JIGSAW READING Britannica Link Nat geo Kids Digestive system - dev

The mouth is where digestion starts.

● When food is put into the mouth, the teeth begin to tear, and grind the food into
small pieces
● saliva (spit) moistens it.
● An enzyme in saliva starts breaking down complex carbohydrates (starch) into
sugar called glucose.
● As you chew and swallow, your tongue pushes food into your throat. A small
piece of tissue called the epiglottis covers your windpipe. The epiglottis prevents
choking.

The mouth where chewing and saliva breaks down food so it is more easily processed
by your body

What’s my mouth’s function? Your mouth supports many daily functions, including:

● Breathing.
● Talking.
● Chewing.
● Tasting.
● Swallowing.
● Eating.
● Drinking.
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The esophagus is a muscular tube that is about 1 inch in diameter and

10 inches long.
Each swallow contracts the tube and helps carry the bolus of food down
to the stomach.

The esophagus is a muscular tube that connects the pharynx (throat) to

the stomach. The esophagus contracts as it moves food into the
stomach.

Function of esophagus
The primary function of your esophagus is to carry food and liquid from
your mouth to your stomach.
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The stomach is a strong stretchy bag that can hold up to 2 quarts of food for 2 to 3 hours.
The bolus of food is forced into the stomach through a one-way valve.
The food is then pushed downward where protein digestion starts.
Gastric juice (mainly hydrochloric acid, 50 times stronger than lemon juice) is squirted in
and the stomach walls start to knead and churn the food.
The stomach wall is protected by a mucus membrane to prevent it from being digested by
its own digestive juice. The food is churned and mixed with gastric juice, the solid food is
changed into a liquefied mixture called chyme. This liquid form is pushed into the small
intestine little at a time.

The stomach is a muscular organ that digests food.

When the stomach receives food, it contracts and produces acids and enzymes that break
down food.
When the stomach has broken down food, it passes it to your small intestine.

Function What is the stomach’s function?

Your stomach’s purpose is to digest food and send it to your small intestine. It has three
functions:

● Temporarily store food.

● Contract and relax to mix and break down food.
● Produce enzymes and other specialized cells to digest food.
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The small intestine

Food enters the small intestine after it leaves the stomach.
At this time the food is in the form of a thick liquid.
Digestive juices from other organs, including the pancreas and the liver, enter the small
intestine.
They work with juices from the small intestine to break down the food into simple
chemical substances.
These substances then pass into the bloodstream through the walls of the small
intestine. This process takes three to six hours.

The small intestine

A long tube-like organ that connects the stomach and the large intestine. It helps to
further digest food coming from the stomach. It absorbs nutrients (vitamins, minerals,
carbohydrates, fats, proteins) and water from food so they can be used by the body.

Function:
The small intestine absorbs nutrients and water from your food.
The muscle movements of the small intestine help break food down
It helps absorb nutrients needed for the body, and get rid of the unnecessary
components.
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The pancreas The pancreas is a long, flat gland that lies in the abdomen behind the
stomach.
They plays a big role in digestion. It's about the size of your hand. During
digestion, pancreas makes pancreatic juices called enzymes.
These enzymes break down sugars, fats, proteins, and starches. They also
helps your digestive system by making hormones. These are chemical
messengers that travel through the blood. Pancreatic hormones help regulate
your blood sugar levels and appetite, stimulate stomach acids, and tell your
stomach when to empty.

The Pancreas
The pancreas is a long, flat gland that lies in the abdomen behind the stomach. It
produces an enzyme that digests starch.
It also produces a digestive juice that neutralizes the strong stomach acid.
It is a vital part of the digestive system and is responsible for regulating blood sugar
levels.

Function: Pancreas helps with digestion and releases hormones that regulate the blood
sugar. It also plays a role in supporting other organs like your heart, liver and kidneys
Liver is an organ that sits just under the rib cage on the
right side of the abdomen. It makes certain enzymes, which
break down food into fuel for the body.
It makes a yellow-green fluid called bile. Bile flows through ducts, or
tubes, from the liver into a sac called the gallbladder. From the
gallbladder, bile flows into the small intestine. There it helps to digest
fats.

Liver
The liver filters out harmful substances or wastes, turning
some of the waste into more bile. The liver even helps
figure out how many nutrients will go to the rest of the
body, and how many will stay behind in storage. For
example, the liver stores certain vitamins and a type of
sugar your body uses for energy.

Function:
● It cleans your blood.
● It produces an important digestive liquid called bile.
● It stores energy in the form of a sugar called glycogen.
Gallbladder
Your gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ located under
your liver that stores and releases bile into the small intestine
when we eat. Bile is the fluid your liver produces that helps digest
fats in the food you eat produced by the liver, Bile helps break
down fats in our food, making it easier for our bodies to absorb
nutrients.

Gallbladder
The gallbladder stores the bile that is produced by the liver.

Function:
Its main function is to store bile. Bile helps your digestive system
break down fats.
The large intestine is a larger and wider tube than the small intestine, 2-3 inches in
diameter and 5 feet long.
Any food material that cannot be used by the body passes from the small intestine
into the large intestine.
The large intestine takes water and some minerals from this leftover food material.
The remainder of the food stays here for ten to twelve hours.
Tiny living things called bacteria in the large intestine help to turn the food material
into feces, or solid waste. The feces are stored in the large intestine until they pass
from the body.

The large Intestine

Any food material that cannot be used by the body passes from the small intestine
into the large intestine.
The large intestine takes water and some minerals from this leftover food material.
Tiny living things called bacteria in the large intestine help to turn the food material
into feces, or solid waste. The feces are stored in the large intestine until they pass
from the body.

Function
Absorbing water and electrolytes, producing and absorbing vitamins, and forming
and propelling feces toward the rectum for elimination.
The rectum is a tube between the large intestine and the anus.
This is the last stop on your food’s journey through your gastrointestinal
(GI) tract before it exits.
The rectum has a pressure sensor that measures fullness.
When the rectum gets full, the nerve sensor sends a message to the
brain and at a convenient time, the anal muscle relaxes, and fecal
materials are excreted.
The color of the feces comes from the leftover bile.
The feces mainly contain bacteria and also some undigested food and
water.

This is where your poop collects just before it's ready to come out. Your
rectum absorbs the excess water and holds it until it's full, when nerves
trigger the urge to defecate.

Function: The primary function of the rectum is to collect and hold your
poop until it’s time to release it.