Human Digestion

Our digestive glands are in the mouth and these glands are called the Salivary glands. These glands produce enzymes. The enzymes digest the starches we receive from food into small molecules. Each of our stomach organs produce enzymes which speed up the chemical reactions in our body. Once we chew our food, it passes into our pharynx after we swallow it. After the food is chewed, it becomes what is called bolus. Once the bolus moves, it moves from the pharynx and passes into our esophagus. Our esophagus is connected to our stomach where the bolus becomes mixed with our natural acids and then it becomes broken down into a semi liquid mass called chyme.Our stomach lining produces stomach acid and enzymes that digest protein. A thick mucus layer is located in our stomach lining and it keeps the acidic juices from eating up our stomach lining. The entire process can last between two to six hours. Once the stomach empties the food and juices into our small intestine, the pancreas produces a juice that contains many enzymes to break down our carbohydrates, fat, and proteins. The next organ which is the liver produces bile. Our bile is stored between each of our meals in our gallbladder. The bile is squeezed out of the gallbladder through our bile ducts. Each of the organs secretes enzymes and bile that help to speed up the digestive process. Once our semi liquid mass (which is called chyme) enters into the small intestine, the rest of our digestion process continues. During this process we receive most of our nutrients. Each of our stomach muscles help in our digestion process. It is very important for each of our muscles to work in synch with each other. The small intestine must function properly for our digestive system to function properly. Once our small intestine digests the food, the remaining foods moves to our large intestines. Our large intestines and colon work together to absorb additional nutrients. The colon which is part of the large intestine is responsible