DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Vocabulary  Saliva: A liquid in your mouth that starts to break down the food you eat  Peristalsis: The squeezing action of organs that moves food all the way through the digestive system  Pancreas: The digestive organ that makes pancreatic juices, which help break down starches, proteins, and fats

 Bile: A digestive fluid made by the liver, helps digest fats  Gallbladder: The organ in the digestive system that stores bile  Digestion: The process of breaking down food into a form your body can use  Nutrients : Substances in food that the body needs to work properly

What happens in your mouth?  Teeth chop and grind food into smaller pieces  Chopped food mixes with saliva that helps break down food  Liquids are called digestive juices  More saliva is made when you eat

What happens in your esophagus and stomach?  After swallowing, food goes to the esophagus  Food is moved by a wavelike, squeezing action called peristalsis

Continued  Food then enters the stomach, which is a hollow, muscular organ that breaks down food  Glands in the stomach make acid and other digestive juices  The walls squeeze food and mix it with juices to form a thick liquid

What happens in your small and large intestines?  Food enters the small intestines after the stomach (most nutrient absorption occurs here)

Continued  The pancreas makes pancreatic juices that break down starches, proteins, and fats in the food  Cells in the pancreas also make a hormone called insulin, which helps your body use sugar

Continued  The liver is another digestive organ that makes a fluid called bile, which flows into the gallbladder  Gallbladder stores bile, and doesn’t make any of it’s own fluids  Bile is squirted out when fats enter the small intestines

 Nutrients enter the blood in the small intestines though capillaries  Not all food can be digested in the body – those parts pass to the large intestines  Wider and shorter than small intestines  Takes most of the remaining water out of food and forms solid waste removed during a bowel movement  Eating food with water and indigestive materials, like fresh fruits and vegetables help the large intestine empty regularly

Lesson 3 Review  What does the digestive system do?  What happens to food in the stomach?  How do the materials in food get to the cells of your body?