MODULE 3: The Digestive System

Digestive system
→ consists of the parts of the body that work together to turn food and liquids into the building blocks and fuel that the body needs.

PARTS of the Digestive System

1. Mouth → where the digestive tract begins.

2. Epiglottis → a small piece of tissue that covers the opening of the larynx.
3. Pharynx → both food and air move through it; part of both the respiratory and
digestive systems.
4. Esophagus → a soft, muscular tube that moves food from the pharynx to the
stomach.
5. Stomach → has a tough lining; able to hold up in the highly acidic environment
needed to break down food.

6. Small Intestine → has three parts:

(a) Duodenum → as long as the width of 12 fingers

(b) Jejunum → 5 to 8 feet; and
(c) Ileum → longest (16-20 feet)

7. Large intestine → consists of three parts

(a) cecum → pouch-like beginning of the large intestine

(b) colon → largest part of the large intestine and has three parts
> ascending colon
> transverse colon
> descending colon
(c) rectum → final 6 to 8 inches of the large intestine; stores stool (poop) until it
leaves the body
8. Anus → marks the exit point of the digestive tract

9. * Pancreas → makes hormones to regulate the blood glucose level; makes enzymes that break down food in the intestines
10. *Liver → body's largest internal organ; performs many tasks, including storing energy and helping the body get rid of toxins
11. *Appendix → attached to the cecum
12. * Gallbladder is a small pouch that stores bile (digest fats you eat)

The Digestive Process:

A. The start of the process - the mouth (INGESTION)

The digestive process begins in the mouth → Food is broken down by the process of chewing (MECHANICAL DIGESTION) → the chemical
action of salivary enzymes starts (CHEMICAL DIGESTION)

B. On the way to the stomach: the esophagus (SWALLOWING or DEGLUTITION)

BOLUS (chewed food) enters the esophagus → with the use of PERISTALSIS (rhythmic, wave-like muscle movements) the
food from the throat is forced into the stomach

***This muscle movement gives us the ability to eat or drink even when we're upside-down.

C. In the stomach (DIGESTION)

The stomach churns the food → bathes in a very strong acid (gastric acid) = CHYME.

D. In the small intestine (DIGESTION and ABSORPTION)

Food enters the duodenum → jejunum → ileum

***In the small intestine, bile (produced in the liver and stored in the gall bladder), pancreatic enzymes, and other
digestive enzymes produced by the inner wall of the small intestine help in the breakdown of food.

E. In the large intestine (ABSORPTION)

Cecum → Food then travels upward in the ascending colon → travels across the abdomen in the transverse colon → goes
back down the other side of the body in the descending colon → sigmoid colon.

***Some of the water and electrolytes (chemicals like sodium) are removed from the food → microbes (bacteria
like Bacteroides, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella) in the large intestine help in the
digestion process.

F. The end of the process (DEFECATION or ELIMINATION)

Solid waste is then stored in the rectum → excreted via the anus.