Digestive System Essays (319 words) - Digestive System, Medicine

Digestive System The digestive system is a alimentary canal; it consist of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestines, large intestines and anus. The mouth is the first process of the digestive system. The mouth breaks down the food you consume. You chew the food, which is known as masticating, the food is then mixed with saliva broken down for your body to absorb and use. The food then travels to the esophagus which is connected to the stomach. contractions known as peristalsis, push the food down to the stomach. The stomach is a sac-like organ with strong muscular walls. It is located on the left side of the abdominal cavity. The food enters at the cardioesophageal sphincter. The stomach acts as a storage tank for food. It doesn't only hold the food but it also mixes and grinds the food done by chemical breakdown of proteins . The stomach is the body's major digestive organ, the nutrients are absorbed by the blood in the organ. The processed food is now chime which is then sent to the small intestines. The small intestines consist of three parts, the duodenum, jejunum, and the ileum. The duodenum is attached to the stomach, and curves around the head of the pancreas. The jejunum is attached to the duodenum and the ileum extends from the jejunum to the large intestines. The breakdown of the chyme are mixed with enzymes, and bile enters from the gall bladder. The large intestines then eliminates indigestible food from the body as feces. Though the large intestines does not participate in digestion of food, and to help pass the feces, goblet cells produce mucus to act a lubricant. The large intestines consist of the cecum, the appendix which hangs from the cecum. The large intestines leads to/consist of the colon, rectum, anus. The digestive system is used for the break down