Rizchel Anne E.

Miguel February 21, 2011

CA1A Asst. Prof. Sheryl F. Santa Cruz

ASSIGNMENT:

DIGESTIVE PROCESS

Digestion begins in the mouth. Your teeth and tongue break down or masticate food and your
salivary glands break it down further with liquid enzymes. Saliva is a watery tasteless liquid mixture that
moistens chewed food and begins chemical digestion. The salivary glands produce this saliva. Saliva
contains an enzyme that begins the breakdown of starches into sugars. Saliva contains amylase that is
an enzyme that begins the chemical digestion of complex carbohydrates, such as the sweet potatoes and
stuffing in your dinner.

Once the food is chewed and softened in the mouth, the tongue rolls it into a ball or bolus and
then pushes the bolus to the throat to be swallowed. During swallowing, a small flap of tissue called the
epiglottis prevents food from entering the windpipe. The food then passes into the esophagus.

The esophagus is a muscular tube connecting the mouth with the stomach. The esophagus
moves the food to the stomach by a serious of muscular contractions called peristalsis. Peristalsis is the
wavelike contraction of muscles that move food through the digestive system.

As you swallow, the food travels through your esophagus to your stomach. The stomach is a
saclike organ of digestion and has walls made of layers of muscle, each arranged on a different angle. As
the food enters the stomach, muscle contractions begin to twist, turn, and churn the food. The twisting,
turning, and churning of food in the stomach is part of mechanical digestion. The stomach produces
gastric juice and mixes it with the food. This gastric juice contains enzymes that begin the digestion of
proteins. Proteins are the only substances digested in the stomach. Proteins are only partially digested in
the stomach. The food is churned and mixed with stomach fluids until a thick paste called chyme is
produced. The chyme passes through the stomach into the small intestine.

The small intestine is a long, coiled organ about one inch in diameter. The small intestine may be
7.5 to 9 meters in length. Digestion is completed in the small intestine. The liver releases bile into the
small intestine. Bile prepares the fats for digestion. Pancreatic juice contains enzymes that digest
carbohydrates and fats. It also contains enzymes that continue the digestion of proteins. The walls of the
small intestine release enzymes that complete the digestion of all three basic nutrients. In the walls of the
small intestine are millions of small projections called villi. These villi contain many small blood vessels.
Digested food is absorbed into these blood vessels and carried to all body cells.

The material that has not been absorbed moves into the large intestine, or colon. Here water and
salts are absorbed, and the remaining solid waste goes out of the body through the anus.