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Segmentation involves contractions of the circular muscles in the digestive tract, while peristalsis involves rhythmic contractions of the longitudinal muscles in the gastrointestinal tract. Unlike peristalsis, segmentation actually can slow progression of chyme through the system.
A simplified image showing peristalsis. In the esophagus, two types of peristalsis occur: First, there is a primary peristaltic wave, which occurs when the bolus enters the esophagus during swallowing. The primary peristaltic wave forces the bolus down the esophagus and into the stomach in a wave lasting about 8–9 seconds.
The nervous system, and endocrine system collaborate in the digestive system to control gastric secretions, and motility associated with the movement of food throughout the gastrointestinal tract, including peristalsis, and segmentation contractions.
Control of the digestive system is also maintained by ENS, which can be thought of as a digestive brain that can help to regulate motility, secretion and growth. Sensory information from the digestive system can be received, integrated and acted upon by the enteric system alone. When this occurs, the reflex is called a short reflex. [4]
The muscular layer surrounds the submucosa. It comprises layers of smooth muscle in longitudinal and circular orientation that also helps with continued bowel movements (peristalsis) and the movement of digested material out of and along the gut. In between the two layers of muscle lies the myenteric plexus (also called plexus).
There are two types of intestinal motility – peristalsis and segmentation. [14] This motility is brought about by the contraction of smooth muscles in the gastrointestinal tract which mix the luminal contents with various secretions (segmentation) and move contents through the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus (peristalsis). [15]
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 most vertebrates, digestion is a multistage process in the digestive system, starting from ingestion of raw materials, most often other organisms. Ingestion usually involves some type of mechanical and chemical processing. Digestion is separated into four steps: Ingestion: placing food into the mouth (entry of food in the digestive system),