The digestive system is the basis for the uninterrupted operation of the entire human body

The digestive system provides vital activity of the person due to delivery of necessary useful substances used as a source of energy and building material. These substances enter the body due to the digestive tract, the total length of which is about 10 meters and has throughout the expansion, cavity and constriction.

The structure of the human digestive system includes: the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, gall bladder, thick and small intestine.

Oral cavity. In this part of the digestive system, food is directly tested, and its exposure to chemical and physical effects. Chewing food refers to the second type of impact, and from this initial stage of the system depends the quality of intake and assimilation of nutrients. No wonder, many experts advise how to thoroughly chew food, which then under the influence of saliva is formed in the food lump.

Saliva plays an important role in the process of digesting food. It almost entirely consists of water (about 99%). The protein mucin contained in it promotes stickiness, the presence of lysozyme provides food disinfection, and enzymes such as amylase and maltase break down nutrients.

The anatomy of the digestive system shows that the next organ behind the oral cavity is the pharynx, which is a muscular organ with certain openings (mouth opening, nasal entrances, entrances to the esophagus and larynx and two tubes from the middle ear). Avoidance of ingestion of food in the path of breathing, the entrance to the larynx is covered by the epiglottis.

The very process of ingestion of food occurs due to the contraction of the muscles of the pharynx, due to which it enters the esophagus and then through the diaphragm - into the stomach. Since the esophagus is a muscle tube, then by cutting these muscles the food is pushed further.

The digestive system includes the stomach, which is located under the diaphragm in the upper part of the abdominal cavity. Nature has two holes in it - the entrance and the exit. The second is closed by a sufficiently strong blocking muscle (sphincter). Food is delayed in the stomach for a long time (up to 11 hours), where it is exposed to the chemical effects of gastric juice, which is a colorless liquid containing hydrochloric acid. It is with this component that the digestive function is directly performed. Acid also has a harmful effect on the bacteria entering the human body. Therefore, when there are diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, there is a risk of contracting infectious diseases that are transmitted through the digestive system.

The resulting food gruel from the stomach in portions through the sphincter gradually enters the intestine. The small intestine begins with the duodenum, which opens the common bile duct and ducts of the pancreas. Here, the digestion of food is completed under the action of pancreatic juice and bile.

From the small intestine, the processed food gradually passes into the large intestine, which has a length of up to 2 meters. Here, water is intensively absorbed, and the remains of unnecessary food are removed from the body. Due to the large number of different bacteria in the intestines, the digestion of food improves. However, there are also negative aspects. So, under the influence of these microorganisms, the destruction of unnecessary food is already occurring, and poisonous compounds are formed, for the elimination of which the liver responds.

The digestive system takes the liver one of the main roles. After all, this is the largest gland of digestion, through which all the venous blood passes from the stomach, spleen and intestines.

Thus, the digestive system is a rather complex system for processing food in the human body, each organ has a certain role, and if any part of this mechanism fails, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract may develop.