Description
The digestive system is composed of two parts: the alimentary canal and the accessory digestive structures. These two parts of the system work together to break down food into absorbable units and eliminate the non-digested material as feces. Let’s begin by identifying each of the organs in the alimentary canal and the accessory digestive structures.
Choose one organ/structure and post details about it to begin the discussion. Choose a different organ for each of your follow up posts to ensure everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
Use your own words. APA format. Use 2 scholarly sources. Cited.
Reply to dicussion:
Hello class!
The GI tract is in-charge of ingestion and digestion of food, nutrient absorption, secretion of water and enzymes, and defecation. Organs involved in the GI tract consists of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Accessory organs include the teeth, tongue, and glandular organs such as salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
Most people care about their teeth for appearance, but do not know how valuable teeth are to digesting foods. Teeth contribute to mastication. Mastication is the act of chewing, and breaking down food into smaller, more digestible patterns. This is the first step of mechanical digestion. Without teeth foods such as meat and vegetables would not be digested properly. Adults have 32 teeth used for mastication of food. Each type/shape of tooth, has a different purpose. Incisors are shaped to the bite pieces of food, canines are shaped to pierce and shred meat, and molars are shaped to breakdown the food through crushing and grinding. Mastication relies on several other muscles in order to successfully breakdown the food. The tongue, buccinator, and orbicularis oris are needed to manipulate food and push it between the teeth creating the up-down grinding.
Use your own words. APA format. Use 1 scholarly sources. Cited.
