30 LIFE * HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM Human digestive system Your digestive system helps your body break down food until the nutrients it contains are small enough to be absorbed into your bloodstream. = Salivary lands Mouth 8 Inside the mouth, food is mashed into smaller pieces by the teeth and moistened by saliva (spit) from the salivary glands. = Muscles relax. Esophagus Esophagus The esophagus connects the mouth to the stomach. Muscles in its wall alternately contract (squeeze) and relax to push food Muscles contract down. This is called peristalsis. behind the food, pushing it forward... §., Movement of food Stomach Inside the stomach, food is. churned up and mixed with stomach acid, Digestive enzymes start to break down proteins. Liver... Pancreas Gallbladder .. Small intestine Large intestine. Small This 23-foot- (7-meter-) long tube is coiled to provide an enormous surface area for nutrients to be absorbed into the blood. Enzymes secreted into the small intestine digest proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. intestine Large intestine Bacteria in the large intestine feed on undigested food, releasing more nutrients. Water is absorbed from the undigested remains, which Anus. , leave the body through the anus as feces (poop). wo RectumLIFE * HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM 31 cmermour Model intestines You can make a model of the intestines using an old pair of tights, orange juice, crackers, a banana, and scissors. Be sure to do this activity over a tray, since it gets a bit messy. Ca- Put one banana and five crackers into a bows, then pour in one cup of ‘orange juice. Mash them into a pulp. 3° Spoon the mixture into one leg of an old pair of tights. Holding the tights over a tray, squeeze the food along. The ivice will seep out of the tights, just as the Nutrients pass into the blood through the intestinal wall. Keep pushing the food through the tights until the undigested remains get stuck at the end. Using scissors, snip off the toe of the tights, and push the food ‘through the hole. How enzymes work Food nutrients are made up of long, chainlike molecules too large for the body to absorb. Chemicals known as enzymes attack the links in these chains, separating the molecules into particles small enough to enter the bloodstream. Each enzyme targets a particular type of food molecule Sugar... —_ DIGESTION Carbohydrate molecule Carbohydrate molecules Carbohydrate molecules are broken down into sugars by enzymes, such as amylase, that work in the mouth and small intestine. Bread, pasta, and rice are rich in carbohydrates. esmeey — OHV DIGESTION @ s A Protein molecule .. Amino acid..... Protein molecules Protease enzymes working in the stomach and small intestine break down protein molecules into amino acids. Protein is found in foods such as meat and cheese, = ill il = nae .. Fat molecule Fatty acid .. Fat molecules Bile, a digestive juice made by the liver, turns fats into small droplets. These droplets are then broken down into fatty acids and glycerol by lipase enzymes working in the small intestine.