Digestive System Functions

• What are the digestive system functions?

  • Ingestion
  • Propulsion
  • Mechanical Digestion
  • Chemical Digestion
  • Absorption
  • Defecation
• The voluntary process of taking food or drink into the body through the mouth.

  Ingestion
• The forceful movement of food from one organ to the next

  Propulsion
• Involves alternating waves of contraction and relaxation that push food along the GI tract


  Peristalsis
• Tongue mixes food in the mouth and teeth tear food apart

  Mechanical Digestion
• Large food molecules are broken down into their building blocks by enzymes

  Chemical Digestion
• Are proteins that speed up chemical reactions in the body

  Enzymes
• Most nutrients travel from the GI tract into the bloodstream in the small intestine

  Absorption
• The elimination of solid waste from the body

  Defecation
• This waste is a combination of undigested and/or unabsorbed food, water, bacteria, etc.

  Feces