Digestive System

small intestine

A ring of muscle at the end of the stomach controls the flow of food by opening and closing every few minutes to allow the liquid food to flow into the ____, a very long, coiled, tube-like organ.

gallbladder

A storage sac called the ___ holds the bile that is produced in the liver.

esophagus

After being swallowed, the food passes into a muscular tube called the ____, which connects the mouth to the stomach.

rectum

At this point in the process, no more digestion occurs. Water and salts are taken out of the waste material in the large intestine. The remaining solid wastes, called feces, are the end product of digestion and are stored in the _____.

salivary glands

Digestion begins as soon as food enters the mouth, where the teeth and tongue work together to physically break down the food into smaller pieces. As chewing takes place, a secretion from the ____ softens and lubricates the food.

peristalsis

Food in the esophagus is squeezed toward the stomach by contractions and relaxation of the muscles in the esophagus. This muscular action, known as ___, also helps to move food through the rest of the digestive tract.

gastric juice

Food remains in the organ for about 4 to 6 hours as is mixed with digestive liquids such as ____.

stomach

Food takes about six seconds to travel from the mouth to the ___, a j shaped sac that stores and further digests the food.

large intestine

Materials that are not digested move into the ___, which is a wider but shorter tube than the small intestine.

pancreas

Pancreatic juice is another digestive juice added in the small intestine. It is produced in the ____.

tongue

The ____ helps push food to the back of the mouth where it is swallowed.

bile

The final steps of digestion occur in the small intestine. One type of digestive liquid that is added here is called___, which is produced in the liver and breaks down fats in foods.

appendix

There is a little pouch called the ____ located where the small intestine joins the large intestine. It has no know purpose in our bodies, buy it can sometimes become infected and have to be removed.

saliva

This secretion from the salivary glands is called ____.

digestion

_____ is the process by which food is broken down into substances that can be used by the cells of the body.