The Digestive Tract

By Lyric and Srivats

Mouth, Esophagus, and

Stomach

The Mouth

The Mouth is the first part in the process of digestion. It starts really with the salivary glands which are located in the mouth. The salivary glands release saliva which is 98% water and 2% enzymes and breaks down the chemicals in the food you eat. Your teeth mash up the food and when you are ready your tongue pushes a small piece of mashed up food called a bolus toward your throat.

The EsophagusThe Esophagus is a food pipe connecting the mouth to the stomach. It uses its muscles to squeeze down the food, even if you were doing a headstand it would still push food to your stomach. Before the food or liquid goes into the Esophagus, it goes through your pharynx and past your Epiglottis. The pharynx is not only part of the digestive system it is also part of the respiratory system. Your pharynx is the tube that both food and water go through, but when it reaches the windpipe and food pipe (Esophagus) it separates.the food goes through the Esophagus and the air goes through the windpipe.

THE StomachThe stomach has many parts.After the food goes through the Esophagus, it enters into the body or stomach. The Stomach is made up of four parts: the Cardiac zone (the cardia is the connector between the Esophagus and the Stomach, it is one of the barriers that helps contain the stomach acids). The Pylorus zone (it is like a gate, letting food into the Duodenum (the connector pipe between the Stomach and the Small Intestine). The Body (this part releases the Gastric Acids, it also absorbs nutrients).

The Stomach Muscles

The stomach consists of three layers of muscle: the outer longitudinal, the Middle Circular, and the Inner Oblique. They grind the food up like a giant compressor. The muscles expand and contract to squeeze, press, and pull apart the food.

STOMACH ACID

The stomach acid(hydrochloric acid, HCl) plays a big part of breaking down the food we eat. the acid helps digest protein. proper levels of HCl also help prevent illness and infection. the stomach acid is neutralized by cells that produce a layer of mucus and bicarbonate. This is why the stomach does not digest itself. The mucus and bicarbonate make a layer that keeps the hcl in the stomach, if the hcl goes out of the stomach then it can get to the heart and give you

Moving Photos

http://polkabeast.deviantart.com/art/Digestive-System-Animation-168749853

Photos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomach

The Small and Large Intestines

The Large Intestine

The Small Intestine

The Small IntestineTHe Small Intestine is split into Three parts: the Duodenum, Jejenum, and Ileum. The Jejenum is the part of the Small intestine that connects to the Duodenum (the connector between the stomach and the small intestine (the Duodenum connects to the Pyloric Valve on the Stomach)). The Ileum is the bottom part of the small Intestine that connects to the Ileocecal valve on the LArge Intestine.

Small Intestine: Chemical Digestion

● Most Chemical digestion happens here.● When Food Goes from stomach to Small

Intestine, juices from the Pancreas, Glands in the lining (of small Intestine), and liver (Bile) help break down carbohydrates, fats, and Proteins.

● Digested food broken into the size of molecules pass through the Villi.

Diffusion

The Villi (the Nutrient Collectors)

The Small INtestine is lined with tiny tentacles called VillI. The Villi are full of blood cells. they absorb the nutrients in the food. Then they pass the molecules of nutrients into the blood flow. After nutrients are absorbed they go deep through the villi into the blood flow through the process of diffusion (from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration).

Inside of Villi

Villi

The SIZE OF The SMALL AND Large INTESTINEEven though the names state their size, that size is true only for the large intestine. the small intestine on the other hand is actually very long. however, inside the human body it doesn’t take up a lot of space because it is squeezed into a compact shape. the small intestine got it’s name from it’s width not it’s length. the small intestine is about 4 times longer.

The LArge IntestineBefore your food goes into the large intestine it goes through the Ileum (the connecter of the large and small intestine). After the ileum the food moves on to the cecum. the cecum is the beginning of the large intestine. the large intestine has 4 parts: Ascending Colon, transverse Colon, descending Colon, and the sigmoid colon. The large Intestine absorbs water from the remaining undigested food. It houses over 700 types of bacteria too. Two functions of this bacteria are making Vitamin K and a type of Vitamin B and helping digestion. The bacteria has two types called Pathogenic (bad) and Probiotic (good).

Photos

Photos

The Diseases in The Digestive Tract

DISEASES IN THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

There are many diseases that can happen in the digestive system. For example, Crohn’s Disease and cancer of various parts of the system (from Mouth all the way to Anus).

Crohn’s Disease

Crohn’s Disease: when a person has crohn’s disease, their immune system attacks itself, Causing healthy tissue to become swollen and painful. This affects how they eat, feel, and acquire nutrition.

Cancer

Cancer happens when cells go out of control and multiply to form lumps of tissue (tumors). It can happen anywhere in the body. It disrupts the flow of systems and processes that sustain life.

Bibliography

Most of our images come from www.commons.wikimedia.org

Our Information comes from www.

wikipedia.org and other sites.