Dr Pusey www.puseyscience.com
Aug 09, 2015
Digestive System The digestive system breaks
down the food you eat into small pieces that your cells can use (‘cell food’)
Digestion = process of breaking down food
There are two different types of digestion – mechanical andchemical
Digestion Mechanical – crushing the food
into smaller pieces. A physical change, no new substances made.
Chemical – food is chemically broken down into smaller molecules. Chemical change, new substances are made.
Digestive System The digestive system is made
up of organs, including:
Mouth – salivary glands
Esophagus
Stomach
Pancreas
Small intestine
Large intestine
Mouth Teeth – crush the food and break it
into smaller bits, mechanical digestion.
Salivary glands – make saliva. Saliva helps break food down and makes it slippery so it’s easy to swallow. Chemical digestion.
Tongue – helps move the food around your mouth. Rolls the food into a ball called the bolus.
Esophagus Esophagus is the long tube that
connects your mouth to your stomach.
The muscles of the esophaguspush the bolus from the mouth to the stomach.
This process is called peristalsis.
Stomach The stomach is full of gastric
juice
The gastric juice breaks down the food through chemical digestion
The stomach also churns (moves around) and breaks down the food through mechanical digestion
Small Intestine The small intestine absorbs nutrients
from the food into the blood stream
Juices from the liver, pancreas and gall bladder enter the digestive system here, they help with chemical digestion
The inside of the small intestine is covered in villi, these are tiny fingers which help absorb the nutrients
Your small intestines are up to 6 m long!
Pancreas, Liver, Gallbladder
3 Separate Organs
Not part of the pathway
Liver makes Bile
Gallbladder Stores Bile
Pancreas Make Pancreatic Juice
Bile and Juice designed to further break down your food as it passes through the small intestine
Large Intestine No digestion actually happens
in the large intestine
The large intestine just absorbs water back into the body
Your large intestine is only 1.5 m long!
It’s called the large intestine because it is wider than the small instestine
http://www.pearsonplaces.com.au/PORTALS/0/assets/science/uc_b4_l027_03_01a.mp4
http://www.pearsonplaces.com.au/PORTALS/0/assets/science/uc_s3_l023_p03_a01.mp4