Digestive System
As soon as we take the first bite of our food, the process of digestion starts. The food gets mixed with the saliva, present in our mouth which is then easily swallowed. From the mouth, the food passes through a tube called the food pipe or esophagus. Through the food pipe, the food travels to the stomach. The stomach secretes digestive juices which get mixed with food and help to break it further into smaller particles. On average, it takes 3-4 hours to digest a meal. Now, the food turns into a smooth paste. From here, the food passes into a long coiled tube called the small intestine. In the small intestine, it is further mixed with digestive juices to break it down further. The digested food is carried by blood to other parts of the body. The undigested food goes to the large intestine. And finally, the undigested food is thrown out of our body through the anus.
Mouth
The mouth consists of teeth, a tongue, and salivary glands which produce saliva.
Teeth
Can you imagine yourself without teeth?
Teeth play an important role in our day-to-day life. They help us to chew our food properly, speak and look beautiful when we smile. We have different types of teeth to perform different actions. There are four types of permanent teeth in our jaw. Incisors, Canines, Premolars and Molars.
There are 16 teeth in the upper jaw and 16 teeth in the lower jaw.
Incisors
These are the 8 teeth in the front of your mouth and the easiest to see: 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom. They are shaped like small chisels with flat but sharp ends, which help us to chop and cut the food.
Canines
These are the 4 pointed teeth on either side of your incisors, 2 on top and 2 on the bottom. They are the sharpest teeth in your mouth; they are used for tearing the food.
Premolars
Next to the canines are 8 premolars: 4 on top and 4 on the bottom. They are shaped differently by both the incisors and canines. They are bigger, stronger, and have ridges, all of which contribute to their role of crushing and grinding food.
Molars
These are the last teeth towards the back of your mouth. They are much bigger than the Premolars and have bigger, flatter chewing surfaces because their job is to chew and grind the food into smaller pieces. They usually develop at the age of 12-13 years or later.
Tongue
The tongue helps us in speaking, licking, tasting, mixing food with saliva, and swallowing the food.
Our tongue has five taste buds which help us to taste different types of food:-
1. Sweet 2. Sour 3. Salty 4. Bitter 5. Umami
Process Of Digestion
As soon as we see our favorite food, our mouth starts to water.
Saliva
The liquid present inside the mouth is known as saliva. It is secreted by the salivary glands. It helps to soften the food and chew the food properly. The chewed food becomes semisolid which becomes easy to swallow.
Food Pipe
The semi-solid food passes through a long tube called a food pipe or esophagus. It is connected to the stomach.
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow sack that holds the food for about 3-4 hours. Here, the food is mixed with digestive juices which further helps in breaking the food and the food is turned into a smooth paste. From here, the food passes to the small intestine.
Small Intestine
The small intestine absorbs the nutrition from the food. It is approximately 20 feet in length. After the food is digested, the blood carries it to different parts of the body which produces energy.
Large Intestine
The undigested food is passed to the large intestine which is about 5 feet in length. Here, water and salt are absorbed. The undigested food or waste is thrown out of the body through the anus as faeces.
Do you Know?
Muscles contract in waves to move the food down the esophagus. This means that food would get to a person’s stomach, even if they were standing on their head.