Digestive System in Human Beings

1. The intaken food passes through the digestive tract known as the alimentary canal.
2. It’s a long tube that connects the mouth to the anus.
3. Each organ it stops by has a specific digestion-related function.
4. By crushing the food with our teeth, food is converted to generate particles, which are small and of the same texture. The meal is also moistened to make it easier to pass through.
5. The salivary glands secrete a fluid known as saliva.
6. Salivary amylase is an enzyme that breaks down starch, which is a complicated molecule, to produce simple sugar.
7. The food is extensively combined with saliva and moved around the mouth by the muscular tongue when chewing.
8. Complex food must be broken into smaller molecules to get absorbed from the alimentary canal. This is accomplished with the help of enzymes, which are biological catalysts.
9. Muscles in the canal’s lining contract in a repetitive pattern to propel food forward.
10. The food pipe, also known as the esophagus, transports food from the mouth to the stomach.
11. The stomach is a big organ that expands when food goes through it.
12. The gastric glands, which are located in the stomach’s wall, are responsible for digesting. These produce hydrochloric acid, pepsin, a protein-digesting enzyme, and mucus.
13. The enzyme “Pepsin” works in an acidic environment created by hydrochloric acid.
14. Mucus shields the stomach’s inner lining from acid activity in normal circumstances.
15. A sphincter muscle controls the exit of food from the stomach, releasing it in minute amounts into the small intestine.
16. The food now enters the small intestine from the stomach.
17. This is the longest part of the alimentary canal and is extensively coiled. 
18. The length of the small intestine varies depending on the species.
19. Herbivores that feed grass require a longer small intestine to digest the cellulose.
20. Carnivores like tigers have a shorter small intestine because their food, meat, is easier to digest.
21. It is where carbs, proteins, and lipids are completely digested.
22. Digestion happens via receiving secretions from the liver and pancreas.
23. The acidic food from the stomach must be turned alkaline in order for the pancreatic enzymes to work. The liver’s bile juice is responsible for this.
24. The presence of big globules of fat in the intestine makes it difficult for enzymes to act on them. Bile salts break them down into tiny globules, allowing enzyme action to be more efficient.
25. Pancreatic juice is produced by the pancreas and contains enzymes such as trypsin, which digests proteins, and lipase, which breaks down emulsified fats.
26. The small intestine’s walls are lined with glands that release intestinal juice. Proteins are converted to amino acids, complex carbs to glucose, and lipids to fatty acids and glycerol by enzymes found in it.
27. The intestinal walls absorb the food that has been digested.
28. The small intestine’s inner lining has finger-like extensions known as Villi that increase the surface area available for absorption.
29. The villi are densely packed with blood arteries that transport the absorbed food to all of the body’s cells.
30. The unabsorbed food is transferred to the large intestine, which absorbs more water due to its thicker wall.
31. The anus is utilized to extract out the remaining waste from the body. The anal sphincter controls the escape of this waste material.

Disorders of digestive system in Human Beings

1. Vomiting: Vomiting is the ejection of stomach contents from the mouth.
2. Constipation: In constipation faeces are clutched within the rectum because of irregular bowel movement.
3. Diarrhea: It is an abnormal watery bowel movement. It can eventually leads to dehydration.

   Conclusion

   UPSC aspirants must study about the parts and functions of the digestive system. Similarly, questions from some related topics for example digestion disorder and digestion process can also be asked in Civil Services examination. The digestive system in human beings breaks down food to release essential energy for the body and allow the body to carry out its activities. Digestion process takes place in 6 major steps. The autonomous nervous system controls the contraction, peristalsis and relaxation of muscles within the alimentary canal wall.The intaken food passes through the digestive tract known as the alimentary canal.By crushing the food with our teeth, food is converted to generate particles, which are small and of the same texture. The meal is also moistened to make it easier to pass through.The salivary glands secrete a fluid known as saliva.Complex food must be broken into smaller molecules to get absorbed from the alimentary canal. This is accomplished with the help of enzymes, which are biological catalysts.

   Muscles in the canal’s lining contract in a repetitive pattern to propel food forward.The food pipe, also known as the esophagus, transports food from the mouth to the stomach.The stomach is a big organ that expands when food goes through it.The gastric glands, which are located in the stomach’s wall, are responsible for digesting. These produce hydrochloric acid, pepsin, a protein-digesting enzyme, and mucus.