The digestive organs

7 important questions on The digestive organs

Tell what happens from the oral cavity to the oesophagus (gullet)

The digestion of food begins in the oral cavity. Your salivary glands produce saliva, which consists of water, mucus and an enzyme. Mucus makes the food more slippery and the enzyme breaks down starch. You use your tongue to push the food in the oral cavity towards the pharynx. Swallowing pushes it into the oesophagus. Peristalsis pushes the food along the oesophagus.

By what are the nasal cavity and uvula closed off?

It's closed off by the uvula and the windpipe is closed off by the epiglottis.

Why does the stomach also have a role as temporary storage area?

Because the circular muscle at the end of the stomach (Pyloric sphincter) closes off the exit from it. When it opens this muscle lets just a small amout of food through to the duodenum.
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Gastric glands in the stomach wall produce gastric juices what consists it of?

Gastric juices consist of water, hydrochloric acid and an enzyme. The h acid kills bacteria in food and the enzyme partially digests the proteins.

What is bile and it's function?

  • Contains no enzymes
  • emulsifies fats so that enzymes can get at the fats better
  • breaks the large fat globules up into small fat droplets

What benefits the fact that the walls of the intestinal villi are very tin?

  • Water containing digestion products and nutrients can pass through the intestinal wall and be absorbed into the blood in the capillaries.

What makes the mass of undigested food in the large intestine thicker? What would happen if it didn't happen?

Almost all the water is extracted from the food residues and absorbed into the blood that is in the capillaries of the large intestine.

If not you would lose too much water and become dehydrated. (diarrhea)

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