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Digestive System
Digestive System is the category for questions regarding the breakdown and absorption of food-stuffs in our alimentary canal. Questions about the stomach and intestines can be included in this category.
7,599 Questions
How long does the food take to digest?
If you're describing bulimia and are thinking about doing it or already are doing it, stop right now. You can do irreversable damage to your body and can even die. Nothing is worth that. Incidentally, your body begins to digest food immediately after eating. Well actually that "digestion" is only mechanical digestion (breaking the food down into smaller bits) and is only absorbed into the body come time for the food to go into the small intestine (sometimes 4 hours later) .. however some carbs are absorbed through the stomach in digestion.
What are the organs that food passes through as it goes through the digestive system?
The organ system that includes the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) and its accessory organs. The digestive system processes food into molecules that can be absorbed and utilized by the cells of the body. Food is broken down, bit by bit, until the molecules are small enough to be absorbed and the waste products are eliminated. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract, also called the digestive tract, alimentary canal, or gut, consists of a long continuous tube that extends from the mouth to the anus. It includes the following regions:
- mouth
- pharynx
- esophagus
- stomach
- small intestine
- large intestine
- rectum
- anus
The tongue and teeth are accessory structures located in the mouth. The salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas are major accessory organs that have a role in digestion. These organs secrete fluids into the GI tract.
Food undergoes three types of processes in the body:
- digestion
- absorption
- elimination
Digestion and absorption occur in the GI tract. After the nutrients are absorbed, they are available to all cells in the body and are utilized by the body cells in metabolism.
Anatomy of the digestive system
The MOUTH contains the tongue which is covered with tiny projecting papillae through which are conveyed sensations of taste and touch; the teeth, 32 in number of which 8 are called incisors, 4 canines, 8 premolars, and 12 molars; and the salivary glands, which secrete saliva.
The process of digestion starts in the mouth. Food is masticated (chewed) by the teeth, moistened by the saliva, which contains important chemical substances for changing it, and rolled by the tongue. It is hen pushed backward by the tongue into
The PHARYNX, a funnel-shaped opening which is the continuation of the mouth. The food then passes down
The ESOPHAGUS, or gullet. This is a very elastic, muscular tube about eight to ten inches long. The food is forced onward by the involuntary contractions of the muscles in the esophagus. It passes from the esophagus into the stomach.
The CARDIAC OPENING or ORIFICE relaxes to allow the food to pass through, and then closes again.
The STOMACH can hold about a liter. It is made up of layers of muscular fibers which contract and churn the food, breaking it up still further. The inner layer of the stomach contains numerous glands. These secrete gastric juice, which carries on the process of digestion begun in the mouth by the saliva. About half-an-hour after food has been eaten, the stomach begins to discharge its contents, now reduced to a thin, gruel-like liquid (chyme) through
The PYLORUS, the exit of the stomach, consisting of a band of muscular fibers which relaxes from time to time to allow food to pass into the
The SMALL INTESTINE, the first part of the intestinal tube through which food passes on leaving the stomach. It is about 20 to 22 feet (6.1 to 6.7 meters) long and about 1½ to 2 inches (3.8 to 5.1 cm) in diameter at first, narrowing slightly toward its lower end. It is made up of three parts: the upper part, known as the duodenum, is about 11 inches (28 cm) long, and receives the juices of the two most important glands of the digestive system, the liver and the pancreas. These convert the food still further so that it is in a state in which it can be absorbed by the body. The middle part of the small intestine is known as the jejunum (for the Latin for "empty" because food is seldom found in it after death). It is about 8 to 9 feet (2.4 to 2.7 meters) long. After passing through this the food goes on to the longest and most coiled or twisted part of the intestine, known as the ileum, about 12 feet (3.7 meters) long. Its wall is covered by about 5 million tiny projections resembling hairs called villi. These absorb the nourishment from the food.
The LIVER is the largest gland of the human body, with a weight of about 3 to 3½ lb (1.4 to 1.6 kg). It secretes bile, a greenish, bitter juice which breaks up the fatty part of the food into tiny drops. Bile from the liver is collected in the gall-bladder from which it flows into the intestine.
The PANCREAS is a small gland which secretes pancreatic juice. This plays an important part in the chemical change of food. The food then passes to
The LARGE INTESTINE which is about 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) long, and which consists of the cecum, the colon, and the rectum. In the colon most of the water is absorbed from the food residues. The semisolid feces which remain pass through the rectum and out of the body.
Saliva is the watery liquid produced in the mouth to aide chewing and digestion of food
Saliva consists of mainly water. It also has ions, enzymes and salivary proteins which acts as a protective mechanism for our teeth.
Source - see related link below.
What part of the stomach functions as a mixing chamber for food and secretions?
the body of the stomach
What does pancreatic lipase break down?
The pancreas is the main digestive gland in our body and it secretes these enzymes:
- Trypsin: a protease that cleaves proteins at the basic amino acids.
- Chymotrypsin: a protease that cleaves proteins at the aromatic amino acids.
- Steapsin: which degrades triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol.
- Carboxypeptidase: a protease that takes off the terminal acid group from a protein
- Several elastases: which degrade the protein elastin and some other proteins.
- Several nucleases: which degrade nucleic acids, like DNAase and RNAase
- Pancreatic amylase: degrades starch, glycogen and most other carbohydrates.
What substance in the stomach helps digestion?
The Stomach is where Proteins are digested. This needs an acid environment and enzymes like pepsin. The digested proteins are not absorbed into the body by the stomach - this happens further down the alimentary tract.
Which part of the digestive system does not produce a digestive enzyme?
the gall bladder- this stores bile from the liver, the oesophaugus (even though it isn't an organ but a muscle), the rectum and anus. The salivary glands (saliva/spit), stomach (hydraulic acid), liver (bile) and the small intestine (carbohydrase, protese and lipase) all produce some sort of digestive enzymes.
Which organ of body responsible for proteins digestion only?
Protein digesting enzymes (protease) are found throughout the digestive system. In the stomach, pepsin begins the breakdown of ptrotein into amino acids. The process continues in the small intestine, where protease is secreted by the intestine and the pancreas.
Of all the protein ingested, trypsin can catalyze each protein strand; however it can only catalyze specific locations along the strand. Due to a charged side chain on its external surface, trypsin specializes in attracting positively charged amino acids for catalysis. Upon being drawn in, either lysine or arginine residues are cleaved at their carboxyl side. This helps break up very long polypeptides into smaller fragments for other proteases to work on.
How might stress affect the digestive system?
When stressed, the part of the brain(central nevous system)responsible for the stimulation of the digestive ezymes to perform their digestive functions,will feel too weak and stressed to perform its function of stimulating the ezymes thereby given rise to constipation.
Yes because your neck muscles are strong enough to push your food into your stomach even if your upside down
Though sitting upside down puts extra strain on your heart, making breathing slightly faster, eating upside down can be potentially dangerous in the aspect that most people inhale their food rather than swallow. Yes, as the other user said above, it is possible, but not because of the muscles in the throat. When you swallow, the muscles of the throat can, however, manage to push your food into the upper esophageal sphincter which pushes food into the esophagus, a narrow passage of muscles which is barely affected by your gravity. As the muscles of the esophagus contract, your food is pushed down (or in this case up) into the lower esophageal sphincter which quickly opens at the last second to allow your food passage into the stomach. In a simpler form, it's not about the strength, but the fact that the muscles are so tight and the process is so fast that gravity really has no affect on the process.
Which part of food is not digested?
Cellulose
Answer:To be a nutrient a food material has to be digested and incorporated into the body as stored fat, converted to muscle or other protein, or converted to energy. So no nutrient as "not digested"/ Non-nutrient materials which provide other functions are fiber and water, and minerals asn trace chemicals such as salt, iron, zinc. Vitsmins can be regarded as supplimental to the body's own production.fibre can not be digested
How is food digested in the mouth?
The end product of the mouth in digestion is bolus. In the mouth , the teeth working with the tongue break food mechanically into small pieces and mush it into a bolus. A bolus is a small, oval mass of material that eventually moves through the entire digestive tract.
Nsikan Esenowo.
How does the stomach contribute to chemical digestion?
Stores And Helps Break Down Food Into Very Small Particles.
What influences your appetite?
A decrease in appetite can be caused by sickness, being full (having just/recently eaten a large meal), or viewing something especially unpleasent. An increase in appetite can be caused by stress, anger, or basically any emotion. (ex: people eat when they are nervous) Or it could simply be caused by a long lack of food. (People that were at one point expeirencing starvation in their life may for the rest of their life have a larger-than-normal appetite. Genetics can, as almost always, play a role in the size of one's appetite. (ex: He has an appetite as large as his father's!)
What is a high level of neutrophils?
In medical term a neutrophil count is considered abnormally high if it rises above 8000. A neutrophil count this high could is usually due to excessive stress to the body which may be due to exercise, seizures or nervousness. It could also be due to trauma to the body resulting in tissue damage or it could be due to a bacterial infection of some sort.
Does the liver digest protein?
It creates amino acids which collects mrkhthen the amino acids brake and makes proteins
Does the small intestine break up molecules?
Enzymes in the small intestine can break larger molecules such as proteins into smaller molecules such as amino acids. These enzymes are either produced in the pancreas and taken to the first part of the small intestine by the pancreatic duct or some enzymes may be produced by the lining of the small intestine called the "brush border" in the first part of the small intestine. Large molecules such as proteins or starch need to be broken down to smaller molecules before they can be absorbed into the bloodstream and beusableto the person's body cells.
