Mouth

When you eat, your teeth chew food into small pieces. Glands in your cheeks and under your
tongue make saliva that coats the food. This makes it easier to chew and swallow. Saliva also
contains enzymes that start to digest the carbohydrates in food.

Pharynx

The laryngopharynx connects to the esophagus and it serves as a passageway for both air and food.

Oesophagus
Your oesophagus is a tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach, after it is
swallowed. A ring of muscle at the end of the oesophagus lets food into your stomach and
stops stomach contents from going back up to the oesophagus.

Stomach
Your stomach breaks down food with liquid (gastric acids) to help with digestion and
absorption of vitamins and minerals.

Small intestine
The small intestine of an adult is around 5 metres long and made up of many bends and folds.
The large surface area helps proteins, fatty acids, sugars, vitamins and minerals pass
through its wall into the blood. Most of the chemical digestion of proteins, fats and
carbohydrates, happens in the small intestine.

Large intestine, rectum and anus

Your large intestine absorbs water, minerals and vitamins. Undigested fibre is mixed with
mucus and bacteria, which breaks down some of the fibre to keep the large intestine healthy.
Solid bowel motions (faeces, or poo) are formed and stay in the last part of the large intestine
(the rectum) before leaving the body through the anus as a bowel movement.