found in the mouth. It is mostly water, but also contains
enzymes .
• Enzymes are special chemical molecules that help chemical reactions
happen.
• The food entering the oesophagus is called bolus.
OESOPHAGUS
The oesophagus
is a tubular
muscle that forces
food down to
your stomach in a
process called
peristalsis.
STOMACH
• The human stomach is J-shaped
• It churns the food to break it into smaller
pieces.
• The stomach is filled with gastric juices
made of hydrochloric acid and enzymes.
• The cells lining the inside of the stomach
produce mucus to stop the acid burning the
stomach walls.
• The semi digested bolus is now called chyme
 LIVER
• The liver makes a mixture of chemicals
called bile, which is used to digest fat and
neutralise (deactivate) stomach acid.
• The bile is stored in the gall bladder until
food reaches the small intestine.
• Bile is then released into the small intestine
through a tube called the bile duct.
• Food does not travel through the liver.
PANCREAS
• The pancreas makes pancreatic
juice, which contains a mixture
of digestive enzymes and also
neutralises stomach acid.
• Food does not travel through the
pancreas.
SMALL INTESTINES
• Small intestine is breaks down and absorbs
all nutrients through chemical digestion
process.
• The wall of the intestines have villi that allow
absorption of nutrients.
• The junction of the small intestine and large
intestine contains the appendix, which is not
believed to be functional in humans.
• Infection and swelling of the appendix is
known as appendicitis.
SMALL INTESTINES
• Small intestine is quite narrow and
approximately 5 m long.
• The ability to absorb nutrients is increased by
projections, called villi, along the inner wall
of the intestine that increase the surface area
for absorption.
• Bacteria in the small intestine also help with
digestion.
• Chyme takes about 5 or 6 hours to pass
through the small intestine.
LARGE INTESTINES
• The large intestine contains lots of bacteria to help
with the absorption of some vitamins, minerals and
water from undigested fibre.
• Wastes (faeces) collect and are stored in the rectum
before being passed out through the anus.
• Passing faeces is not considered part of excretion
since it is not a waste product from within the
body’s cells.
RECTUM AND ANUS
• The rectum is the final part of the journey for
what is now solid, undigested food, or faeces.
• The rectum stores faeces until it starts to
become full.
• As the rectum starts to stretch, messages are
sent to the brain to make you realise that you
need to go to the toilet.
• Rectal muscles push the faeces out of the ring of
muscle at the end of the rectum called the anus.
EATING A BALANCED DIET
Food Groups
THE IMPORTANCE OF A BALANCED
DIET
 Diet can be defined as: ‘eating the right foods in the right amounts
 We all need to eat lots of different foods to keep healthy.
 We need to eat and balanced and varied diet.
 The energy balance must be considered: calories in should equal calories out.
Active people use more energy so they need more calories in their diet and
more of the foods that provide them
 A balanced diet is not just about calories and energy, it is about providing the
body with all the nutrients it requires to work effectively as possible.
WATER
 Water is essential to keep healthy.

 It keeps us hydrated. Our body is made up of 75% water.

 It helps us to digest food. Water is essential for carrying nutrients to the various parts of our

body. Dissolved toxins are removed from the body in the form of urine.
PROTEINS
1. Helps in tissue and muscle building
2. Boost up immunity
3. Helps to maintain fluid balance
4. Healing
5. Deficiency- muscle wasting, weight gain,
poor immunity.
6. Sources- milk and milk products, soya bean,
beans, egg, chicken, fish.
CARBOHYDRATES
• Energy giving compound necessary for daily activity
• Necessary for proper working of brain, heart, nervous tissue.
• Types of carbohydrate
• Simple- refined flour, glucose
• Complex- fibres
• Role of fibres: helps in weight reduction, proper bowel
movement and healthy intestine
• Sources: wheat, oats, brans, vegetables, whole cereals and
pulses, fruits
FATS
• The main function is to give energy
• Important for transport of vitamins A, D,E, K
• Covers organs acts as insulators to our vital organs Types of
fats: saturated and unsaturated.
• Saturated- solid at room temperature ghee, butter, coconut oil.
This is bad for our health.
• Unsaturated-liquid at room temperature, good for our health
• Sources: olive oil, rice bran oil, soya bean oil, almonds, fish,
walnuts.
• Deficiency- vitamin deficiency, dry skin, nervous disorders
• Excess- weight gain, elevated blood cholesterol level
VITAMINS AND MINERALS
VITAMINS
DO YOU EAT A HEALTHY
DIET?