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Digestive System 2

The small intestine is made up of three segments - the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum - and continues to break down food using enzymes from the pancreas and liver. It absorbs nutrients from digested food into the bloodstream. The rectum connects the colon to the anus and receives stool from the colon. Sensors in the rectum alert the brain when stool or gas is present, and the brain then decides whether to relax the sphincter muscles to expel the contents or contract them to hold the contents temporarily. The anus is the last part of the digestive tract. Its internal and external sphincter muscles provide fine control over releasing stool. The internal sphinct

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43 views

Digestive System 2

The small intestine is made up of three segments - the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum - and continues to break down food using enzymes from the pancreas and liver. It absorbs nutrients from digested food into the bloodstream. The rectum connects the colon to the anus and receives stool from the colon. Sensors in the rectum alert the brain when stool or gas is present, and the brain then decides whether to relax the sphincter muscles to expel the contents or contract them to hold the contents temporarily. The anus is the last part of the digestive tract. Its internal and external sphincter muscles provide fine control over releasing stool. The internal sphinct

Uploaded by

Anthony Lopez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Small Intestine

Made up of three segments, the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum,


the small intestine is a long tube loosely coiled in
the abdomen (spread out, it would be more than 20 feet long).
The small intestine continues the process of breaking down food by
using enzymes released by the pancreas and bile from the liver.
Bile is a compound that aids in the digestion of fat and eliminates
waste products from the blood. Peristalsis (contractions) is also at
work in this organ, moving food through and mixing it up with
digestive secretions. The duodenum is largely responsible for
continuing the process of breaking down food, with the jejunum
and ileum being mainly responsible for the absorption of nutrients
into the bloodstream.

Rectum
The rectum (Latin for "straight") is an 8-inch chamber that connects the colon to
the anus. It is the rectum's job to receive stool from the colon, to let you know there is
stool to be evacuated, and to hold the stool until evacuation happens. When anything
(gas or stool) comes into the rectum, sensors send a message to the brain.
The brain then decides if the rectal contents can be released or not. If they can, the
sphincters (muscles) relax and the rectum contracts, expelling its contents. If the
contents cannot be expelled, the sphincters contract and the rectum accommodates, so
that the sensation temporarily goes away.

Anus
The anus is the last part of the digestive tract. It consists of the pelvic floor muscles
and the two anal sphincters (internal and external muscles). The lining of the upper
anus is specialized to detect rectal contents. It lets us know whether the contents are
liquid, gas, or solid. The pelvic floor muscle creates an angle between the rectum and
the anus that stops stool from coming out when it is not supposed to. The anal
sphincters provide fine control of stool. The internal sphincter keeps us from going to
the bathroom when we are asleep, or otherwise unaware of the presence of stool.
When we get an urge to go to the bathroom, we rely on our external sphincter to keep
the stool in until we can get to the toilet.

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