Digestive System Parts and Functions

Ascending colon

One of the main functions of the colon is to remove the water and other key nutrients from waste material and recycle it back into the body. As the waste material exits the small intestine it will move into the cecum and then to the ascending colon where this process of extraction starts.

Anus

Plays an important role in the excretion of digestive wastes.

Cecum

The cecum is a pouch or large tubelike structure in the lower abdominal cavity that receives undigested food material from the small intestine and is considered the first region of the large intestine

Rectum

The function of rectum is to act temporary storage for faeces before being expelled out of body

Gall-bladder

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped, hollow structure located under the liver and on the right side of the abdomen. Its primary function is to store and concentrate bile, a yellow-brown digestive enzyme produced by the liver. The gallbladder is part of the biliary tract.

Liver

The liver filters and processes blood as it circulates through the body. It metabolizes nutrients, detoxifies harmful substances, makes blood clotting proteins, and performs many other vital functions. The cells in the liver contain proteins called enzymes that drive these chemical reactions.

Oesophagus

The oesophagus seems to have only one important function in the body - to carry food, liquids, and saliva from the mouth to the stomach. The stomach then acts as a container to start digestion and pump food and liquids into the intestines in a controlled process.

Pharynx

The pharynx, or throat, is the passageway leading from the mouth and nose to the oesophagus and larynx. The pharynx permits the passage of swallowed solids and liquids into the oesophagus, or gullet, and conducts air to and from the trachea, or windpipe, during respiration.

Stomach

The stomach muscles contract periodically, churning food to enhance digestion.

Appendix

Acts as a safe house for good bacteria, which can be used to effectively reboot the gut following a bout of dysentery or cholera

Transverse Colon

Anatomically, the large intestine begins with an area called the cecum (caecum), which extends on up through the ascending colon, across the body through the transverse colon, then down towards the anus through the descending colon.

Pancreas

Enzymes, or digestive juices, produced by the pancreas are secreted into the small intestine to further break down food after it has left the stomach. The gland also produces the hormone insulin and secretes it into the bloodstream in order to regulate the body's glucose or sugar level

Tooth

Food needs to be broken down and chewed before entering the digestive system so that our body can easily absorb nutrients from them, so that is what the teeth do.

Small intestine

Functions of the small intestine. The small intestine is the part of the intestines where 90% of the digestion and absorption of food occurs, the other 10% taking place in the stomach and large intestine. The main function of the small intestine is absorption of nutrients and minerals from food

Tongue

In the back of the mouth, the tongue is anchored into the hyoid bone. The tongue is vital for chewing and swallowing food, as well as for speech. The four common tastes are sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

Descending colon

The descending colon is the part of the colon from the splenic flexure to the beginning of the sigmoid colon and thereby part of the large intestine. The function of the descending colon in the digestive system is to store the remains of digested food that will be emptied into the rectum.

Duodenum

The duodenum precedes the jejunum and ileum and is the shortest part of the small intestine, where most chemical digestion takes place. In humans, the duodenum is a hollow jointed tube about 25-38 cm (10-15 inches) long connecting the stomach to the jejunum.