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The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and assimilated into the body.
In chemical digestion, enzymes break down food into the small compounds that the body can use. In the human digestive system , food enters the mouth and mechanical digestion of the food starts by the action of mastication (chewing), a form of mechanical digestion, and the wetting contact of saliva .
The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the pancreatic duct to aid in digestion. The small intestine is about 5.5 metres (18 feet) long and folds ...
The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and other animals, including the esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
It takes place either in the lumen of the digestive system, in a gastric cavity or other digestive organ, or completely outside the body. During extracellular digestion, food is broken down outside the cell either mechanically or with acid by special molecules called enzymes. Then the newly broken down nutrients can be absorbed by the cells nearby.
Digestion time depends on several factors, including the food you ate, your age and more. Here's what to expect after you eat.
The stomach is involved in the gastric phase of digestion, following the cephalic phase in which the sight and smell of food and the act of chewing are stimuli. In the stomach a chemical breakdown of food takes place by means of secreted digestive enzymes and gastric acid. The stomach is located between the esophagus and the small intestine.
Microvilli are present on the epithelium of a villus and further increase the surface area over which absorption can take place. Numerous intestinal glands as pocket-like invaginations are present in the underlying tissue. In the large intestines, villi are absent and a flat surface with thousands of glands is observed.