Human Digestion

SCI/241

At the beginning of the digestive system the sight and the smell of food spurs through the salvia glands. Food is then moistened by the saliva, it is then chewed by the teeth in the mouth as the food enters the mouth it then transforms it into bolus. The bolus leaves the mouth and then travels toward your pharynx, you then swallow the food. It goes from the pharynx and then enters the esophagus it is a tunnel that is inside the body that connects the pharynx and the stomach together. Once the bolus has entered the stomach, it is then soaked with something called acid secretions it does this so that the bolus converts into a kind of liquid form food called chime. The stomach only partially digests the food that you swallow and the chime then vacates the stomach in about two to six hours. It just depends on how long it takes your body to digest the food. The food then goes to the small intestines when it does leave the stomach, in the small intestines the food is digested and absorption of the nutrients starts to occur. Any of the food that is not absorbed while inside the small intestine, then enters the large intestines through the sphincter, which this acts as a barrier that keeps the food from reentering the small intestine. After the food leaves the large intestine it then enters the colon and the rectum, in which both occupy the large intestine. The parts of the food that is water and certain types of vitamins and minerals get absorbed while it is in the colon and the rectum. All of the left over that was not absorbed through the digestive system then expels from the human body and leaves through the anus. The anus is the outer opening of the digestive