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The Digestive Process
Digestion: The process by which your body breaks down food into small nutrient
molecules.
Three Functions of the digestive system…
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2.
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Two different kinds of digestion…
Mechanical:
Chemical:
_____________________: The process by which nutrient molecules pass through the
wall of your digestive system into your blood.
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Materials that are not absorbed are eliminated from your body.
Saliva: The fluid released when your mouth waters
Enzyme:
The Esophagus:
Epiglottis: A flap of tissue that seals off your windpipe, preventing food from entering
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The esophagus in lined with mucus, which aids in the movement of food
Peristalsis:
The Stomach: A j-shaped muscular pouch that holds your food that you swallow
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Most mechanical digestion occurs here
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The average stomach holds 2 liters of food ( 8 cups)
* Enzymes from the mouth, stomach, pancreas, liver and small intestine combine to
break down your food, including all of the nutrients found in the foods.
* Why doesn’t the hydrochloric acid in our stomach harm us?
1.
2.
Final digestion and absorption
The small intestine: The location where most of the chemical reactions take place.
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6 meters long (about 21 feet) x 2-3 centimeters wide
-Food arrives at the small intestine as a thick fluid
-The small intestine is where the absorption of the nutrients takes place
The liver: The largest organ in the body, produces bile and is the “chemical factory” of
the body.
Bile:
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Bile flows from the liver to the gallbladder
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Bile also breaks up large fat particles into smaller fat droplets
The pancreas:
The pancreas produces enzymes that flow into the small intestine and help break down
nutrients.
Villi:
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The villi help to increase the surface area in which the small intestine can
digest food, if all of the villi in the small intestine were to be laid out flat, they
would cover a tennis court.
The large intestine: The last section of the digestive system, about 5 feet long.
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The large intestine contains water and undigested food such as fiber
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The water in absorbed into the bloodstream, the food is excreted from our
body