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🍎 What is the Digestive System?
The digestive system is the system in our body that breaks down food into smaller, simpler forms
so that nutrients can be absorbed and used for energy, growth, and repair.
🎯 Main Purpose
• Break down complex food into simple nutrients
• Absorb nutrients into the bloodstream
• Provide energy for body functions
• Remove waste products
⏱️ Timeline
• Mouth: 30 seconds - 2 minutes
• Esophagus: 6-10 seconds
• Stomach: 2-4 hours
• Small Intestine: 3-5 hours
• Large Intestine: 12-48 hours
👄
Mouth
Functions:
• Digestion begins here
• Teeth chew food (mechanical digestion)
• Saliva softens food and breaks down starch
Key Point:
Both mechanical and chemical digestion start here!
🚇
Esophagus (Food Pipe)
Functions:
• Carries food from mouth to stomach
• Uses peristalsis (muscle contractions)
• About 25cm long tube
Amazing Fact:
Peristalsis works even upside down!
🫃
Stomach
Functions:
• Mixes and churns food
• Acids and enzymes break down proteins
• Creates chyme (liquid food)
Key Term:
Chyme: The soft liquid that food becomes in the stomach
🌀
Small Intestine
Functions:
• Main site of digestion and absorption
• Enzymes from pancreas help break down food
• Bile from liver breaks down fats
• Nutrients absorbed into blood
Size:
About 6 meters (20 feet) long!
💧
Large Intestine
Functions:
• Absorbs water and minerals
• Forms solid waste (faeces)
• Stores waste before elimination
Note:
Called "large" because it's wider, not longer than small intestine
🚪
Rectum and Anus
Functions:
• Rectum stores faeces
• Anus is the exit opening
• Final step in digestion process
Process:
Waste elimination (egestion)
⚙️ Key Digestive Processes
🍽️
1. Ingestion
Taking in food through eating and drinking.
🔨
2. Digestion
Breaking down food into smaller pieces:
• Mechanical: Chewing, churning
• Chemical: Enzymes and acids
🩸
3. Absorption
Nutrients absorbed into the bloodstream:
• Glucose (from carbohydrates)
• Amino acids (from proteins)
• Fatty acids (from fats)
⚡
4. Assimilation
Nutrients used by body cells for energy, growth, and repair.
🚮
5. Egestion
Removal of undigested food as faeces through the anus.
🤯 Mind-Blowing Facts
The small intestine is about 6 meters long - that's longer than a giraffe is tall!
Digestion starts in the mouth, not the stomach!
It takes about 24–48 hours for food to complete the entire digestive journey.
🔬 Science Facts
Your stomach produces about 2 liters of gastric juice daily!
Stomach acid is so strong it could dissolve a nail!
You produce about 1.5 liters of saliva every day.
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