Ao

• Salivary glands


  Secrete saliva to moisten food and facilitate the chewing and swallowing process
• Saliva contains the enzyme salivary amylase that helps in digesting starch
• Salivary glands


  • Parotid
  • Submandibular
  • Sublingual
• Saliva


  Important for tasting food and dissolving substances
• Pharynx


  • Funnel-shaped structure that serves as the passageway for food and air when swallowing
  • The epiglottis closes so that food does not enter the esophagus
• Esophagus


  • Long tube running from the base of the pharynx to the stomach
  • The muscles of the esophagus contract in a wave-like motion called peristalsis to move food
  • Mucous glands line the inner esophagus to ease the passage of food
• When painful objects enter the esophagus

  The body may try to expel the object through vomiting
• Stomach


  • Muscular bag that stores the food we eat and breaks it down into smaller pieces
  • Stomach acid (hydrochloric acid) aids in digestion
• Gastric juices


  Composed of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and digestive enzymes
• Teeth


  • Crown - located above the gums
  • Neck - at the margin of the gums
  • Roots - hold the tooth in place in the jawbone
  • Only part of the tooth that cannot repair itself
• Tongue


  • Long and muscular structure that helps mix food with saliva and push it downward when swallowing
  • Houses the taste buds that allow us to perceive taste (bitter, salty, sour, sweet, umami)
• Endocrine glands include the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands (including the adrenal medulla), pancreas, ovaries/testes, and pineal gland.