Digestive Diseases: The Digestive System
"Just a spoonful of sugar... " goes the song. But what happens to that sugar
once you swallow it? In fact, how is it that you are able to swallow it at all?
Your digestive system performs amazing feats every day, whether you eat a double
cheeseburger or a stalk of celery. Read on to learn what exactly happens to food
as it makes its way through your digestive system.
What Is Digestion?
Digestion is the complex process of turning the food you eat into the energy
you need to survive. The digestion process also involves creating waste to be
eliminated.
The digestive tract (or gut) is a long twisting tube that starts at the mouth
and ends at the anus. It is made up of a series of muscles that coordinate the
movement of food and other cells that produce enzymes and hormones to aid in the
breakdown of food. Along the way are three other organs that are needed for
digestion: the liver, gallbladder and the pancreas.
Food's Journey
Stop 1: The Mouth
The mouth is the beginning of the digestive tract, and, in fact, digestion
starts here before you even take the first bite of a meal. The smell of food
triggers the salivary glands in your mouth to secrete saliva, causing your mouth
to water. When you actually taste the food, saliva increases.
Once you start chewing and breaking the food down into pieces small enough to
be digested other mechanisms come into play. More saliva is produced to begin
the process of breaking down food into a form your body can absorb and use. In
addition, "juices" are produced that will help to further break down food.
Stop 2: The Pharynx and Esophagus
Also called the throat, the pharynx is the portion of the digestive tract
that receives the food from your mouth. Branching off the pharynx is the
esophagus, which carries food to the stomach, and the trachea or windpipe, which
carries air to the lungs.
The act of swallowing takes place in the pharynx partly as a reflex and
partly under voluntary control. The tongue and soft palate -- the soft part of
the roof of the mouth -- push food into the pharynx, which closes off the
trachea. The food then enters the esophagus.
The esophagus is a muscular tube extending from the pharynx and behind the
trachea to the stomach. Food is pushed through the esophagus and into the
stomach by means of a series of contractions called peristalsis.
Just before the opening to the stomach is an important ring-shaped muscle
called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). This sphincter opens to let food
pass into the stomach and closes to keep it there. If your LES doesn't work
properly, you may suffer from a condition called
GERD, which causes heartburn
and regurgitation (the feeling of food coming back up).
Next: Foods Journey - Stop 3: The Stomach and Small Intestine »
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