| Anatomy 101—The Digestive System |
| The food you eat delivers essential nutrients to your entire
body; however, before that distribution of nutrients happens,
the digestive process must first take place. The digestive
system, which consists of several organs, plays the vitally
important role of turning the food you eat into usable fuel for
all of the body’s cells. |
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| If the digestive system is not working properly, you can
experience discomfort and may be robbing your body of the
nutrients it needs. This is why it is crucial to
try to understand the
digestive process and keep your digestive system in good working
order. |
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| Mouth—The mouth is the first part of the digestive
system, where chewing and salivary enzymes begin the process of
breaking down the food. |
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| Esophagus—The esophagus runs between the mouth and
the stomach and uses rhythmic muscle movements plus gravity to force food
from the throat into the stomach. |
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| Stomach—The majority of digestion takes place in the
stomach where food is mixed with acids and enzymes to continue
the process of breaking it down. Not
absorption however. |
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| Small Intestine—The small intestine has 3 main
sections: the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. The duodenum is
responsible for continuing to break down of food into liquid
form and the jejunum and ileum mainly responsible for
absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream. |
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| Large Intestine—The main purposes of the large
intestine is to pass remaining essential nutrients into the
bloodstream and store and eliminate waste. |
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| Gall Bladder—The gall bladder stores and releases
bile (a digestive chemical which is produced in the liver) into
the small intestine. |
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| Pancreas—Enzymes from the pancreas help in the
digestion of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the small
intestine. The pancreas produces both insulin and glucagon. . .
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| Liver—The liver is a large organ which filters
toxins from the blood, and makes bile (which breaks down fats)
and some blood proteins.. |
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| Rectum—The rectum is lower part of the large
intestine, where waste is stored before leaving the body. |
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