Introduction

The digestive system is continually at work, yet people seldom appreciate the complex tasks it performs in a choreographed biologic symphony. Consider what happens when you eat an apple. Of course, you enjoy the apple’s taste as you chew it, but in the hours that follow, unless something goes amiss and you get a stomachache, you don’t notice that your digestive system is working. You may be taking a walk or studying or sleeping, having forgotten all about the apple, but your stomach and intestines are busy digesting it and absorbing its vitamins and other nutrients. By the time any waste material is excreted, the body has appropriated all it can use from the apple. In short, whether you pay attention or not, the organs of the digestive system perform their specific functions, allowing you to use the food you eat to give you energy to keep you going. This chapter examines the structure and functions of these organs, and explores the mechanics and chemistry of the digestive processes.

The function of the digestive system is to break down the foods you eat, release their nutrients, and absorb those nutrients into the body. Although the small intestine is the workhorse of the system, where the majority of digestion occurs, and where most of the released nutrients are absorbed into the blood or lymph, each of the digestive system organs makes a vital contribution to this process.

The easiest way to understand the digestive system is to divide its organs into two main categories. The first group is the organs that make up the gastrointestinal tract. The second group is made up of accessory digestive organs which are critical for orchestrating the breakdown of food and the assimilation of its nutrients into the body. Accessory digestive organs, despite their name, are critical to the function of the digestive system.

Figure 4.1 Overview of Human Digestion

Chapter Attributions

This Open Educational Resource textbook has been adapted from:

• OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology // CC BY 4.0
• Lumen Learning Nutrition // CC BY 4.0
• Human Nutrition // CC BY NC SA