Digestive System: Function, Organs and Anatomy (2023)

general description

What is the digestive system?

Your digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the liver, pancreas and gallbladder. The gastrointestinal tract is a series of hollow organs that are connected from the mouth to the anus. The organs that make up your gastrointestinal tract include, in order of connection, your mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus.

What does the digestive system do?

Your digestive system is uniquely designed to convert your food into the nutrients and energy you need to survive. And when you're done with that, you can easily bag up your solid waste or stool to throw away when you have a bowel movement.

Why is digestion important?

Digestion is important because your body needs nutrients from the food you eat and the fluids you drink to stay healthy and function properly. Nutrients include carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water. Your digestive system breaks down, absorbing the nutrients from the food and fluids you eat to use for important things like energy, growth, and cell repair.

Anatomy

What organs does the digestive system consist of?

The main organs that make up thedigestive tract(in order of function) these are the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus. They are helped by the pancreas, gallbladder and liver.

This is how these organs work together in yoursdigestive tract.

The book

IsbocaIt is the beginning of the digestive tract. In fact, digestion begins before you even take a bite. Your salivary glands fire when you see and smell that hot plate of pasta or bread. After you start eating, chew your food into pieces that are easier to digest. Your saliva mixes with food to break it down into a form your body can absorb and use. When you swallow, your tongue moves food down your throat and into your esophagus.

esophagus

Located in the throat near the trachea (trachea), theesophagusreceives food from your mouth when you swallow. The epiglottis is a small flap that folds over the windpipe when swallowing to prevent choking (if food enters the windpipe). A series of muscle contractions in the esophagus calledPeristalticdelivers food to your stomach.

But first, a ring-shaped muscle at the bottom of the esophagus called the lower esophageal sphincter must relax to let food in. The sphincter then contracts, preventing stomach contents from flowing back up into the esophagus. (If they don't, and those contents make their way back up the esophagus, it can cause acid reflux, or heartburn.)

Magen

IsMagenIt is a hollow organ or "vessel" that holds food while being mixed with stomach enzymes. These enzymes continue the process of breaking down food into a usable form. Cells in your stomach lining secrete strong acid and powerful enzymes that are responsible for the breakdown process. When the stomach contents are sufficiently processed, they are released into the small intestine.

small intestine

Consisting of three segments, the duodenum, jejunum and ileum, thesmall intestineIt's a 22-foot muscular tube that breaks down food using enzymes released from the pancreas and bile from the liver. Peristalsis also works in this organ, moving food around and mixing it with digestive juices from the pancreas and liver.

The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine. It is largely responsible for the continuous decomposition process. The jejunum and ileum in the lower intestine are primarily responsible for absorbing nutrients into the bloodstream.

The contents of the small intestine start out semi-solid and end up in liquid form after passing through the organ. Water, bile, enzymes and mucus contribute to the change in consistency. After the nutrients have been absorbed and the liquid left over from food has passed through the small intestine, it enters the large intestine (colon).

Pancreas

IsPancreassecretes digestive enzymes into the duodenum that break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. The pancreas also produces insulin and releases it directly into the bloodstream. Insulin is the most important hormone in your body for the metabolism of sugar.

Leber

IsLeberIt has many functions, but its main job in the digestive system is to process the nutrients absorbed from the small intestine. Bile from the liver, which is secreted into the small intestine, also plays an important role in the digestion of fats and some vitamins.

The liver is your body's chemical factory. It absorbs the raw materials absorbed from the gut and produces all the different chemicals that your body needs to function.

The liver also detoxifies potentially harmful chemicals. It breaks down and excretes many drugs that can be toxic to your body.

gallbladder

IsgallbladderStores and concentrates bile from the liver and then releases it into the duodenum in the small intestine to aid in the absorption and digestion of fats.

colon

IscolonIt takes care of waste processing, so defecation is easy and convenient. It's a 6-foot muscular tube that connects the small intestine to the rectum.

The colon consists of the cecum, the ascending (right) colon, the transverse (continuous) colon, the descending (left) colon, and the sigmoid colon, which connects to the rectum.

Fecal matter, or waste matter left over from the digestive process, passes through the large intestine via peristalsis, first in a liquid state and finally in a solid form. As the stool passes through the large intestine, the water is removed. The stool is stored in the sigmoid (S-shaped) until it is emptied into the rectum by a "mass movement" once or twice daily.

It usually takes about 36 hours for stool to pass through the large intestine. The stool itself consists mainly of food debris and bacteria. These "good" bacteria perform several useful functions, such as synthesizing various vitamins, processing waste products and leftovers, and protecting against harmful bacteria. As the descending colon fills with feces or feces, it dumps its contents into the rectum to begin the process of elimination (a bowel movement).

To the right

The rectum is a straight 8-inch chamber that connects the large intestine to the anus. The job of the rectum is to take stool from the colon, let it know there is stool to have a bowel movement (poop), and hold the stool until the bowel movement occurs. If anything (gas or feces) enters the rectum, the sensors send a message to the brain. The brain then decides whether or not to release the rectal contents.

When they can, the sphincters relax and the rectum contracts, removing its contents. If the contents cannot be evacuated, the sphincter will contract and the rectum will adjust, causing the sensation to temporarily go away.

Again

The anus is the last part of the digestive tract. It is a 2 inch canal made up of the pelvic floor muscles and the two anal sphincters (internal and external). The lining of the upper part of the anus is capable of detecting rectal contents. Indicates whether the content is liquid, gaseous or solid.

The anus is surrounded by sphincters that are important in controlling stool. The pelvic floor muscle forms an angle between the rectum and anus that prevents stool from coming out when it shouldn't. The internal sphincter is always tight except when stool enters the rectum. that keeps uscontinent(prevents us from involuntarily pooping) when we are asleep or unaware of the presence of feces.

When we want to go to the bathroom, we rely on our external sphincter to hold the stool all the way to the toilet, where it then relaxes to release the contents.