The Digestive System

Function Break down the food you eat into nutrients that your body can absorb

Digestive tract The path that food takes in your body Includes: mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, anus

Accessory organs Organs that aid in digestion, but do NOT have food pass through Includes: salivary glands, liver, gall bladder, pancreas

Mechanical digestion The breaking, crushing, and mashing of food Stomach

Chemical digestion Large molecules are broken down into nutrients

Enzymes The chemical scissors that break some nutrients into smaller pieces

What happens to our food after we eat it?

Step 1: Mouth Mechanical digestion starts when we bite and chew our food Chemical digestion starts as saliva (enzymes) start to break down the food further

Step 2: Stomach After you swallow, the food travels down the pharynx and esophagus to the stomach. Mechanical digestion happens as the stomach muscles contract and squeeze the food Chemical digestion happens as stomach acid further breaks down the food into nutrients

Step 3: Small Intestine The liquefied food (chyme) moves from the stomach into the small intestine. It mixes with chemicals from the pancreas that make it less acidic (and safer).

Beginning of small intestine/ pancreas

Nutrients absorbed The nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine (villi).

Step 4: Large Intestine The water is absorbed by the large intestine This creates solid waste…feces

Problems with the large intestine Diarrhea: When the large intestine does not remove enough water from the waste Constipation: When the large intestine removes too much water from the waste