Merryland International School
Department of Biology
File note- grade-6
Human digestive system
Human digestive system involves the intake of food by an organism
for its energy usage.
The main organs involved in the process of digestion are,
Mouth
Pharynx
Esophagus (food pipe)
Stomach
Liver
Gall bladder
Pancreas
Small intestine
Large intestine
Rectum
Anus
5 stages of nutrition
1. Ingestion - taking in food through the mouth
2. Digestion - Mechanical and Chemical
3. Absorption - through the villi in the small intestine
4. Assimilation - use of nutrients
5. Egestion - removal of undigested food through the anus
Digestion
Digestion is the process of breaking down of food into simpler
substances, so that it can be easily absorbed by the body.
Mechanical or physical digestion
Mechanical digestion involves the process of physically breaking down
the food into ever smaller parts. (By the teeth in the mouth, stomach
muscles in the stomach and by the action of bile in the duodenum)
• Chew
• Tear
• Grind
• Mash
• Mix
Chemical digestion
Chemical digestion is the process of complex molecules are
breaking down into smaller pieces that our body can use. It requires
special proteins called enzymes
Carbohydrates by amylase
Proteins by protease
Fats by lipase
Mechanical digestion Chemical digestion
Breaking down complex insoluble
Breaking down large food
food into simple soluble nutrients by
particles into smaller pieces by
the action of enzymes.
Chewing, Tearing, Grinding,
Mashing and Mixing
Takes place in the mouth, stomach,
Takes place in the mouth when
duodenum and the jejunum (1st and
the food is chewed with the
the 2nd parts of the small intestine).
help of teeth and in the
stomach (churning). Also takes
place in the duodenum by the
action of bile.
Mouth
Food starts its journey from the mouth. There are
many other organs that contribute to the digestion
process, including teeth, tongue, and salivary glands.
Teeth are designed for grinding particles into small
pieces and are moistened with saliva before the
tongue pushes the food into the pharynx.
Dentition
The arrangement of teeth in the mouth cavity is called dentition.
There are four types of teeth.
Name Total Feature Function Diagram
of the number
teeth
Incisors 8 (4 upper Knife like Biting and cutting
+4 sharp
lower) edge
Canines 4 (2 upper Pointed Tearing of food
+2 tip
lower)
Premola 8 (4 upper Rough Chewing,
rs +4 surfac crushing and
lower) e grinding
Molars 12 (6 upper Broader Chewing,
+ rough crushing and
6 lower) surface grinding (the
molars are
the largest
teeth. They
have a
largest flat
biting surface
Structure of a tooth
Crown -The visible outer part of a
tooth.
Root - The root is the part of the
tooth that is below the gums.
Enamel -The hard structure that
makes up the crown and serves to
protect against tooth decay.
Dentine - It is the second hard layer of
the tooth present below the crown and connects it with the root.
Gums - It is the covering of the roots of teeth and binds them with the
jaw bones.
Pulp cavity -It is the innermost living part of tooth where nerves and
blood capillaries are present.
Jaw bone - The bony structure that holds the teeth
Cementum - It fixes the tooth with the gums and the jaw bone.
Root canal - The pulp-filled cavity in the root of a tooth
Teeth and mouth
Teeth mechanically break down food into small
pieces. Tongue mixes food with saliva (contains
amylase, which helps break down starch).
The tongue and the molars work together to
roll the food into a ball so that it can be
swallowed.
Saliva is produced to soften the food and to make swallowing easier.
Pharynx- It is a common passage for food, water and air.
Epiglottis
Epiglottis is a flap-like structure in the
pharynx that closes over the windpipe
preventing food from entering it.
Oesophagus
It is a muscular tube
(Oesophagus) that connects the
mouth and the stomach. It allows
bolus to pass to the stomach by a
process called peristalsis.
Peristalsis
It is the wave like movement of the muscles in the oesophagus
that pushes the bolus into the stomach. From mouth
Oesophagus
Muscles
contracting
pushing the
bolus
downward
Muscles
relaxing
Stomach
• It is a muscular bag. This vital organ acts as storage
for the food and churns the food you eat. Provides
enough time to digest meals.
• The stomach also produces digestive enzymes and
hydrochloric acid that maintains the process of
digestion.
• Mixes food with digestive juices that contain enzymes to break down
proteins into amino acids.
• Dilute Hydrochloric acid in the stomach kills bacteria.
• Finally a semi solid fluid called chyme is formed here which is pushed
into the small intestine.
Liver
Both these organs secrete digestive
juices that help in digestion. Liver
secretes digestive juice called bile.
Pancreas
Produces digestive enzymes to digest fats,
carbohydrates and proteins
It regulates blood sugar level by
producing insulin
Gall Bladder
Stores bile from the liver, releases it into
the small intestine. Fatty diets can cause
gallstones
Small intestine
It is a thin long tube present below the
stomach. The complete coiled intestine
is coiled and the inner surface is coiled
and consists of folds and ridges.
It helps in the absorption of digested
food into the blood.
Small intestines are roughly 7.5
meters long and it is divided into
three parts:
Duodenum
Loop like structure and the first part of the
small intestine. Fat emulsification and
digestion of food takes place here.
Jejunum
Jejunum is the second part of the small
intestine where most of the digestion of
food takes place. Intestinal glands
present in the wall of the jejunum produce
all three types of enzymes (protease,
lipase and amylase)
These enzymes digest food for the last
time.
Ileum
Ileum is the last part of the small intestine. Lining
of ileum walls has finger-like projections called
villi, they are meant to absorb nutrients.
The villi are covered in microvilli which
further increases surface area for
absorption.
Digestion of food
PROTEINS- AMINO ACIDS
FATS- FATTY ACIDS
CARBOHYDRATES- GLUCOSE
Nutrients from the food pass into the bloodstream through the walls of
the ileum.
Absorbs:
80% ingested water
Vitamins
Minerals
Simple sugar or glucose
Simple proteins or amino acids
Simple fats or fatty acids and glycerol
Large intestine
• It is a thick, long tube. It is found below
the stomach. About 5 feet long
It has two parts; colon and rectum
– Colon absorbs mainly liquids-
Ascending colon, Transverse colon,
Descending colon
It absorbs water and consists of bacteria
that support the breakdown of wastes to
fetch small nutrients.
Rectum is the final part of the digestive
system where undigested food is stored as
waste and it is eliminated out of the body as
feces through the opening called anus.
Appendix
The appendix is a thin tube that is joined to the large intestine. It sits
in the lower right part of your belly (abdomen). When you are a
young child, your appendix is a working part of your immune
system, which helps your body to fight disease.
Amylase
Protease
Lipase
