Download Function: Digestion starts here. Food is also moistened to make it

Name: ______ANSWER KEY_________ Partner(s): ____________________________________ Class: M2 Date: ___________ Organ: Mouth (Size: 11 cm front to back)
Function: Digestion starts here. Food is also moistened to make it able to pass through esophagus.
Type of Digestion and Explanation: Mechanical: food is broken apart by chewing, moistened to move
easily though esophagus and pushed into esophagus. Chemical: amylase, an enzyme in saliva, changes
starch (large carbohydrate molecules) into sugar (small carbohydrate molecules the body uses for
energy).
Accessory Organ: Salivary Glands (Size/Shape: various small glands surrounding the mouth)
Function: Produce saliva and release it into mouth.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Chemical: amylase in the saliva
breaks starches into sugar. Mechanical: saliva moistens food so it can move through esophagus.
Organ: Esophagus (Size/Shape: about 25 cm long)
Function: Move food from mouth to the stomach.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Mechanical: pushes moistened food
down to stomach using muscular contraction called peristalsis.
Organ: Stomach (Size/Shape: curved pouch about 22 cm long)
Function: The stomach continues process of breaking down the food both mechanically and chemically.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Mechanical: contracting muscles
churn food, physically break down food particles, mix them with digestive juices and push into small
intestine. Chemical: digestive juices (hydrochloric acid, enzymes) break food molecules into smaller
nutrient molecules.
Organ: Small Intestine (Size/Shape: diameter = 2.5 cm, length = 7m)
Function: The majority of chemical digestion happens here. It’s also the longest part digestive organ.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Chemical: enzymes produced by the
small intestine, liver and pancreas chemically digest food further. Most of the nutrients that are absorbed
into the body flow through the walls of the small intestine and into the bloodstream. Mechanical: passes
digested food into large intestines.
Accessory Organ: Liver (Size/Shape: triangle wedge about 10 cm long)
Function: While it does many things in the body, its only job in digestion is to make bile.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Chemical only: food doesn’t pass
through the liver. The liver releases bile into the gall bladder and from there into the small intestines;
bile breaks down fatty acids.
Accessory Organ: Pancreas (Size/Shape: like a J-shaped cucumber, 12 cm long)
Function: Creates digestive enzymes.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Chemical only: food doesn’t pass
through the pancreas. Instead, the pancreas’s enzymes flow into the small intestine and break down
carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Accessory Organ: Gall Bladder (Size/Shape: diameter 4cm, length 8cm)
Function: Stores bile from the liver, and releases it into the small intestine.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Chemical only: food doesn’t pass
through the gall bladder. The bile it receives from the liver and releases into the small intestine breaks
down fatty acids.
Organ: Large Intestine (Size/Shape: diameter 6cm, length 1.5 m)
Function: Much wider and shorter than the small intestine. Water and salts from the digested food are
absorbed through the large intestine walls. The large intestine also begins to compact waste into feces.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Mechanical: absorption of water and
salts, compaction of waste and passing waste along to rectum.
Organ: Rectum (Size/Shape: about 14 cm long.)
Function: Located at the end of the large intestine, the rectum stores the feces until the body is ready to
dispose of it.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Mechanical only: the rectum
compresses the feces so it will be easy to dispose of.
Organ: Anus (Size/Shape: donut-shaped muscle about 3cm long)
Function: Prevent feces from being released constantly.
Type of Digestion and Explanation (Mechanical/Chemical/Both): Mechanical only: the anus acts as a
door, holding feces in the rectum until the body is ready to release it.
NEXT STEP: Please label the organ map on the next page. Mouth
Esophagus
Liver
Stomach
Gall Bladder
Large intestine
Pancreas
Small intestine
Rectum
Anus