Six ma
take pl
The Digestive System
1. inges
2. secre
3. mixin
4 . diges
5. absor
6. excre
Your digestive system is a group of organs that work
together to transform food into fuel for your entire
body. You begin by ingesting food through the mouth
and oesophagus, continue digestion in your stomach,
small intestine and large intestine, and then your
faeces are evacuated through your rectum and anus.
1
YOUR MOUTH
1
This is where your food first arrives – the oral cavity.
Your tongue, teeth and salivary glands all aid in the
digestion of your food. The tongue and teeth are the
very first specialists that your food encounters. Your
tongue tastes and positions the food, which is then
cut and ground by your 32 (adult) teeth. Your saliva
moistens the food, and also begins digesting the
carbohydrates, while the palate prevents food from
passing up into your nose. The tongue then pushes the
chewed food (or bolus) to the back of your oral cavity
and into the pharynx.
2
YOUR THROAT
Your throat, also known as your pharynx, is a funnel
shaped tube that connects from your mouth to your
oesophagus. It passes the chewed food to your
oesophagus, but also contains a flap of tissue called
your epiglottis, which acts as a switch to send food to
the oesophagus and air to the larynx.
3
OESOPHAGUS
This thick muscular tube is part of the upper
gastrointestinal tract. It carries the food down into
the stomach using peristalsis – a wave like muscular
motion. It has a sphincter muscle at the bottom, which
is a muscular ring, which prevents food coming up
from the stomach.
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IGNIS
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