CH 15.

2 The Digestive Process

Begins
CH 15 Food and Digestion
Physiology Unit
2009

1. Functions of the Digestive System

Digestive System has 3 main functions:

Breaks down food into molecules the body

can use
Those molecules are absorbed into the blood
and carried throughout the body
Wastes are eliminated from the body

Digestive System

A. Mouth
B. Esophagus
C. Stomach
D. Small intestine
E. Large intestine

A. Digestion

Digestion (def) the process by which

your body breaks down food into small
nutrient molecules
2 kinds of digestion

Mechanical physically broken down

Chemical chemically broken down

B. Absorption and Elimination

Absorption (def) is the process by which

nutrient molecules pass through the wall of
your digestive system into your blood
What is not absorbed is eliminated as waste.

What is chemical digestion?

Process where chemicals break foods

into their smaller chemical building
blocks

2. The Mouth

Both mechanical and chemical digestion

begins in the mouth.

A. Mechanical Digestion in the Mouth

Teeth carry out the first stage of

mechanical digestion.

B. Chemical Digestion in the Mouth

Chemicals in the saliva break down food

molecules
Enzymes (def) proteins that speed up
chemical reactions in the body (and in the
mouth to aid in chemical digestion)

3. The Esophagus

Esophagus (def) a muscular

tube that connects the mouth to
the stomach

3. The Esophagus

Epiglottis
(def) a flap of
tissue that
seals off your
windpipe
preventing the
food from
entering

3. The Esophagus

Mucus (def) a thick, slippery

substance lining the esophagus
Makes food easier to swallow
and move

Warm up 4/23/15
1.

2.

3.

4.

How many main functions does the

Digestive System have and what are they?
How many types of Digestion are there and
what are they?
How many parts of the body does food pass
through and what are they?
What is the Esophagus, Epiglottis, and
mucus

3. The Esophagus

Mucus (def) a thick, slippery

substance lining the esophagus
Makes food easier to swallow
and move

3. The Esophagus

Peristalsis (def)
waves of smooth
muscle contraction
that push the food
through the
esophagus to the
stomach
Also occurs in the
stomach and farther
down

How is food prevented from

entering the windpipe?

The epiglottis seals off the

windpipe

4. The Stomach

Stomach (def) a J-shaped, muscular

pouch located in the abdomen where
most of the mechanical and some
chemical digestion occurs

A. Mechanical digestion in the Stomach

3 layers of smooth muscle contract to

produce a churning motion
This mixes food and fluid like a washing
machine

B. Chemical Digestion in the Stomach

Occurs when food makes contact with

digestive juice.
Digestive juice has the enzyme pepsin.
Pepsin digests proteins in food

B. Chemical Digestion in the Stomach

Digestive juice also contains hydrochloric

acid a very strong acid
Pepsin works best in acidic environment
Hydrochloric acid kills many bacteria that
you swallow with your food

B. Chemical Digestion in the Stomach

The hydrochloric acid does not burn holes

in you because:

Thick mucus coating lines your stomach

Stomach lining cells are quickly replaced
when damaged or worn

B. Chemical Digestion in the Stomach

Food stays in stomach until solid material

has been broken down into liquid
A few hours after eating mechanical
digestion finishes
Liquid food now is released into next part
of digestive process.

What is pepsin?

An enzyme that breaks down proteins

into amino acids