GIT ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY Mouth The mouth is the starting point in the digestive system.

Both mechanical and chemicaldigestion can occur here. The teeth grind food for mechanical digestions while thesalivary gland break down for chemically for chemical digestion. Salivary Glands The salivary glands release saliva. The saliva breaks down food chemically. You havethree major salivary glands. One on the top of your mouth, one on the bottom and onethat covers both sides. Saliva breaks up food using the enzyme salivary amylas Esophagus (also Oesophagus)The esophagus, a muscular tube through which partially digested food travels, connectsthe mouth and the stomach. Food goes down the esophagus using peristalsis, a patternof muscular movements, contracting and expanding. Stomach The stomach's job is to break down large food molecules into smaller pieces, so thatthey are more easily absorbed into the blood.The stomach can give off two or three liters of gastric juices per day. This juice caneven destroy the inner liner of the stomach. This is why the inner lining of the stomachis replaced every two to three days. Liver, Pancreas, and Gallbladder The liver puts bile into the small intestine through the biliary system, using thegallbladder as a container to hold the extra bile.The pancreas puts off a fluid containing bicarbonate and several juices, includingtrypsin, chymotrypsin, lipase, and pancreatic amylase, as well as nucleolytic juices, intothe small intestine. Both these organs help in the process of digestion. Small Intestine The small intestine connects the stomach and the colon or large intestine. It has threeparts. They are the duodenum, jejunum, and the ileum. The walls of the small intestineare lined with villi. Villi help absorb nutrients and put them into the blood. This is themain purpose of the small intestine

Large Intestine (Colon) The large intestine is used to remove water from solid waste. It is 1.5 meters in length. Italso absorbs some vitamins such as vitamin k. Human Digestive System The human digestive system is a complex series of organs and glands that processesfood. In order to use the food we eat, our body has to break the food down into smaller molecules that it can process; it also has to excrete waste.Most of the digestive organs (like the stomach and intestines) are tube-like and containthe food as it makes its way through the body. The digestive system is essentially along, twisting tube that runs from the mouth to the anus, plus a few other organs (likethe liver and pancreas) that produce or store digestive chemicals.The Digestive Process:The start of the process - the mouth: The digestive process begins in the mouth. Food ispartly broken down by the process of chewing and by the chemical action of salivaryenzymes (these enzymes are produces by the salivary glands and break down starchesinto smaller molecules).On the way to the stomach: the esophagus - After being chewed and swallowed, thefood enters the esophagus. The esophagus is a long tube that runs from the mouth tothe stomach. It uses rhythmic, wave-like muscle movements (called peristalsis) to forcefood from the throat into the stomach. This muscle movement gives us the ability to eator drink even when we're upside-down. In the stomach - The stomach is a large, sack-like organ that churns the food andbathes it in a very strong acid (gastric acid). Food in the stomach that is partly digestedand mixed with stomach acids is called chyme In the large intestine - After passing through the small intestine, food passes into thelarge intestine. In the large intestine, some of the water and electrolytes (chemicals likesodium) are removed from the food. Many microbes (bacteria like Bacteroides,Lactobacillus acidophilus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella) in the large intestine help inthe digestion process. The first part of the large intestine is called the cecum (theappendix is connected to the cecum). Food then travels upward in the ascending colon.The food travels across the abdomen in the transverse colon, goes back down the other side of the body in the descending colon, and then through the sigmoid colon. The end of the process - Solid waste is then stored in the rectum until it is excreted viathe anus. Digestive System Glossary: anus - the opening at the end of the digestive system from which feces (waste) exits thebody. appendix

- a small sac located on the cecum. ascending colon - the part of the large intestine that run upwards; it is located after thececum. bile - a digestive chemical that is produced in the liver, stored in the gall bladder, andsecreted into the small intestine. cecum - the first part of the large intestine; the appendix is connected to the cecum. chyme - food in the stomach that is partly digested and mixed with stomach acids.Chyme goes on to the small intestine for further digestion. descending colon - the part of the large intestine that run downwards after thetransverse colon and before the sigmoid colon. duodenum - the first part of the small intestine; it is C-shaped and runs from thestomach to the jejunum. epiglottis - the flap at the back of the tongue that keeps chewed food from going down the windpipe to the lungs. When you swallow, the epiglottis automatically closes. Whenyou breathe, the epiglottis opens so that air can go in and out of the windpipe. esophagus - the long tube between the mouth and the stomach. It uses rhythmicmuscle movements (called peristalsis) to force food from the throat into the stomach. gall bladder - a small, sac-like organ located by the duodenum. It stores and releasesbile (a digestive chemical which is produced in the liver) into the small intestine. ileum - the last part of the small intestine before the large intestine begins. jejunum - the long, coiled mid-section of the small intestine; it is between the duodenumand the ileum. liver - a large organ located above and in front of the stomach. It filters toxins from theblood, and makes bile (which breaks down fats) and some blood proteins. mouth - the first part of the digestive system, where food enters the body. Chewing andsalivary enzymes in the mouth are the beginning of the digestive process (breakingdown the food). pancreas - an enzyme-producing gland located below the stomach and above theintestines. Enzymes from the pancreas help in the digestion of carbohydrates, fats andproteins in the small intestine. peristalsis

- rhythmic muscle movements that force food in the esophagus from thethroat into the stomach. Peristalsis is involuntary - you cannot control it. It is also whatallows you to eat and drink while upside-down. rectum - the lower part of the large intestine, where feces are stored before they areexcreted. salivary glands - glands located in the mouth that produce saliva. Saliva containsenzymes that break down carbohydrates (starch) into smaller molecules. sigmoid colon - the part of the large intestine between the descending colon and therectum.

stomach - a sack-like, muscular organ that is attached to the esophagus. Both chemicaland mechanical digestion takes place in the stomach. When food enters the stomach, itis churned in a bath of acids and enzymes. transverse colon - the part of the large intestine that runs horizontally across theabdomen.The digestive system carries out six basic processes: ingestionsecretion propulsiondigestionabsorptiondefecationIngestion is taking food into the mouth. Secretion is the act of expelling a liquid. The cells lining the GI tract secrete about 9liters (9.5 quarts) of water, acid, buffers, and enzymes each day to lubricate the canaland aid in the process of digestion. Propulsion consists of alternating contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle in thewalls of the GI tract to squeeze food downwards. Digestion has two parts, mechanical and chemical. Mechanical digestion is chewing upthe food and your stomach and smooth intestine churning the food, while chemicaldigestion is the work the enzymes do when breaking large carbohydrate, lipid, proteinand nucleic acid molecules down into their subcomponents -these and others are thenutrients-. Absorption occurs in the digestive system when the nutrients move from thegastrointestinal tract to the blood or lymph. Defecation is the process of expelling what the body couldn't use.