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Digestive Process and Absorption

The document summarizes the key stages of the digestive process: 1) Mechanical and chemical digestion begin in the mouth, breaking down food with teeth and saliva. 2) The esophagus transports food to the stomach through peristalsis. 3) Further mechanical and chemical digestion occurs in the stomach through churning and acids. 4) The small intestine completes most chemical digestion with enzymes from the liver, pancreas and intestine walls, absorbing nutrients into blood. 5) The large intestine absorbs water and compacts waste for elimination.

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Isabella Mendoza
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40 views

Digestive Process and Absorption

The document summarizes the key stages of the digestive process: 1) Mechanical and chemical digestion begin in the mouth, breaking down food with teeth and saliva. 2) The esophagus transports food to the stomach through peristalsis. 3) Further mechanical and chemical digestion occurs in the stomach through churning and acids. 4) The small intestine completes most chemical digestion with enzymes from the liver, pancreas and intestine walls, absorbing nutrients into blood. 5) The large intestine absorbs water and compacts waste for elimination.

Uploaded by

Isabella Mendoza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DIGESTIVE

PROCESS
AND
ABSORPTION
Functions of the Digestive System
 Has three main functions:
 1. breaks down food into molecules the body can use (digestion) - there are
2 kinds of digestion, mechanical (food is physically broken down into smaller
pieces) and chemical (chemicals produced by the body break foods into their
smaller building blocks).
 2. the broken molecules are absorbed into the blood and carried
throughout the body (absorption) – process by which nutrient molecules pass
through the walls of the digestive system into the blood.
 3. wastes are eliminated from the body (elimination) – the materials that are
not absorbed, such as fiber, are eliminated from the body as wastes.
THE MOUTH

 The response of your mouth watering, is when your body is preparing for the
delicious meal it expects, releasing saliva (fluid when you waters). Saliva plays
an important role in both kinds of digestion.
 Both mechanical digestion (teeth carry out the first mechanical digestion, cutting
the food into smaller pieces, tearing and slashing, crushing and grinding the food
then saliva moistens the pieces of food into a slippery mass) and chemical
digestion (chemicals in saliva break down the starches molecules in the food
biten) begin in the mouth.
THE ESOPHAGUS
 There are two openings at the back of your mouth, one opening leads to the
windpipe, which carries air into your lungs. When we swallow a flap of tissue –
epiglottis, seals off the windpipe preventing the food from entering, so the food
goes into the esophagus lined with mucus to make easier the food to move
along.
 Food remains for 10 seconds in the esophagus, and peristalsis push the food
toward the stomach. Peristalsis occur in all the organs to continue moving the
food in the correct and one way.
THE STOMACH

 As you eat, your stomach expands to holds all the food that you swallow. Most
mechanical digestion and some chemical digestion occur in the stomach.
 Mechanical Digestion in the stomach – occurs when the three strong layers of
smooth muscle contract to produce a churning motion, this action mixes the food
with fluids.
 Chemical Digestion in the stomach – as the churning food makes contact with
digestive juice, a fluid produced by cells in the lining of the stomach. This acid
contains the enzyme pepsin – chemically digest proteins in the food (amino acids).
The juice also contains hydrochloric acid (very strong acid) that helps pepsin to
work better and kills many bacteria that you swallow in the food.
 The stomach acids dont burn and make a hole in the stomach
because is protected by a layer of mucus, also the cells that line the
stomach are quickly replaced as they are damaged or worn out.
 Food remains in the stomach until all the solid material has been
broken down into liquid form. After a few hours you finish eating,
the stomach completes mechanical digestion. The food, that now is
a thick liquid is released into the small intestine, to complete the
process.
SMALL INTESTINE

 After the thick liquid leaves the stomach, in enters the small intestine (6 meters
long – 2 to 3 cm wide) where most chemical digestion takes place.
 Proteins have been broken down in amino acid chains, but fats haven’t been
broken down. As the liquid moves into the small intestine, it mixes with
enzymes and secretions that are produced by the small intestine, liver (busy
chemical factory that breaks down medicines and helps eliminating nitrogen
from the body and mainly produce bile – substance that breaks down fat
particles)and pancreas (releases enzymes that help break down starches,
proteins and fats).
 After chemical digestion takes place, the small nutrient molecules are
ready to be absorbed by the body. In here the villi absorb nutrient
molecules, that pass from the surface of the villi into the blood vessels.
The blood carries the nutrients throughout the body for use by the body
cells.
LARGE INTESTINE

 By the time material reaches the end of the small intestine,most nutrients have been absorbed, the
remaining material moves from the small intestine into the large intestine.
 Large intestine measures 1.5 meters long and runs up the right hand side of the abdomen to the left side.
 Contains bacteria that feed on the material passing through. These bacteria are helpful because they make
certain vitamins (like K vitamin).
 The material entering the large intestine contains water and undigested food. As the material pass
through, water is absorbed into the bloodstream and the remaining material is ready for elimination from
the body.
 The large intestine ends in a short tube – rectum where material is compressed into a solid form and then
this waste material is liminated through the anus.

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