What Is The Digestive System?

What is the digestive system? The food conversion process from complex to simple absorbable form is called digestion. The digestion process is carried out by a group of organs known as the digestive system. The digestive system comprises a series of organs, namely the Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas, and Gastrointestinal Tract (GI). The Gastrointestinal Tract (GI) constitutes hollow organs joined by a long and twisting tube from the mouth to the anus. The organs are the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, and anus, while the gallbladder, liver, and pancreas are the digestive system’s solid organs. 

What is the digestive system, and why is it important?

The digestive system is responsible for the digestion, injection and absorption of food, along with the discharge of waste residue from the body. The digestive system is vital for food digestion that helps absorb the nutrients from food. Various nutrients like fats, vitamins, proteins, minerals, carbohydrates, and water in foods or liquids are consumed daily. The digestive system breaks down the food and helps absorb nutrients from meals for essential biological aspects like growth, cell repair, and energy.

The Digestive System 

The group of organs in our body for the digestion and absorption of food performs a series of digestive system functions. The organs that make the digestive system are as follows:

• Mouth: it is the first organ of the digestive tract from where digestion starts. In the mouth, salivary glands activate by the smell and look of a meal. At the first bite, saliva mixes with the food to break it down for the body to absorb and use. Then the tongue passes the food to the throat, from where it transfers to the oesophagus.

• Oesophagus: Its location is near the windpipe in the throat. It transfers the food to the stomach using a muscle contraction called peristalsis.

• Stomach: It is a container or hollow organ that holds the food. Here, the food is mixed with stomach enzymes, continuing the food breaking process and turning food into a more absorbable form. After the food is fully processed, it transfers to the small intestine.

• Small intestine: It comprises three segments — the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. 

• The Pancreas: It is an elongated, compound organ situated between the limbs of the duodenum. Its exocrine portion discharges an alkaline pancreatic juice that contains enzymes, while the endocrine portion discharges insulin, hormones, and glucagon. 

• Liver: The largest body gland in an adult human, situated in the abdominal cavity just below the diaphragm. It has two lobes covered by a Glisson’s capsule, a thin connective tissue sheath. 

• Gallbladder: The secretion and concentrated bile from the liver are stored in the gallbladder.

• Large Intestine: It is divided into three — caecum, colon, and rectum. The caecum is a blind sac that hosts microbes. The vermiform appendix arises from the caecum. The colon is responsible for waste processing. The rectum opens through the anus. It is a 6-foot-long tube that connects the small intestine with the anus. 

• Rectum: It is an 8-inch chamber that connects the large intestine to the anus. The rectum’s job is to signal the brain when receiving stool from the large intestine to poop or hold until then.

• Anus: It is the last part of the digestive system, a 2-inch-long canal. There are two parts to the anus: two anal sphincters and pelvic floor muscles. An angle created by the pelvic floor muscle between the anus and rectum avoids the releasing of stool at an unwanted time, while external sphincters hold the stool till one reaches the toilet. 

Let us look at a diagram to understand the digestive system better.

Conclusion

The above article explained the digestive system’s basics and the importance and functions of the different organs involved. The digestive system is vital in our body, consisting of different organs to perform digestion, ingestion, and absorption.