Digestive System

• Mouth


  Opening where food enters the digestive tract
• Esophagus


  Muscular tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach
• Stomach


  Organ where food is partially digested and mixed with gastric juices
• Small intestine


  Long tube where most of the digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs
• Large intestine (colon)


  Absorbs water and salts from the material that has not been digested as food
• Digestion


  The process of breaking down food into smaller molecules that can be absorbed by the body
• Absorption


  The process of taking in nutrients into the bloodstream from the digestive tract
• Peristalsis


  Waves of muscular contractions that move food through the digestive tract
• Enzymes


  Biological molecules that speed up chemical reactions in the body
• Gastric acid


  Acid produced by the stomach that helps break down food
• Bile


  Digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, helps with the digestion of fats