The Digestive System

Resource: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/digestive/

Title: The Digestive System

Summary:

The digestive process begins in the mouth. Food is partly broken down by the process of chewing and by the chemical action of salivary enzymes. After being chewed and swallowed, the food enters the esophagus (a long tube that runs from the mouth to the stomach). It uses rhythmic, wave-like muscle movements to force food from the throat into the stomach. This muscle movement gives us the ability to eat or drink even when we're upside-down. Once in the stomach, the food that is partly digested mixes with stomach acid. Once it's done in the stomach it enters the first part of the small intestine. Then it enters the final part of the small intestine. It then moves on to the Large intestine. The first part of the large intestine is called the cecum. The food travels upward in the ascending colon. It travels across the abdomen in the transverse colon, and goes back down the other side of the body. Enzymes help in the breakdown of food.