Gastrointestinal Tract

Gastrointestinal Tract

Introduction

The voyage as a reporter continues for me. This time around, I have been provided a mini-sub and I have been swallowed by a 55 year old man along with a hamburger, root beer and French fries, and I have entered into the gastrointestinal tract where I will monitor the digestion of the food. In the beginning, I would like to shed light on the journey and the places it will take me to within the digestive system of the 55 year old man. Thus, this paper is aimed at taking a journey in a tiny sub through the major structures of this particular individual, analyzing the process of food digestion. Once I reach the distal ileum, I will go through the mucosal membrane and enter the bloodstream via the Superior Mesenteric Vein.

Discussion

How the Human Body Digests Food

The human body uses its organs and glands to process and digest food. The whole process starts with putting food into the mouth and using teeth to chew up the food. As teeth are chewing up the food salivary enzymes which are produced by salivary glands are used to transform food into a bolus which enters the pharynx where it is swallowed. At this point the bolus enters into esophagus which is a tube that links pharynx to the stomach. After the bolus goes through the esophagus it then moves into the stomach. While In the stomach the bolus merges with acid gastric and then becomes partly digested. At this point the bolus mass is changed into chyme. From the stomach the chyme moves into the duodenum which is the small intestine's beginning. From the beginning part of small intestine the chyme moves to jejunum. Then the chyme moves to ileum which is the last part of the small intestine. While the chyme is in the small intestine the food digestion and absorption is assisted by production of bile in the liver and then warehoused in the gallbladder. At this point the large intestine becomes part of the process.

The bolus passes through a sphincter which is part of the organ that keeps the chyme mixing into both intestines. While in the large intestine the colon absorbs water and vitamins. The whole process ends with the remaining waste which is not absorbed continues through colon then travels into the rectum. From the rectum the remaining chyme travels into the anus and then out.

Stomach

The stomach of human beings is designed in such a way that it has a pouch which consists of walls, and is J shaped. The walls are of distensible, thick muscles that are responsible for the breaking down and storage of food. The small intestine is responsible for the digestion of food, and the smaller the particle size of food, the easier it will be for the food to be digested. The churning, which takes place in the stomach, aids in the breaking down of food into smaller sized particles, thereby offering help to the process of food ...