Digestive System. Digital image. Kids Health. Nemours, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. <http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/headers_98090/K_HTBW_DigSystem_enHD_2.jpg>.
The Digestive System
The digestive system is the system in the body which process the food we eat. The digestive system is one of the most important systems in our body. The digestive system is one of the most important systems in the human body. It is what gives us the energy to survive. Without the digestive system, we would have no way to process what we eat. There are many steps in the digestive process, but the main organs involved are the mouth, the esophagus, the stomach, the liver and gallbladder, the small intestine and the large intestine. Each has a very important part to play in your health.
The first step of the digestive process is the mouth. The mouth chews the food, breaking it into pieces that are small enough for the esophagus to swallow. Your teeth act like little knives and break the food up. You have thirty-two teeth in your mouth. The different types of teeth are incisors, cuspids, bicuspids, molars, and canines. Each tooth has a different job in breaking up food. Saliva, produced by the salivary gland helps moisten the food so it is easier to chew.The next step of the digestive process is the esophagus. The esophagus is a long, slender, muscular tube the transports food from your mouth to your stomach. Once the food enters the esophagus it takes on the new name bolus. The esophagus goes through a series of contractions caused by muscles called peristalsis. These contractions move the bolus down into the stomach. After traveling through the esophagus, food enters the stomach. The stomach is a large muscular sac that continues the process of chemical and physical digestion. It contains an acid called pepsin that helps break down the food chemically. The mucus on the walls of the stomach protects it lining from being eroded by the pepsin. The stomach continues mechanical digestion by using the three layers of muscles around it to slowly churn and mix the chewed food together. The stomach continues to churn until the food has become an oatmeal like thickness. When it reaches this state it is call chyme. Once the stomach is finished with the chyme it is pushed through the pyloric valve into the small intestine. After the food is pushed through the pyloric valve it travels into the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. Bile that is produced in the liver helps aid the small intestine with the digestive process. After this enzymes from the pancreas and the duodenum complete the digestion while the nutrients are absorbed by the walls of the small intestine. After exiting the small intestine the undigested material travels through the large intestine, more commonly known as the colon. The large intestines most important job it to remove water from what is left of food and get rid of what could not be digested. The body gets rid of indigestible material through bowel movements which expel waste from the body. The body also absorbs vitamin, like vitamin k in the large intestine. The last organs in the digestive system are the liver and gallbladder. The liver is the organ which produces bile, bile is a liquid that is filled with lipids and fats, it aids the duodenum in the final digestion process. The bile is stored in a sac-like organ called the gallbladder. The gallbladder stores the bile until it needs to be released into the small intestine. The bile help breaks down stubborn fats and is very important to the digestive process. All of these organs are very important to the digestive process. Diseases of the Digestive SystemCeliac Disease- when the body's immune system reacts to a type of protein called gluten. If a person eats food that contains gluten, the immune system will gradually damage the lining of the small intestine. When the small intestine is hurt, it is difficult for the body to absorb vitamins and other nutrients from food. This can affect a child's overall health.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease- when the small intestine becomes inflamed, it causes diarrhea and bloating. Acid reflux (heartburn)- when one's cardiac sphincter isn't working and stomach acid comes back up the esophagus. Irritable bowel syndrome- when your colon doesn't absorb the right amount of water from your food. Ulcerative colitis- when the colon develops ulcers or tears. This can lead to stomach pain and bloody diarrhea. |
This video explains what the digestive system does, how it works, and why it is important to the body. It lists the keys parts and tells what functions they serve.
"Digestive System." InnerBody. HOWTOMEDIA Inc., 1999. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.innerbody.com/image/digeov.html>.
Digestive System. Digital image. DesiMD. DesiMD Healthcare Pvt Ltd, 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015. <http://www.desimd.com/know-your-body/digestive-system>.
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Works Cited
Buger, Elly. "For Optimal Print Results, Please Use Internet Explorer, Chrome or Safari. Digestive System Disorders." AboutKidsHealth. AboutKidsHealth, 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/ResourceCentres/Nutrition/Digestive-system-conditions-and-special-diets/Pages/Digestive-system-disorders.aspx>.
Miller, Kenneth R., and Joseph S. Levine. "30 Human Body." Biology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. 875-81. Print.
The Digestive System. Kids Health Videos, 2012. Youtube Video.
Tustin, Rachel. "The Digestive System." Dent Middle School, Columbia, S.C. 20 Feb. 2015. Lecture.
<http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/ResourceCentres/Nutrition/Digestive-system-conditions-and-special-diets/Pages/Digestive-system-disorders.aspx>.
Miller, Kenneth R., and Joseph S. Levine. "30 Human Body." Biology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. 875-81. Print.
The Digestive System. Kids Health Videos, 2012. Youtube Video.
Tustin, Rachel. "The Digestive System." Dent Middle School, Columbia, S.C. 20 Feb. 2015. Lecture.