The Human Digestive System

Just imagine swallowing a small lobule equipped with state of the art camera and lighting that shows you exactly where the food goes and what happens to it  as it passes through the alimentary canal! Showing real-time imagery (videos and pictures) of the stomach, small and large intestines!  That would definitely be something to get excited about!

Our quest today is to do just that as we explore the pathway of food during digestion and egestion - but first, heres some information you will need as you begin your journey through the human digestive system: 

Nutrition begins when food is taken into the mouth - ingestion.  The teeth and tongue break the food into smaller pieces - mechanical digestion.  Enzymes break down the food to small, soluble molecules - chemical digestion.  Small soluble food molecules cross the gut wall into the bloodstream - absorption.   Food is used by cells for energy, growth and repair - assimilation.  Dietary fibre and other indigestible substances pass down to the anus where some excretory materials are added and expelled from the body as faeces during defaecation - egestion.  

Glossary 

Mastication:  this is the process by which large food molecules are broken down to smaller pieces by the action of the teeth (chewing). 

Enzymes: these are biological protein that acted as catalysts and are involved in various reactions that take place in the body. 

Catalysts:  substances that speed up reactions.

Peristalsis:  this is a series of contractions of the muscles in the walls of the digestive tract that force the food downwards through the gut.