Gastrointestinal System
The digestive system is a group of organs working together to convert food into energy, and basic nutrients to feed the entire body. Food passes through a long tube in the body called the gastrointestinal tract (GI), also known as the alimentary canal. The gastrointestinal tract comprises of the oral cavity, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small intestines, and large intestines. For the body to be able to receive energy and nutrients from food, six major functions take place in the digestive system:
• Ingestion
• Secretion
• Mixing and movement
• Digestion
• Absorption
• Excretion
Inside the mouth, there are several accessory organs (teeth, salivary glands, and tongue) that aid the process of digestion. These organs breakdown …show more content…
This is where a chemical digestion process takes place in preparation for absorption in the small intestine. Chemical secretions from the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder (GI accessory organs) mix with the chyme in the duodenum to assist the progress of chemical digestion. This is also where the upper GI tract ends and the lower GI tract begins.
The small intestine is a long thin tube, about 1 cm in diameter and approximately 10 feet long. It is located just below the stomach and takes up the majority of the space in the abdominal cavity. The entire small intestine is coiled, and its internal wall has many ridges and folds that are used to maximise the digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. By the time the food reaches the end of the small intestine about 90% of the nutrients have been extracted from the food that entered it.
The large intestine is a thick long tube about 2 ½ inches in diameter, about 5 feet long, and wraps around the superior and lateral border of the small intestine. The large intestine absorbs water and contains many symbiotic bacteria that aid in the breaking down of wastes to extract small amounts of nutrients. Faeces in the large intestine then exit the body through the anal
The digestive system is a group of organs working together to convert food into energy, and basic nutrients to feed the entire body. Food passes through a long tube in the body called the gastrointestinal tract (GI), also known as the alimentary canal. The gastrointestinal tract comprises of the oral cavity, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small intestines, and large intestines. For the body to be able to receive energy and nutrients from food, six major functions take place in the digestive system:
• Ingestion
• Secretion
• Mixing and movement
• Digestion
• Absorption
• Excretion
Inside the mouth, there are several accessory organs (teeth, salivary glands, and tongue) that aid the process of digestion. These organs breakdown …show more content…
This is where a chemical digestion process takes place in preparation for absorption in the small intestine. Chemical secretions from the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder (GI accessory organs) mix with the chyme in the duodenum to assist the progress of chemical digestion. This is also where the upper GI tract ends and the lower GI tract begins.
The small intestine is a long thin tube, about 1 cm in diameter and approximately 10 feet long. It is located just below the stomach and takes up the majority of the space in the abdominal cavity. The entire small intestine is coiled, and its internal wall has many ridges and folds that are used to maximise the digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. By the time the food reaches the end of the small intestine about 90% of the nutrients have been extracted from the food that entered it.
The large intestine is a thick long tube about 2 ½ inches in diameter, about 5 feet long, and wraps around the superior and lateral border of the small intestine. The large intestine absorbs water and contains many symbiotic bacteria that aid in the breaking down of wastes to extract small amounts of nutrients. Faeces in the large intestine then exit the body through the anal