The Human Digestive System

General Function of the Digestive System

 The digestive system ingests and digests food, absorbs released nutrients, and
excretes food components that are indigestible.
 The six activities involved in this process are ingestion, motility, mechanical
digestion, chemical digestion, absorption, and defecation.
 Two types of digestion:
 Mechanical digestion
 involves physical movement to make foods smaller.
 Chemical digestion
 uses enzymes to break down food.

Parts and Functions of the Digestive System

 Mouth
 Where physical digestion happens (includes
biting, tearing, and chewing of food).
 It contains three salivary glands to moistens the
food.
 The salivary glands contain serous and mucous
cells to perform its function.
 The salivary glands excretes amylase to digest
carbohydrates.

 Esophagus
 The swallowed food is known as bolus.
 Bolus travels here in rhythmic movement known as
Peristalsis.
 It is a 25 cm long, 2cm diameter wide muscular tube
that goes from your pharynx (throat) to your
stomach.

 Stomach
 A hallow muscular organ that holds and digests the
food.
 It contains acid to aid in digestion and to kill the
bacteria in the food.
 After you eat, it takes about 6-8 hrs for food to pass
through your stomach and small intestine.
 Contains two valves:
  gastroesophageal sphincter (top opening)
 pyloric valve (towards the duodenum)

 Small Intestine
 In living humans, the small intestine alone measures
about 6 to 7 meters long. After death, this length can
increase by up to half.
 It carries out most of the digestive process, absorbing
almost all of the nutrients (especially the proteins)
you get from foods into your bloodstream.

 Large Intestine
 It is about 5 feet (or 1.5 meters)
 It absorbs water and salts from the material that has
not been digested as food and get rid of any waste
products left over.
 The bacteria in the colon produce vitamins by
fermentation.
» Vitamin K and B, including biotin, are produced
by the colonic bacteria
» Vitamin K plays a key role in helping the blood
clot, preventing excessive bleeding.
» B vitamins have a direct impact on your energy levels, brain function,
and cell metabolism. Vitamin B complex helps prevent infections and
helps support or promote: cell health.
 It takes about 36 hours for food to move through the entire colon.

Process of Digestion
1. The process of digestion begins when we put a morsel of food in our
mouth.
2. The softened food is rolled into a ball called the bolus and is pushed by
the tongue into the throat.
3. Movement of the food occurs due to a wave-like contraction known as
peristalsis.
4. A sphincter known as the lower esophageal sphincter, relaxes and the
food enters the stomach.
5. The hydrochloric acid present in the stomach converts the food into
chyme.
6. The chyme enters a part of the small intestine know as the duodenum.
7. The bile helps in breaking down fats and the pancreatic juice breaks
down other food particles.
8. Most of the nutrients from the food are absorbed in a part of the small
intestine known as the jejunem. The food particles are further broken
down inside the jejunem.
9. The larger food particles that cannot be absorbed move through the ileo-
cecal valve and enter the large intestine or colon.
10.The colon absorbs water, manufactures minerals and produces murcus.
This food is considered as waste formed into faeces.
11.The waste of faeces moves into the last part of the large intestine known
as the rectum.