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The function of the GI tract is to process ingested food by mechanical and chemical means, extract nutrients and excrete waste products. The GI tract is composed of the alimentary canal, that runs from the mouth to the anus, as well as the associated glands, chemicals, hormones, and enzymes that assist in digestion.
The colon of the large intestine is the last part of the digestive system. It has a segmented appearance due to a series of saccules called haustra. [9] It extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body and is the site in which the fermentation of unabsorbed material by the gut microbiota occurs.
Stomach, on the contrary, has a less significant role in the physiological and metabolic functions. The most prominent physiological function of the stomach is digestion, but the small intestine is also capable of digestion. [12] Thus, gastric bypass surgery does less harm to the overall metabolism of nutrients.
The liver is the second largest organ (after the skin) and is an accessory digestive gland which plays a role in the body's metabolism. The liver has many functions some of which are important to digestion. The liver can detoxify various metabolites; synthesise proteins and produce biochemicals needed for digestion.
Digestion is a complex process controlled by several factors. pH plays a crucial role in a normally functioning digestive tract. In the mouth, pharynx and esophagus, pH is typically about 6.8, very weakly acidic. Saliva controls pH in this region of the digestive tract.
The rectum receives fecal material from the descending colon, transmitted through regular muscle contractions called peristalsis. [11] As the rectal walls expand due to the materials filling it from within, stretch receptors from the nervous system located in the rectal walls stimulate the desire to pass feces, a process called defecation. [11]
The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus.The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and other animals, including the esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
Human anatomy of the anorecturm (anus and rectum). Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus or cloaca.