Digestive_System_508

The Digestive System and How It Works
What is the digestive system?
The digestive system is made up of

Mouth
the gastrointestinal (GI) tract also Esophagus
called the digestive tract— and the
liver, pancreas,and gall bladder. The Stomach
GI tract is a series of hollow organs
joined in a long twisting tube from Liver
the mouth to the anus.The hollow
organs that make up the GI tract are
the mouth,esophagus,stomach,small Gallbladder Pancreas
intestine,large intestine—which
includes the rectum—and anus. Food
enters the mouth and passes to the
anus through the hollow organs of Smallintestine Largeintestine
the GI tract.The liver, pancreas,and
gall bladder are the solid organs of
the digestive system The digestive Anus Rectum
system helps the body digest food.
Bacteria in the GI tract, also called gut

flora or microbiome, help with
digestion.Parts of the nervous and
circulatory systems also play roles in the
digestive process.Together, a
combination
ofnerves,hormones,bacteria,blood,andthe
organsofthedigestivesystemcompletesth
ecomplextaskofdigestingthefoodsandliq
uidsapersonconsumeseachday.
Whyisdigestionimportant?
Digestionisimportantforbreakingdownfoodintonutrients,whichthebodyusesfor energy,
growth, and cell repair. Foodand drink must be changed into smallermolecules of
nutrients before the bloodabsorbs them and carries them to cellsthroughout the
body.The body
breaksdownnutrientsfromfoodanddrinkintocarbohydrates,protein,fats,andvitamins.
Carbohydrates.Carbohydratesarethesugars,starches,andfiberfoundinmanyfoods.
Carbohydrates are called
simpleorcomplex,dependingontheirchemicalstructure.Simplecarbohydratesinclude
sugarsfoundnaturallyinfoodssuchasfruits,vegetables,milk,andmilkproducts,aswellassugarsadde
dduringfoodprocessing.
Complexcarbohydratesarestarchesandfiber found in whole-grain breads

andcereals,starchyvegetables,andlegumes.
Protein.Foods such as meat, eggs,

andbeansconsistoflargemoleculesofproteinthatthebodydigestsintosmallermoleculescalled
amino acids.The body absorbsaminoacidsthroughthesmallintestine into the blood, which
then carries themthroughoutthebody.
Fats.Fat molecules are a rich source ofenergy for the body and help the bodyabsorb vitamins. Oils,
such as corn,
canola,olive,safflower,soybean,andsunflower,areexamplesofhealthyfats.Butter,shortening,andsnackfoodsar
eexamplesoflesshealthyfats.Duringdigestion,thebodybreaksdownfatmoleculesintofattyacidsandglycerol.
Vitamins.Scientistsclassify vitamins bythe fluid in which they dissolve. Water-

solublevitaminsincludealltheBvitamins
andvitaminC.Fat-solublevitaminsincludevitaminsA,D,E,andK.Eachvitaminhasa different role in the

body’s growth andhealth.Thebodystoresfat-solublevitaminsin the liver and fatty tissues, whereas
thebody does not easily store water-solublevitamins and flushes out the extra in theurine.
Howdoesdigestionwork?
Digestion works by moving food throughthe GI tract.Digestion begins in the

mouthwithchewingandendsinthesmallintestine.AsfoodpassesthroughtheGItract,itmixeswith
digestivejuices,causinglarge
moleculesoffoodtobreakdownintosmallermolecules.The body then absorbs thesesmaller

molecules through the walls of thesmallintestineintothebloodstream,which
deliversthemtotherestofthebody.Wasteproductsofdigestionpassthroughthelargeintestine and out of the

body as a solidmattercalledstool.
Table1showsthepartsofthedigestiveprocess performed by each

digestiveorgan,includingmovementoffood,typeofdigestivejuiceused,andfoodparticlesbrokendown by
that organ.
Table 1.The digestive process
Food
ParticlesBr
okenDown
Organ Movement DigestiveJuicesUse
d
Mouth Chewing Saliva Starches
Esophagus Swallowing None None
Uppermuscleinstomac
hrelaxes to let food
enter andlower muscle
Stomach mixesfoodwithdigestiv Stomachacid Protein
ejuice
Smallintestin Peristalsis Small Starches, protein,

e intestinedig andcarbohydrates
estivejuice
Pancreas None Pancreaticjuice Starches, fats,

andprotein
Liver None Bileacids Fats
ch.Asfoodapproachestheclosed
sphincter,themusclerelaxesan
dletsfoodpassthroughtothesto
HowdoesfoodmovethroughtheGItract? mach.
The large, hollow organs of theGI Stomach.Thestomachstoress

tractcontain a layer of muscle that wallowedfood and liquid,
enables theirwalls to move.The mixes the food and
movement of organwalls— liquidwithdigestivejuiceitpro
calledperistalsis—propelsfoodandliquid duces,andslowlyemptiesitscon
through the GI tract and mixes tents,calledchyme,intothe
thecontentswithineachorgan.Peristalsislo
okslike an ocean wave traveling through
themuscleasitcontractsandrelaxes.
Esophagus.Whenapersonswallows,foodp
ushesintotheesophagus,themusculartubet
hatcarriesfoodandliquidsfromthemouthto
the stomach. Once swallowing begins,
itbecomesinvoluntaryandproceedsunde
r
thecontroloftheesophagusandbrain.
The lower esophageal sphincter, a

ringlikemuscleatthejunctionoftheesophag
usandstomach, controls the passage of
food
andliquidbetweentheesophagusandstoma
small intestine.The muscle of the upperpart of
the stomach relaxes to accept largevolumes of
swallowed material from
theesophagus.Themuscleofthelowerpartofthestoma
chmixesthefoodandliquidwithdigestivejuice.
Smallintestine.Themusclesofthesmallintestine
mix food with digestive juicesfrom the pancreas,
liver, and
intestineandpushthemixtureforwardtohelpwithfu
rtherdigestion.Thewallsofthesmall
intestineabsorbthedigestednutrientsintothe
bloodstream. The blood delivers
thenutrientstotherestofthebody.
Large intestine.Thewaste productsof

thedigestiveprocessincludeundigestedpartsof food
and older cells from the GI
tractlining.Musclespushthesewasteproductsintothe
largeintestine.Thelargeintestineabsorbs
waterandanyremainingnutrients
andchangesthewastefromliquidintostool.Therectumst
oresstooluntilitpushesstooloutofthebodyduringabow
elmovement.
Howdodigestivejuicesineach bile ducts, which connect
organ of the GI the gallbladderand liver to
tractbreakdownfood? the small intestine. The
bilemixes with the fat in
food. The bile
Digestive juices contain enzymes— acidsdissolvefatintothewat
substancesthatspeedupchemicalreactions erycontentsofthe
in the body—that break food down
intodifferentnutrients.
Salivary glands. Saliva produced by

thesalivary glands moistens food so it
movesmoreeasilythroughtheesophagusin
tothestomach.Salivaalsocontainsanenzym
ethatbeginstobreakdownthestarchesfromf
ood.
Glands in the stomach lining.The glands

inthe stomach lining produce stomach
acid andanenzymethat digestsprotein.
Pancreas. The pancreas produces a

juicecontainingseveralenzymesthatbrea
kdowncarbohydrates,fats,andproteinsi
nfood.
Thepancreasdeliversdigestivejuicetothes
mallintestinethroughsmalltubescalledduc
ts.
Liver.Theliverproducesadigestivejuicecall
ed bile.The gallbladder stores
bilebetween meals. When a person eats,
thegallbladdersqueezesbilethroughthe
6 TheDigestiveSystemandHowItWorks
intestine,muchlikehowdetergentsdissolvegrease
from a frying pan, so the intestinaland pancreatic
enzymes can digest the fatmolecules.
Smallintestine.Digestivejuiceproducedbythesmallint
estinecombineswithpancreaticjuice and bile to
complete
digestion.Thebodycompletesthebreakdownofprotein
s,andthefinalbreakdownofstarchesproducesglucosem
oleculesthatabsorbintotheblood.
Bacteriainthesmallintestineproducesomeoftheenzy
mesneededtodigestcarbohydrates.
What happenstothedigestedfoodmolecules?
Thesmallintestineabsorbsmostdigestedfood
molecules, as well as water
andminerals,andpassesthemontootherpartsofthebo
dyforstorageorfurtherchemicalchange.Specialized
cells help
absorbedmaterialscrosstheintestinallininginto
thebloodstream.Thebloodstreamcarriessimplesuga
rs,aminoacids,glycerol,andsome vitamins and
salts to the liver. Thelymphatic system, a network
of vessels thatcarry white blood cells and a fluid
calledlymphthroughoutthebody,absorbsfattyacids
andvitamins.
PointstoRemember
How is the digestive process Digestionisimportantforbreakingdownfoodintonutrie
controlled? Digestion works by moving foodthrough the gastroin
Digestion begins in the mouthwithchewingandendsin
AsfoodpassesthroughtheGItract,itmixeswithdigestive
Hormoneand nerve regulators control the Wasteproductsofdigestionpassthroughthelargeintest
digestive process. Digestive juices contain enzymesthatbreakfooddown
Thesmallintestineabsorbsmostdigested food molecul
Hormone Regulators
The cells in the lining of the stomach

and small intestine produce and
release
hormones that control the functions of

the digestive system.These hormones
stimulate production of digestive juices
and regulate appetite.
Nerve Regulators
Two types of nerves help control the

action of the digestive
system:extrinsic and intrinsic nerves.
Extrinsic, or outside, nerves connect the

digestive organs to the brain and spinal
cord.These nerves release chemicals
that cause the muscle layer of the GI
tract to either contract or relax,
depending on whether food needs
digesting.The intrinsic, or inside, nerves
within the GI tract are triggered when
food stretches the walls of the hollow
organs.The nerves release many different
substances that speed up or delay the
movement of food and the production of
digestive juices.

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The Digestive System and How It Works

What is the digestive system?

The digestive system is made up of

Bacteria in the GI tract, also called gut

Complexcarbohydratesarestarchesandfiber found in whole-grain breads

Protein.Foods such as meat, eggs,

Vitamins.Scientistsclassify vitamins bythe fluid in which they dissolve. Water-

andvitaminC.Fat-solublevitaminsincludevitaminsA,D,E,andK.Eachvitaminhasa different role in the

Digestion works by moving food throughthe GI tract.Digestion begins in the

moleculesoffoodtobreakdownintosmallermolecules.The body then absorbs thesesmaller

deliversthemtotherestofthebody.Wasteproductsofdigestionpassthroughthelargeintestine and out of the

Table1showsthepartsofthedigestiveprocess performed by each

Table 1.The digestive process

Mouth Chewing Saliva Starches

Esophagus Swallowing None None

Smallintestin Peristalsis Small Starches, protein,

Pancreas None Pancreaticjuice Starches, fats,

Liver None Bileacids Fats

The large, hollow organs of theGI Stomach.Thestomachstoress

The lower esophageal sphincter, a

Large intestine.Thewaste productsof

Salivary glands. Saliva produced by

Glands in the stomach lining.The glands

Pancreas. The pancreas produces a

The cells in the lining of the stomach

hormones that control the functions of

Two types of nerves help control the

Extrinsic, or outside, nerves connect the

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