Digestion

The digestive system is a very important system as it takes the food that we eat and turns it into energy that our bodies need to survive.

The digestive system is distinctively built to perform its function of making energy out of food by absorbing the nutrients and binding the remainder for waste removal.

The digestive system, however unique, is a complex system made up of a few parts; the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, liver, gallbladder, large intestine, rectum and the anus.

The mouth is where digestion starts. As soon as you take your first bite the chewing helps starts the digestion process. When you chew your food it is broken down into pieces while your saliva combines with the food to get into a form that your body can absorb for digestion. 

The esophagus is the next part that the food passes through. After the food is broken down in the mouth it is distributed to the stomach via the esophagus. The stomach acts like a storage container for the broken down food. While in the container the food mixes with enzymes which help the food to further break down for use. “Cells in the lining of the stomach secrete a strong acid and powerful enzymes that are responsible for the breakdown process. When the contents of the stomach are sufficiently processed, they are released into the small intestine” (Cleveland Clinic, 2013). 

Next stop is the small intestine. After the food is done in the stomach it is then discharged into the small intestine. The small intestine is a powerful tube built that is 22 feet in length of muscle. The small intestine breaks down the food even more with the help of the pancreas and the liver. The small intestine is made up of three sections; the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. “The duodenum is largely responsible for the continuous breaking-down process, with the jejunum and ileum mainly responsible for absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream” (Cleveland Clinic, 2013). 

The pancreas, which helps the small intestine, discharges enzymes into the duodenum, the first section of the small intestine. These enzymes help to break down fats, carbohydrates and protein and it also helps to produce insulin which is discharged into the bloodstream. The gallbladder collects and distributes bile into the duodenum to help digest and absorb fats. The main thing that the liver does is it absorbs the nutrients from the small intestine. It also helps to detoxify potentially dangerous chemicals and also breaks down and discharges many drugs.

After the small intestine absorbs the nutrients our body needs and it packages the rest for waste it then transfers the waste into the large intestine where the process of elimination begins. The left over waste from the digestive process is called stools. Stools are made up of mainly food remains and bacteria. When the colon, or large intestine as it is known, is full and ready to empty it flows into the rectum. The rectum is eight inches in length and it connects the large intestine to the anus. The rectum receives the stool and is the holding cell until the brain tells us that there is waste that needs to be removed. The anus is the final part of the digestive system. It is two inches in length and consists of pelvic floor muscles and an internal and external sphincter. 

The mechanical process involved with the digestion of a piece of chicken involves all the parts of the digestive system explained above. When you take your first bite of a piece of chicken the mechanical digestive process begins. Your mouth is the first point of the physical breakdown of your food. Your saliva inter mingles with the chewed food to help break it down even more for transportation to your esophagus. When the food enters the esophagus the process of peristalsis begins. Next the food enters into your stomach by way of the esophagus. Once in the stomach enzymes and acids break down the chicken even further to get it ready to enter into the small intestine. Next the chicken enters into the small intestine where the pancreas and the liver helps break down the chicken even further. The gallbladder also helps with mixing bile. The small intestine then sends the waste matter after it has absorbed the nutrients needed from the chicken to the colon, also known as the large intestine. From the large intestine the waste of the chicken is transported to the rectum and is ready to be discharged from the anus. This process takes approximately 36 hours from when you eat chicken.

References:

Cleveland Clinic (2013).  Digestive System.  Retrieved from:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases_conditions/hic_The_Structure_and_Function_of_the_Digestive_System