SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IV

HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

PARTS OF DIGESTIVE SYSTEM.

1. MOUTH.

The mouth contains tongue for tasting, teeth for grinding/chewing and salivary
glands that secrete saliva. The starch is digested in the mouth.

✓Tongue- is the organ that detects the taste of food. Also helps to roll and push

food into the oesophagus. It mixes food with saliva for easy swallowing.

2. Oesophagus- it is a tube connecting the mouth and the stomach. It is where food
passes from the mouth to the stomach.

3. Stomach- it is a bag- like structure where the food is stored for some time. In the
stomach food mixes with gastric juice which helps to digest protein. Gastric juice
is secreted by the gastric glands.

4. Small intestine- the food is mixed with bile juice from the liver and the
pancreatic juice from the pancreas. Both juices help in digestion. Small intestine is
the longest part of the digestive system (6meters or 600 centimeters). It also
absorbs the digested food.

5. Large intestine- it absorbs water and mineral salts. The undigested solid food is
removed in form of feaces through the opening called anus.

EXERCISE
1. Where does saliva come from?
2. Which body organ detects the taste of food?
3. What is the function of a) Liver
b) Pancreas