1. The Digestive System

2. What is the digestive system?
A group of organs that breaks down food so it can be used by the body.

3. Parts of The Digestive System
Mouth and Teeth
Salivary Glands
Esophagus
Pharynx
Stomach
Liver
Gallbladder
Pancreas
Small intestine
Large Intestine
Rectum
Anus

4. Mouth and Teeth Teeth break and grind food. Mechanical digestion
Different shapes of teeth.
Incisors
Canine
Molars

5. Saliva Chewing and mixing
Saliva contains enzymes that begins the process of chemical digestion.
Changes complex carbs into simple sugars.

6. Esophogus Squeezes the food down through muscle contractions.
Peristalsis
Forces food into the stomach.

7. The Stomach Performs two types of digestion.
1st the stomach squeezes the food
Mechanical Digestion

8. The Stomach Performs two types of digestion.
2nd Secretes enzymes and acid.
Acid kills most bacteria
Turns food into a soup called chyme (kiem).
Breaks food down into nutrients.

9. Leaving the Stomach Slowly lets chyme into the small intestine
Allows the chyme to mix with fluids from the liver and pancreas.
Helps the acids in chyme not to hurt the small intestine.

10. Pancreas Sends fluid to the small intestine Contains bicarbonate
Also makes hormones to regulate blood sugar.

11. The Liver Makes bile to break up fat. Stores nutrients
Breaks down toxins

12. Gallbladder Bile is made by the liver. Stored in the gallbladder
Bile breaks large fat droplets into small fat droplets.

13. Small Intestine About 7 meters of small intestine. 2.5cm wide.
Villi inside are covered with nutrient absorbing cells that connect to the bloodstream.
Villi would cover a tennis court.

14. The Large Intestine
Material that is not absorbed into the blood keeps moving.
Absorbs most of the water.
The remaining material is called feces.

15. The End of the Line Rectum Anus Stores feces until it can be expelled.
The opening the feces leaves through is called the anus.

16. Frequently Asked Questions

17. How long does it take to fully digest a meal?
Most estimates say 24 hrs, but frequently, these are the times given.
Stomach hours
Small Intestine hours
Large Intestine hours

18. What is heartburn? The opposite of digesting food correctly.
The food in the stomach pushes up and the acid actually burns the esophagus.

19. Why is poop brown? Because of the bile. Bile starts out yellow.
As it decomposes it turns brown. Without bile, our feces would be white.
It also depends on what you eat.
Red jello
Beets
Dairy

20. What’s with the different colors?
Red- Bleeding in the lower digestive areas or eating food with a high concentration of red food coloring.
Green- From eating leafy, green veggies
Yellow- Indicates a serious problem. Hyper mobility
Blue- Eating foods with a high concentration of blue food coloring.
White- Lack of bile
Black- Bleeding in the upper digestive areas.

21. Why does feces smell?
Your food is literally rotting in your intestines.
The main reason is that some foods contain sulfur, that smells like rotten egg.
Sulfurous foods include most meats and some vegetables.

22. Floaters vs. Sinkers
Waste that floats generally has a high content of gas in it.

23. Diarrhea. . . .Why?!!! A digestive system defense
The small intestine has as many nerves as the spinal cord and they are very sensitive.
If they sense something that should not be absorbed into the bloodstream, they get it out, fast
Also caused by food allergies.

24. What causes burping and farting?
The bacteria that are breaking down food in the intestines have waste product also; gas.
On average men and women pass gas 14 times a day.
Causes of this natural gas leak:
Eating too fast
Drinking pop
Chewing Gum