DIGESTIVE BOOK

Name:Kairo Charles
Class: 3 Star
Teacher's name: Mr.Joseph
Table of Contents

Introduction Page 2
Mouth (teeth, salivary glands) Page 3
esophagus Page 4
stomach Page 5
Small intestine Page 6
Liver, pancreas, gallbladder Page 7
Large Intestine Page 8

Closing Page 9
Introduction
The digestive system is like a factory inside your body that turns food into energy. It has
different parts that work together:

1. Mouth: Where you chew food.

2. **Esophagus**: A tube that carries food to your stomach.

3. Stomach: Where food gets mixed up with acids and enzymes to break it down.

4. Small Intestine: This is where most of the nutrients from your food get absorbed into
your body.

5. Liver and Pancreas: These organs help by making juices that help break down food.

6. Large Intestine (Colon): Water is absorbed here, and what's left becomes poop.

7. Rectum and Anus: Where poop is stored until it's ready to leave your body.

Think of it like this: you eat food, it goes through a bunch of steps in your body, and what
your body doesn't need comes out as poop.
Mouth(teeth, salivary glands)

1. Teeth: These are the hard, white structures in your mouth that you use for chewing and
breaking down food. Each tooth has a specific job: incisors are for cutting, canines are for
tearing, and molars are for grinding. They work together to break down food into smaller
pieces that are easier to swallow and digest.

2. Salivary Glands: These are small glands located in and around your mouth that produce
saliva. Saliva is a watery fluid that helps moisten food to make it easier to swallow. It also
contains enzymes that begin the process of breaking down carbohydrates in your food.
Saliva also helps keep your mouth clean by washing away food particles and bacteria,
which helps prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

Together, teeth and salivary glands play essential roles in the initial stages of digestion,
making it easier for your body to process the food you eat.
Esophagus
The esophagus is like a long, muscular tube that connects your mouth to your stomach. Its
main job is to carry food from your mouth to your stomach so that it can be digested.

When you swallow food or liquid, it travels down the esophagus through a series of muscle
contractions called peristalsis. These contractions help push the food downward, kind of
like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube.

The esophagus doesn't digest food itself, but it plays a crucial role in the digestive process
by moving food along to the stomach. It's a bit like a conveyor belt for your food!
Stomach
The stomach is like a big, stretchy bag that sits in your abdomen, just below your rib cage.
Its main job is to break down the food you eat into a soupy mixture called chyme, which
your body can use for energy and nutrients.

Here's how it works:

1. Muscles: The stomach has strong muscles in its walls that churn and mix the food
with digestive juices. This helps break down the food into smaller pieces and mixes
it with stomach acid and enzymes.
2. Stomach Acid: The stomach produces hydrochloric acid, which helps to kill
bacteria in the food and break down proteins into smaller molecules that are easier
to digest.
3. Digestive Juices: The stomach also produces digestive juices that contain enzymes,
such as pepsin, which start breaking down proteins into amino acids.
4. Storage: The stomach can stretch to hold a lot of food when you eat a big meal, but
it can also shrink down when you haven't eaten for a while.

The stomach plays a crucial role in digestion by preparing food for further breakdown in the
small intestine. It's like a mixing bowl for your food, turning it into a mushy mixture that
your body can use to get the nutrients it needs.

Small Intestine
The small intestine is like a long, coiled tube that's about 20 feet long in adults. It's a
crucial part of the digestive system where most of the digestion and nutrient absorption
happens. Here's how it works:

1. Duodenum: This is the first part of the small intestine, right after the stomach. It's
where bile from the liver and digestive juices from the pancreas mix with the
partially digested food, breaking it down further. Bile helps to break down fats, while
pancreatic enzymes break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into smaller
molecules.
2. Jejunum and Ileum: These are the middle and last parts of the small intestine.
They're where most of the nutrient absorption happens. The walls of the small
intestine are lined with tiny finger-like projections called villi and microvilli, which
increase the surface area available for absorption. Nutrients like carbohydrates,
proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals are absorbed through these villi and into the
bloodstream to be transported to cells throughout the body.

Overall, the small intestine is like a nutrient absorption factory, extracting all the good stuff
from your food and delivering it to your body's cells for energy, growth, and repair. It's a
crucial player in the digestive process, turning the food you eat into fuel for your body.

Liver, pancreas, gallbladder

 1. Liver: The liver is like a chemical factory in your body. It performs over 500
functions, but one of its main jobs in digestion is to produce bile. Bile is a greenish-
yellow fluid that helps digest fats. The liver also processes nutrients absorbed from
the small intestine, stores vitamins and minerals, and detoxifies harmful
substances from the blood.
2. Pancreas: The pancreas is like a dual-purpose organ. It has both digestive and
endocrine functions. In digestion, the pancreas produces digestive enzymes that
break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in the small intestine. These enzymes
help further break down food particles into smaller molecules that can be absorbed
by the body. The pancreas also produces insulin, a hormone that helps regulate
blood sugar levels.
3. Gallbladder: The gallbladder is like a storage tank for bile. It stores bile produced by
the liver and releases it into the small intestine when needed to help digest fats.
When you eat a fatty meal, the gallbladder contracts and releases bile into the
small intestine to emulsify fats, making them easier to digest and absorb.

Together, the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder play essential roles in the digestive process,
ensuring that the food you eat is broken down into nutrients that your body can use for
energy and other functions. They're like a team of behind-the-scenes workers, making sure
everything runs smoothly in your digestive system.

Large Intestine
The large intestine, also known as the colon, is like the recycling center of your digestive
system. It's a wider tube than the small intestine and is responsible for processing waste
and reclaiming water and electrolytes from it before it's eliminated from your body as
feces. Here's how it works:

1. Absorption of Water and Electrolytes: As food remnants (mostly undigested fiber,

water, and some bacteria) pass through the large intestine, its main job is to absorb
water and electrolytes from them. This process thickens the waste material and
prevents dehydration.
2. Formation of Feces: As water is absorbed, the remaining waste material becomes
more solid and takes the form of feces. The large intestine also houses beneficial
bacteria that help break down any remaining nutrients and produce certain vitamins
like vitamin K and some B vitamins.
3. Storage and Elimination: Feces are stored in the rectum, the last part of the large
intestine, until they are ready to be eliminated from the body through the anus
during a bowel movement.

The large intestine plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of water and electrolytes
in your body and in getting rid of waste material that your body doesn't need. It's like the
final stop in the digestive journey, ensuring that only what's necessary for your body's
function is absorbed, while the rest is safely expelled.
Closing
The digestive system is a remarkable network of organs and tissues that work together to
break down the food you eat into nutrients your body can use for energy and growth. From
the mouth, where chewing begins, to the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine,
each part plays a vital role in the process. Organs like the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder
add their own contributions to ensure efficient digestion and nutrient absorption. By
understanding how each component functions, we gain insight into the incredible
complexity and coordination of the digestive process, essential for sustaining life and
maintaining overall health.