Digestion

Digestion provides the body with energy and matter needed throughout life. Everyone suffers at one time or another digestive disorder : how to identify and assess the urgency or seriousness. When to consult ?

All about the digestive system

 

The digestive system is the set of organs that provide the food processing and the assimilation of their nutrients. It includes the digestive tract and glands annexes.

The digestive tract

The digestive tract includes :

> mouth,

> esophagus,

> stomach,

> the small intestine divided into duodenum, jejunum and ileum,

> the colon that begins with the caecum and its vermiform appendix, through any part of the abdomen and ends by the sigmoid,

> the rectum and anus.

The wall of digestive tube is generally formed of a mucosal surface in contact with food, a layer MUSCLE and an inner layer in contact with the blood vessels.

The mucosa exerts, from stomach to colon, specific secretory functions (mucus, hydrochloric acid, enzymes).

The glands annexes

The glands annexes discharge their secretions in the digestive tract. These include:

> salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, sublingual)

> the liver and its bile tank : gallbladder.

> pancreas.

The salivary and pancreatic secretions are rich in enzymes, the bile facilitates the digestion of fats by dispersing them in the intestine.

The digestion

The digestion transforms foods we eat into basic elements, nutrients that our intestines can absorb and that our body uses to build its own material or produce the energy it needs.

The digestion involves :

> mechanical phenomena : grinding and mixing foods, progression in the small intestine and  colon, waste disposal;

> chemical phenomena thanks to digestive enzymes : isolation of nutrients from fat, protein or carbohydrates, assimilation of nutrients, vitamins and minerals.