The Digestive System

The Digestive System, fundamentally consists of :

• the mouth,

• the oesophagus [gullet],

• stomach,

• small intestine and

• large intestine [bowel].

The Mouth is where digestion starts. Food is chewed and an enzyme called Ptyallin in the saliva helps break the food down so that it becomes more manageable for the rest of the digestive system. This is the reason why you should chew your food slowly rather than gulping it down. The more digestion is carried out during this first phase the more nutrients you will get out of the food you have eaten.

The food then passes down the Oesophagus and into the stomach. The stomach contains hydrochloric acid which breaks the food down further and eliminates germs.

The food then passes into the small intestine via the duodenum. The small intestine absorbs the nutrients from the food. It does this through hair-like projections called Villi located along the wall of the intestines.

The food then passes into the large intestine [colon]. There is virtually nothing left of the food now. It is a paste containing indigestible material, water and salts. The role of the colon is to re-absorb water and salts and leave the rest [faeces]. Bacteria is present in the faecal matter, though most of it has been removed by stomach acid. The faecal matter then passes into the rectum and is then eliminated from the body.

All the best,

Alex

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