Digestive System

Digestive System

Our digestive system goes through 9 steps in order to complete its process. Digestion happens by passing through more than 22 feet of tubing, being mixed with chemicals from four different glands, being separated between useful and not useful elements. The digestion system has two basics goals, to break down food so far down that it can get into our blood stream and to get rid of what waste is left over.

Digestion starts as soon as food enters the mouth. Our teeth start the process by tearing and crushing the food down so that is small enough to go down our throats. Our salivary gland which is underneath the back of the tongue and creates saliva or spit helps soften food, making it easier to swallow. Saliva is also the first of several chemicals that start to break down foods into simpler forms. The tongue is the muscle that assists the food so that it can be swallowed.

Once the food is swallowed it goes down the esophagus. The esophagus is simply the transportation process of the food going from our mouth to our stomach. The esophagus is located in our throat and runs down the center of our body to the stomach. The stomach is located between the esophagus and small intestine, in the center of our body. Once the food gets to the stomach the stomach uses chemicals to try to make the food tinier. When the stomach is done with its process, food is still not small enough to get into the blood stream so a valve at the end of the stomach opens sending the food past the liver.

As the food passes the liver/gall bladder, it makes chemical called bile which breaks down the fat into tiny droplets. The pancreas also adds a digestive chemical that breaks down carbohydrates. With these chemical added food enters the small intestine which is also in the center of the body, under the stomach and is about 22 feet long. The small intestine is where most of the digestive system happens. As the food passes through, it is mixed with new chemicals our "food" is...