1.1. Tube lined with smooth muscle that connects the mouth to the stomach. The esophagus is essentially the vehicle for food to make its way further into the digestive system.
1.2. Food doesn't go down the trachea and into our lungs because as we swallow, a cartilaginous flap called the epiglottis blocks the trachea opening leaving the food with nowhere to go but down the esophagus.
2. Step 2: Saliva
2.1. The saliva, or spit, softens the food to make it easier to travel through the next stage.
2.2. Saliva contains enzymes that assist in the break down of food.
3. Step 1: Teeth
3.1. Teeth tear and crush food into small pieces as preparation for its long journey ahead.
4. Final Step: Large Intestine
4.1. The digestion is now done and whatever material could not be used by the body is waste.
4.2. The water that's present in the material is sent back into the bloodstream and the wasted material is compiled. eventually the waste becomes feces and leaves the body through the anus
5. Step 6: Pancreas
5.1. Adds more chemicals to the chyme that specifically breaks down carbohydrates and proteins.
6. Step 4: Stomach
6.1. Finally! This is where we normally think digestion starts, but think again!
6.2. Food is mixed around with gastric juices and enzymes to make the food into a liquid called chyme.
7. Step 5: Liver and Gall Bladder
7.1. The liver makes a chemical called bile that is needed to breakdown fats into tiny droplets. Surprisingly, the bile is not stored in the liver.
7.2. The gall bladder stores the bile and expels the bile out on the chyme (liquefied food) to continue breaking down the food into a more useful form.
8. Step 7: Small Intestine
8.1. The small intestine does NOT have a small role.
8.2. The food is finally small enough to be used by the body! Capillaries (thin blood vessels) absorb the nutrients in the chyme solution send these nutrients into the blood to be transported to cells throughout the body.
8.3. The small intestine is a 22 foot long tube!
9. Main idea:
9.1. Digestion is needed to break down food into small nutrients that cells can use for growth and development.
