Which is part of the digestive system processes food?
Ingestion is the process of taking in food through the mouth. In vertebrates, the teeth, saliva, and tongue play important roles in mastication (preparing the food into bolus). While the food is being mechanically broken down, the enzymes in saliva begin to chemically process the food as well.
How does the digestion process begin in the mouth?
Mouth The digestion process begins when you start chewing your food. Your teeth break the food into smaller pieces, and your saliva moistens the food so that it’s easier for it to move through your esophagus and into your stomach. Your saliva also contains enzymes that begin breaking down the fat in your food. 2. Esophagus
What are the four steps of the digestion process?
There are four steps in the digestion process: ingestion, the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food, nutrient absorption, and elimination of indigestible food. The mechanical breakdown of food occurs via muscular contractions called peristalsis and segmentation.
Where does the second step of digestion take place?
It may seem a simple process, but ingestion involves smelling food, thinking about food, and the involuntary release of saliva, in the mouth to prepare for food entry. In the mouth, where the second step of digestion occurs, the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food begins.
How does the digestive system move food through the body?
Each part of your digestive system helps to move food and liquid through your GI tract, break food and liquid into smaller parts, or both. Once foods are broken into small enough parts, your body can absorb and move the nutrients to where they are needed. Your large intestine absorbs water, and the waste products of digestion become stool.
Where does the waste come from in the digestive system?
Waste products from the digestive process include undigested parts of food, fluid, and older cells from the lining of your GI tract. The large intestine absorbs water and changes the waste from liquid into stool. Peristalsis helps move the stool into your rectum.
How does mechanical digestion relate to chemical digestion?
Mechanical digestion refers to the physical breakdown of large pieces of food into smaller pieces which can subsequently be accessed by digestive enzymes. In chemical digestion, enzymes break down food into the small molecules the body can use.
How are nutrients broken down in the digestive system?
Your digestive system breaks nutrients into parts small enough for your body to absorb and use for energy, growth, and cell repair. Proteins break into amino acids Fats break into fatty acids and glycerol
