The four teeth at the front they bite of
pieces small enough to chew on
Canines
The canine teeth have no significant
function
Premolars & Molars
These teeth grind the food into tinier and
tinier pieces as you chew
Chewing and bitting is a form of
mechanical digestion the process
starts at the teeth
Saliva
Saliva is a watery liquid, it has a chemical that
turns any starch in the food into glucose,
since glucose is easily absorbed
Oesophagus
Bolus
A slimy ball of food
Peristalsis
The process of rhythmic contracting and
relaxing of the oesophagus's muscles. This
keeps food moving though the oesophagus
A long muscular tube starting at the
mouth ending at the stomach
Types of digestion
Mechanical
Food is sliced, crushed and torn
by your teeth, although no new
substance is made
Chemical
Large, complex substances are
broken down to simpler chemicals
Digestive tract
A pathway of organs that food goes though. It
stars at the mouth end at the anus
Digestion
The process in which breaks down food into
usable form to make its nutrients available
Stomach
Gastric juice
Hydrochloric acid
A very strong acid that kills many bacteria that may
have been swallowed with the food
Mucus
A layer of mucus on the lining of the
stomach stopping the stomach from
digesting itself.
Digestive juices
Contain chemicals that begin the digestion of protein
Produced by special cells in
the stomach wall
The stomach is shaped as a bag,
its found in the left side of the
upper abdomen.
Small intestine
Duodenum
This is the first part of the small intestine. The walls are muscular they continue to churn
and squeeze the food, this breaks the food down even more. Two tubes do enter the
duodenum they carry chemicals crucial for digestion from the pancreas and liver
Ileum
Villi
Villi are microscopic 'fingers' that line the ileum
Villi very much increase the surface area of the small intestine's wall, and also
greatly increase the amount of nutrients being absorbed.
Inside villus are tiny blood vessels named capillaries. Since capillaries
and villi are only a cell thick the nutrients move a microscopic distance to
enter the blood
The ileum is the lower part of the small
intestine. Here digested food are absorbed
by the body
This is the longest part of the digestive
tract at 6 metres long and 3cm diameter
Nutrients that pass though the intestine
Fatty acids and glycerol
This is from the digestion of fats
Amino acids
From digestion of proteins
Glucose
The digestion of carbohydrates
Pancreas
Pancreatic juice
Contains chemicals that help with
digest fats, protein, and
carbohydrates
Pancreas is not part but connected to the
digestive tract
Large intestine
Anus
The anus is a sphincter muscle, stools are let out though
the anus. Its at the end of the digestive tract
Stool is poo
This is the final section of the digestive tract. The large intestine is
1.5 meters long and 6 or 7 cm in diameter
Water is reabsorbed into the body
Liver
The liver is the largest internal organ. It performs over 500
chemical processes