Human Digestion Summary
The mouth is the beginning of the digestive tract. It holds the teeth which are used to chew the food that is placed inside the mouth. Another organ in the mouth that assist in the digestion of food is the tongue which helps mix the food with saliva and aids chewing by moving food between the teeth, but before the teeth and tongue began to work the salivary glands begins the digestive process at the sight and smell of food. Once the food is chewed and moistened it turns into bolus which then travels down the pharynx (Passage way for food and air that is responsible for swallowing. Once the bolus travels down the Pharynx, it continues into the Esophagus (portion of the gastrointestinal tract that reaches from the pharynx to the stomach). The bolus then enters the stomach (Chyme usually empties from the stomach within 2-6 hours –determined by size and type of meal ingested) and is mixed with acid secretions to transform the bolus into chyme (semiliquid food mass) Majority of digestion and absorption of nutrients from food takes place in the small intestine (Tube shaped organ of the digestive tract where digestion of ingested food is completed and the majority of nutrient absorption) The small intestine is divided into three parts known as the duodenum, jejunum, and the ileum. While the small intestine the liver produces bile, the bile is then stored in the gallbladder (to aid in the digestion of fat and fat absorption,) as this is happening the Pancreas secrets