When food is consumed, it’s subjected to a series of processes in different organs that make up the digestive system.
With the different organs working together with bacteria, nerves, hormones, and blood, food is effectively broken down and absorbed.
The organs making up the digestive system are:
- Mouth: This is usually the starting point of the process. Food put in the mouth is chewed to bits and subjected to certain saliva-based chemical actions.
- Spleen: The spleen’s job is to rid the blood of contaminations. It eliminates old red blood cells. It also serves as storage for blood in the event of unforeseen mishaps.
- Stomach: At the stomach, food is subjected to actions of hydrochloric acid and certain enzymes. This further breaks the food down for absorption.
- Liver: This is where fats are reduced to fatty acids. The conversion is done through the release of bile.
- Gallbladder: At the gallbladder, standby bile is released through the bile ducts as food is being eaten.
- Small Intestine: After the processed food leaves the stomach, it enters the small intestine. There’s a pyloric sphincter that ensures chyme entering the small intestine doesn’t go back into the stomach.
- Colon: The colon is home to certain digestive bacteria. These bacteria act on the leftover food materials.
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