Question

Write a brief note on the digestive system of the human body.

Answer 1

Digestive system:

1. The system is responsible for getting food into and out of the body by using food for a healthy body.
2. Food is broken down by the digestive system into nutrients like proteins, lipids, and carbs.

Mouth:

1. The mouth includes teeth, salivary glands, and tongue.
2. The mouth plays a key role in the digestive process by aiding in the breaking and grinding of food molecules, followed by the mixing of saliva and food particles.

Pharynx:

1. A fibromuscular, Y-shaped tube-like structure called the pharynx is connected to the mouth's end.
   It helps chewed food move from the mouth and through the esophagus.

Esophagus:

1. The esophagus is the upper portion of the digestive system and is primarily responsible for moving food particles from the mouth to the stomach.

Stomach:

1. The stomach is divided into four main sections: the body (main center region), the cardiac area, into which the esophagus opens, and the pyloric segment, which opens into the first portion of the small intestine.
2. The stomach is placed in the upper left portion of the abdominal cavity.
3. It is a crucial organ that works by keeping food in storage, giving the body adequate time to digest meals, and producing the hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes needed to keep the digestive process going.

Small intestine:

1. The small intestine can be divided into three distinct sections: the 'C'-shaped duodenum, the lengthy, coiling jejunum, and the tightly coiling ileum.
2. It is the site of complete digestion in humans.
3. It absorbs digested food completely.
4. It secretes intestinal juice.
5. It receives bile juice from the liver and pancreatic juice from the pancreas.

Large intestine:

1. The large intestine works by absorbing up water and aiding in the decomposition of waste to extract tiny nutrients. It is present beneath the stomach.

Accessory glands:

1. The salivary glands, the liver, gall bladder, and the pancreas are some of the accessory glands connected to the alimentary canal.

Functions of the digestive system:

1. Ingestion - Occurs when food enters the digestive tract via the mouth.
2. Mechanical processing-Crushing and shearing make easy propulsion of food.
3. Digestion - The chemical breakdown of food into small food particles for absorption.
4. Secretion-It occurs by the epithelium of the digestive tract and by glandular organs.
5. Absorption- The procedure through which nutrients are transferred into the blood from the digestive system for usage by the body.
6. Excretion - Removal of waste products by defecation.