Digestive System

Ingestion begins in the mouth, where the food is broken down mechanically and chemically, our teeth are used to mechanically break down each food chunk into smaller pieces, making it easier for us to use our salivary glands and enzymes to break down this food!

Metabolism is the process of taking food and turning it into energy! you may have heard people say they have a high or low metabolism. well if a person has a high metabolism that means they burn more calories and need more food to convert it into energy and if they have a low metabolism that means they burn fewer calories therefore they don't need more food to convert into energy

The food stretches the wall of the Esophagus which initiates the smooth muscles to undergo rhythmic, wave-like contractions called peristalsis sphincter, which is a circular muscle, that contracts to close an opening in the body. The Esophagus is located at the center of our chest also known as the mediastinum.

The Stomach is located in the upper left area of the abdomen below the liver, the function of the Stomach is to break down the food that we ingest using gastric acid which is built up with gastric lipase and pepsinogen. the food we eat that's in our Stomach activates nerves which increases muscular contraction which mixes food with gastric juices

The Small Intestine has three parts, the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum these parts function together to help further digest food coming from the stomach. the small intestine also absorbs nutrients (minerals, vitamins, proteins, etc.) Absorption in the small testing takes place using passive transport which is the movement of material across the cell membrane without using energy from the cell, this happens in the jejunum and small molecules like glucose and lipids.

The large intestine is a long tube-like organ located in the lower abdominal cavity and it ends at the anus, its 3 primary functions are absorbing water and electrolytes, producing and absorbing vitamins, and forming and moving feces to the anus for elimination.

The Rectum is where all the food waste is stored and prepared to move to the anus for defecation!

The Anus which is the end of our large intestine, is where all the food waste that has been mechanically processed and chemically digested goes to get defecated!

Nutrients are essential for an organism's survival, growth, and reproduction. an example of some nutrients are carbohydrates, lipids (fat), proteins, and vitamins + minerals!