The digestive system

The digestive system consists of the parts of the body that work together to turn food
and liquids into the fuel that the body needs. As food travels through the digestive
system it is broken down, sorted, and reprocessed before being circulated around the
body to nourish and replace cells and supply energy to our muscles. Waste products
the body cannot use leave the body through bowel movements.

Two types of nerves (extrinsic and intrinsic) help control the action of the digestive
system. Among other actions, they regulate muscle movement, blood flow in the
organs, and release of digestive juices.

The kinds and amounts of food a person eats and how the digestive system processes
that food play key roles in maintaining good health. Eating a healthy diet is the best way
to prevent common digestive problems.

The digestive system consists of two parts:

● The digestive tract: Is the long tube of organs including the esophagus, stomach,
and intestines that runs from the mouth to the anus. An adult's digestive tract is
about 30 feet (about 9 meters) long.
● The digestive gland: Has two small digestive glands and one large digestive
gland. The small digestive glands are scattered in the wall of each part of the
digestive tract. The large digestive glands have three pairs of salivary glands (the
parotid gland, submandibular gland, sublingual gland), liver and pancreas.
The major components of the digestive system are:

● Mouth: Digestion starts in the mouth even before you start to eat, when you
salivate and then chew your food to break it up, and your tongue pushes the
food into your throat. Meanwhile, a small flap of tissue, called the epiglottis,
blocks your trachea to make sure the food moves down the right tube.
● Esophagus: Is a tube that leads from your throat to your stomach. Once you
swallow and the food moves out of your mouth, your brain signals the muscles in
your esophagus to begin constricting and relaxing, pushing the food down to the
stomach.
● Stomach: An organ with strong muscular walls, the stomach holds the food and
mixes it with acid and enzymes that continue to break the food down into a liquid
or paste.
● Small Intestine: It will continue to break down food with enzymes released by the
pancreas and bile released from the liver. It is made up of three segments, the
duodenum, which continues the breakdown of food; and the jejunum and ileum,
which are mainly responsible for the absorption of nutrients.
 ● Large Intestine: Undigested food, fluid, and other waste products move from the
small intestine into the large intestine. The large intestine absorbs fluid and
electrolytes from the waste. What’s left becomes stool. Intestinal muscles move
the stool to your rectum.
● Rectum: Receives stool from the colon, sends signals to the brain if there is stool
to be evacuated, and holds stool until evacuation can happen.

Other important organs are the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. Food does not pass
through these organs, but they all play a vital role in digestion:

● Pancreas: Makes a digestive juice that contains enzymes, which break down
carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The pancreas delivers the juice to the small
intestine through small ducts, or tubes.
● Liver: It’s two main responsibilities in the process of digestion are to make and
secrete bile and to process and purify the blood containing newly absorbed
nutrients that are coming from the small intestine.
● Gallbladder: stores bile between meals. When you eat, bile moves from your
gallbladder through ducts and into your small intestine to aid in the digestion of
food.