Explain the process of digestion with respect to the following points :-
Assimilation Excretion Absorption e.t.c.
Explain the process of digestion with respect to the following points :-
Assimilation Excretion Absorption e.t.c.
Ingestion (The Mouth) Let’s start with the oral cavity, also known as your mouth. Here, food is broken down into smaller pieces as a result of the crushing action of our teeth. These pieces of food are then moistened by saliva, and the tongue pushes the food to the back of the mouth so that it can be swallowed. Simple enough, right? Great, then let’s proceed to….
The Esophagus and the Stomach After being swallowed, the food travels through the esophagus, which is basically a muscular tube connecting the mouth to the stomach. Once the moistened, chewed up food reaches the stomach, it basically takes a bath. What sort of bath, you ask? Am I starting to sound a bit crazy? Well, to clarify what I mean, the food is actually bathed with HCl (hydrochloric acid), because this sort of acidic environment is needed for the food material to be digested by enzymes that require an acidic pH. Before I proceed any further, I should first explain what digestion really means.
Digestion During digestion, large molecules of food (that were even larger before being cut up by the teeth) are broken down into a number of small molecules, namely amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, and glycerol. This is accomplished with the help of enzymes, which can be thought of as biological catalysts, breaking the bonds between large molecules to create smaller molecules. Now, let’s take a look at what happens in another organ of the body that digests food.
Absorption (The Small Intestine) At this point, simple molecules like water and alcohol have already been absorbed by the stomach. Following that initial digestive period, the more complex molecules like amino acids, sugars and fatty acids are absorbed by the walls of the small intestine. All the absorbed molecules are incorporated into the bloodstream and circulated throughout the body.
The undigested and unabsorbed food then heads to…..
Excretion (The Large Intestine) The large intestine absorbs the remaining water molecules and vitamins. The problem is, not all food can be digested by the body. Therefore, the undigested food will be removed from the body through defecation, a process with which we are all familiar.
Let’s start with the oral cavity, also known as your mouth. Here, food is broken down into smaller pieces as a result of the crushing action of our teeth. These pieces of food are then moistened by saliva, and the tongue pushes the food to the back of the mouth so that it can be swallowed. Simple enough, right? Great, then let’s proceed to….
The Esophagus and the StomachAfter being swallowed, the food travels through the esophagus, which is basically a muscular tube connecting the mouth to the stomach. Once the moistened, chewed up food reaches the stomach, it basically takes a bath. What sort of bath, you ask? Am I starting to sound a bit crazy? Well, to clarify what I mean, the food is actually bathed with HCl (hydrochloric acid), because this sort of acidic environment is needed for the food material to be digested by enzymes that require an acidic pH. Before I proceed any further, I should first explain what digestion really means.
DigestionDuring digestion, large molecules of food (that were even larger before being cut up by the teeth) are broken down into a number of small molecules, namely amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, and glycerol. This is accomplished with the help of enzymes, which can be thought of as biological catalysts, breaking the bonds between large molecules to create smaller molecules. Now, let’s take a look at what happens in another organ of the body that digests food.
Absorption (The Small Intestine)At this point, simple molecules like water and alcohol have already been absorbed by the stomach. Following that initial digestive period, the more complex molecules like amino acids, sugars and fatty acids are absorbed by the walls of the small intestine. All the absorbed molecules are incorporated into the bloodstream and circulated throughout the body.
The undigested and unabsorbed food then heads to…..
Excretion (The Large Intestine)The large intestine absorbs the remaining water molecules and vitamins. The problem is, not all food can be digested by the body. Therefore, the undigested food will be removed from the body through defecation, a process with which we are all familiar.
