Total Digestion Process Of Food

Your digestive system includes the digestive tract and the accessory organs that aid in the digestive tract in food breakdown. The digestive tract includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus and the accessory organs are the liver, gallbladder and the pancreas. Each part of your digestive system performs a different function in the total digestion process of food.

Mouth

The process of digestion begins in your mouth. When you smell or see food, your salivary glands excrete saliva, which contains water, mucus, electrolytes and various enzymes. The mucus and water lubricate and soften the food, while the electrolytes and enzymes begin to chemically break down the food. As you chew, your teeth grind the food down into small particles that you can swallow. The food mass, which is now referred to as a bolus, travels down the esophagus and into the stomach.

Stomach

When the bolus reaches your stomach, your stomach contracts and churns in an effort to mix the bolus with digestive juices and hydrochloric acid. The stomach contractions help physically break down the food, while the digestive juices and acid chemically break down the food, which now becomes a semi-liquid substance referred to as chyme. The stomach continues to contract for several hours until the chyme is pushed into the small intestine. Carbohydrates leave the stomach first, followed by protein and fat.

Small Intestine

Most digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs in the small intestine, so it is considered your primary digestive organ. The interior surface of the small intestine is covered in hair-like projections called villi that are covered by smaller hair-like projections called microvilli. These projections mix the chyme with intestinal secretions, chemically breaking down the chyme. The villi and microvilli absorb the released nutrients. The small intestine goes through a series of contractions to move what is left of the chyme into the large intestine.

Large Intestine

By the time the chyme reaches the large intestine, most digestion and absorption of nutrients is already done. The function of the large intestine is to absorb water and electrolytes and form fecal matter. The bacteria that live in the large intestine also break down any undigested carbohydrates, producing gases, such as hydrogen and carbon. After the large intestine turns the chyme into fecal matter, it pushes it to the rectum, which is the last portion of the large intestine. The fecal matter is stored in the rectum until it is eliminated from the body through the anus.

Accessory Organs

The liver makes bile -- a liquid that helps in fat digestion. When the liver produces bile, it travels to the gallbladder, where it is stored until needed for digestion. The pancreas produces insulin and glucagon that help control your blood sugar levels when the glucose from carbohydrates travel into the bloodstream.