Digestive System Anatomy:
- Oral Cavity (mouth): Includes the teeth, tongue, and salivary glands. The teeth grind and cut food into smaller pieces, the tongue relays taste to the brain and also helps to push food down, and the salivary glands lubricate the food.
- Pharynx (throat): A passageway from the mouth to the esophagus for food. Contains the epiglottis that acts as a switch to make sure food goes to the esophagus and air goes to the lungs.
- Esophagus: A muscular tube from the pharynx to the stomach. At the end of this tube, there is a esophageal sphincter (muscle ring) that traps food in the stomach.
- Stomach: An organ that acts as a tank for food. Contains hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes that break down food further.
- Liver: Its main function in digestion is to produce bile and have it secrete to the small intestine.
- Gallbladder: Stores and recycles excess bile from the small intestine.
- Pancreas: Secretes digestive enzymes into the small intestine and helps absorb nutrients.
- Small Intestine: Where much of the digestion and absorption takes place. It is separated into 3 sections: the ileum, jejunum, and duodenum.
- Large Intestine: Absorbs water and contains bacteria that break down waste and create feces. Also called the colon, it is separated into the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colon.
- Cecum and Appendix: The cecum is the beginning of the large intestine, connecting the ileum and ascending colon. The appendix is connected to the cecum and doesn't have a blatant use
- Rectum: Connects the large intestine and anus.
- Anus: A canal at the end of the digestive tract that expels feces.
References:
- innerbody.com
- webmd.com
- wikipedia,org
- wisegeek,org