Chasing the cheese sandwich. by

5. Large Intestine, (Colon)

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-04 17:57:52 UTC

5. Now the cheese sandwich is moved to the large intestine (aka Colon). The main function of the large intestine involves water absorption. This takes all the water out of the chyme so that our body doesn't lose the water that makes up most of our body. Now the chyme is called “Feces”. That's right it went from a cheese sandwich, to chyme and now Feces. Its quite cool. The feces now holds things like bacteria that the body does not want. And moves it along. This is both a chemical and mechanical digestion.

1. Mouth/teeth

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-04 19:28:58 UTC

1.The first step for the cheese sandwich is to enter the body.

Your body will start to break down the cheese sandwich right away by using the salivary glands/teeth located in the mouth. Your saliva actually contains enzymes that break down food. There is also amylase, which breaks down carbohydrates that could be in the cheese sandwich. ← This is a form of chemical digestion. However, the teeth in the mouth are a form of mechanical digestion.

2. Esophagus

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-04 19:59:01 UTC

2. Then the cheese sandwich will move to the Esophagus. The Esophagus's main function is to carry food from the mouth to the stomach. There is a wave-like movement that carries the food down. There is also a flap that leads to your trachea, it opens and closes depending on what is coming through. Closes for food and liquids, opens for air.

3. Stomach

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-04 20:51:54 UTC

3. The stomach can hold about 2 liters of food and liquids. The stomach contains gastric glands, and produces gastric juices. This is a form of chemical digestion. There is also mechanical digestion within the stomach, it’s called the turning of the stomach. There are also two sphincters, one located where the esophagus connects to the stomach. And the other is located where the stomach attaches to the small intestine. These sphincters keep everything in the stomach, and lets food or liquids in or out.

4. Small Intestine

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-04 21:15:56 UTC

4. At this point the cheese sandwich as turned into what we call “Chyme” Now the Chyme AKA cheese sandwich has come to the small intestine. There are three parts to the small intestine. 1 Duodenum, 2 Jejunum, and 3 Ileum. There are enzymes and digestive juices in the small intestine that come from the different organs around it, like liver, gallbladder and pancreas. This is a chemical digestion.

The mechanical digestion part is when peristalsis moves the chyme through the small intestine. We also cant forget about the absorption, this is when the small intestine takes things like, sugars, vitamins, lipids etc.. to where the body needs them.

6. Rectum / Anus

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-04 23:53:09 UTC

6. Then the cheese sandwiches journey ends as it makes its way out the Anus. This is a mechanical digestion factor.

Accessory Organs

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-05 00:57:18 UTC

Now it is important that we talk about 3 more organs within the digestive system. These organs are sometimes called Accessory organs, but they too have very important functions. Liver, Gallbladder and Pancreas.

Liver

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-05 01:07:30 UTC

First we have the liver, it is the largest internal organ. It is part of the proteins and carbs metabolism. It also makes Bile, which helps break down lipids. Chemical digestion.

Gallbladder

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-05 01:22:54 UTC

Second is the gallbladder. The gallbladder is located right under the Liver, it stores the bile that is made within the Liver and also holds gallstones.

Pancreas

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-05 01:28:38 UTC

And third, the Pancreas. The Pancreas hold pancreas produces pancreatic juices that are very important. These juices have enzymes and can neutralize the acid chyme.

tljspeers106 — 2023-11-05 01:30:04 UTC

Although these are the only organs involved in the digestive system, there are so many more things to explore within this interesting topic.