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The Digestive System
The food you eat must be broken down by your body before you can get the energy, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it contains. This breaking down process is called digestion, and the parts of your body designed to do this job is called your digestive system. The digestive system is large and complex, containing many different organs and glands, each with a special job to perform.
Together, the parts of the digestive system form a long tube through the body, which starts at the mouth and ends at the anus. It takes anywhere from thirteen hours to a few days for the food you eat to work its way through all the parts of the digestive system and leave your body as waste.
Mouth
The mouth is where digestion begins. The job of the mouth is to chew the food, breaking it down into small bits so digestion can begin. The mouth contains several different kinds of teeth, each made for a particular purpose. There are saliva glands that excrete enzymes that begin to break food down into smaller molecules.
Esophagus
Once you swallow your food, it goes down your esophagus, which begins in your throat and travels down to your stomach. The esophagus actually contains muscles that push your food down, helping it to reach its destination—even if you eat when you’re upside down!
Stomach
Your stomach is located on your left side, just under your lower ribs. It is basically a large bag that contains strong acids, called gastric juices, which further break down the food into a liquid mush. The stomach also has muscles that churn and mix the food with these juices.
Small Intestine
After leaving the stomach, the food enters the small intestines, where it mixed with chemicals produced by other organs of the body, such as the pancreas and gall bladder. As the food travels through the small intestine, nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. The small intestine consists of three parts: the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. If an adult small intestine were stretched out in a straight line, it would be over twenty feet long!
Pancreas
The pancreas is about five inches long, and it lies between the stomach and small intestine. Its job is to make special chemicals, like insulin and sodium bicarbonate, which are squirted into the small intestine.
Liver
The liver has many different jobs to perform for the digestive system. It stores chemicals and then makes then available when the body needs them. The liver also warms the blood, filters out toxins, and produces bile.
Gall Bladder
The gall bladder receives bile from the liver, concentrates it, and squirts it into the small intestine. Bile helps with the digestion of fats.
Large Intestine
The large intestine is a tube that is about five feet long. Once food leaves the small intestine, it is sent to the large intestine, where water and chemicals are taken out. It contains special types of bacteria that help break the food down and produce chemicals that your body needs, such as vitamin K and the B vitamins.
Rectum and Anus
The rectum is the last section of the large intestine; once food reaches this point, all the nutrients have been taken out, and it has become waste, or feces. The anus is opening in the body through which this waste is expelled.
Further Information
Your Gross and Cool Body - Digestive System: Good explanation of the process, with fun factoids
Your Digestive System: Great information for kids, teens, and parents
Human Digestive System - EnchantedLearning.com: Basic information, definitions, and printouts
The Digestive System: Compares digestive systems of other animals with the human digestive system
The Digestive System: Great information for kids
IMCPL Kids: Kids’ guide to the digestive system
Strange But Trewe - Knitted Digestive System: Interesting presentation on the digestive system
Digestive System Diagrams: Interactive diagrams to help locate the different parts of the system
Introductory Anatomy: Digestive System: In-depth explanations of the various pats and their functions
The Virtual Body: Great illustrations of the digestive system