Digestive System

How long does food stay in the small intestine?

12 hours

How long does food stay in the stomach?

4 hours

How long does food stay in the large intestine?

5 hours

What is the sphincter?

A circular muscle that contracts and controls the moment of food through the GI tract

Epiglottis

A flap of tissue that deals off your windpipe, preventing the food from entering.

Esophagus

A muscular tube that transports food from the pharynx to the stomach using peristalsis

Enzyme

A protein that speeds up chemical reactions in the body (Ex. Saliva contains an enzyme that digests starch)

Bile

A substance that breaks up fat particles

Pancreas

A triangular organ that lies between the stomach and the first part of the small intestine. It produces enzymes that flow into the small intestine. These enzymes help break down starches, proteins, and fats.

How it all connects

After you eat, bile passes through a tube from the gallbladder into the small intestine. The bike mixes with fats in food and breaks them down into small droplets. These small droplets can then be broken down chemically by enzymes produced in the pancreas.

Small intestine

Almost all chemical digestion and absorption of nutrients takes place in the small intestine. 1 part: digest 2 & 3 part: absorb what was digested

Gallbladder

Bile flows from the liver into the gallbladder, the organ that stores bile.

Chemical digestion

Chemical ms produced by the body break foods into their smaller chemical building blocks

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Enzymes and secretions produced by the small intestine, the liver, and the pancreas finding the chin so digestion of food

Mechanical digestion

Foods are physically broken down into smaller pieces

Peristalsis

Involuntary waves of muscle contractions that move food down the esophagus towards the stomach

Rectum

Large intestine ends in a short tube called the rectum. Here waste is compressed into a solid form.

Stomach

Most mechanical digestion occurs in the stomach as muscle contractions churn the food. Chemical digestion is carried out in the stomach by digestive juices that contain enzymes and hydrochloric acid.

In which two organs does food stay for the shortest time?

Mouth and esophagus

Liver

Produces bile

Large intestine

The last section of the digestive system. It contains helpful bacteria that feed on the material passing through. By the time material reaches the large intestine, most of the nutrients have been absorb. The material entering the large intestine contains water and undigested food such as fiber. As the material moves through the large intestine, water is absorbed into the bloodstream. The remaining material is readied for elimination from the body.

Villi

The lining of the small intestine is covered with millions of tiny finger-shaped structures called villi. The villi absorb nutrient molecules. Nutrient molecules then pass from cells in the surface of a villus into blood vessels. The blood carried the nutrients to all of the body's cells.

Mouth

To break down, macerate and swallow food

Anus

Waste is removed from the body through the anus, a muscular opening at the end of the rectum.

Absorption

The process by which nutrient molecules pass through the wall of your digestive system into your blood. Materials that are not absorbed, such as fiber, are eliminated by your body as wastes.

Digestion

The process by which the body breaks down food into small nutrient molecules