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The Digestive System Parts and Functions

The digestive system starts with chewing food in the mouth where saliva begins to break down starches. The esophagus then transports the food to the stomach where enzymes further break it down. The small intestine absorbs most nutrients from food where the large intestine absorbs water to form stool, which is stored in the rectum before being expelled from the anus. Accessory organs like the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas produce bile and enzymes to aid digestion.

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Dixie Merin
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681 views

The Digestive System Parts and Functions

The digestive system starts with chewing food in the mouth where saliva begins to break down starches. The esophagus then transports the food to the stomach where enzymes further break it down. The small intestine absorbs most nutrients from food where the large intestine absorbs water to form stool, which is stored in the rectum before being expelled from the anus. Accessory organs like the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas produce bile and enzymes to aid digestion.

Uploaded by

Dixie Merin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Digestive System

Parts and Functions


Mouth. The digestive process starts in your mouth when you chew. Your salivary glands
make saliva, a digestive juice, which moistens food so it moves more easily through
your esophagus into your stomach. Saliva also has an enzyme that begins to break down
starches in your food, saliva mixes with your food to make it easier to swallow.
teeth break the food into smaller pieces.
tongue pushes a tiny bit of mashed-up food called a bolus toward the back of your
throat and into the opening of your esophagus
Kinds of teeth
We have four different types of teeth, with each type serving a particular purpose for
eating and chewing.
8 Incisors – The four front teeth in both the upper and lower jaws are called incisors.  Their primary
function is to cut food. 
4 Canines- Their main function is to tear food.
8 Premolars- are designed to crush food. 
12 Molars (including 4 wisdom teeth) They are designed to grind food.
The esophagus convey boluses of food from the pharynx to the stomach.
The stomach is a hollow organ, or "container," that holds food while it is being mixed with
stomach enzymes. These enzymes continue the process of breaking down food into a usable form.
The chewed food referred as bolus, chyme the pulpy acidic fluid which passes from the stomach to the
small intestine, consisting of gastric juices and partly digested food.
The intestines are a long, continuous tube running from the stomach to the anus. Most absorption of
nutrients and water happen in the intestines. The intestines include the small intestine, large intestine, and
rectum.
-The small intestine (small bowel) is about 20 feet long and about an inch in diameter. Its job is to absorb
most of the nutrients from what we eat and drink.
-The large intestine (colon or large bowel) is about 5 feet long and about 3 inches in diameter. The colon
absorbs water from wastes, creating stool.
-The rectum is a straight, 8-inch chamber that connects the colon to the anus. The rectum's job is to
receive stool from the colon. Anus where the feces are expelled from the body.

Villi- are small finger-


like projections located in
the walls of the small
intestine.
Their function is to
increase the surface area
in order to maximize the
absorption of digested
food. 
Accessory Digestive Organ
The Liver – produces bile which is needed in breaking down fats.
The Gallbladder – It is where bile is stored, releases bile into the small
intestines.
The Pancreas – It secretes pancreatic juice that neutralizes the acidity of
the chyme before it enters the small intestines.

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