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The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and assimilated into the body.
In chemical digestion, enzymes break down food into the small compounds that the body can use. In the human digestive system , food enters the mouth and mechanical digestion of the food starts by the action of mastication (chewing), a form of mechanical digestion, and the wetting contact of saliva .
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.
It takes place either in the lumen of the digestive system, in a gastric cavity or other digestive organ, or completely outside the body. During extracellular digestion, food is broken down outside the cell either mechanically or with acid by special molecules called enzymes. Then the newly broken down nutrients can be absorbed by the cells nearby.
The stomach is involved in the gastric phase of digestion, following the cephalic phase in which the sight and smell of food and the act of chewing are stimuli. In the stomach a chemical breakdown of food takes place by means of secreted digestive enzymes and gastric acid. The stomach is located between the esophagus and the small intestine.
The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the pancreatic duct to aid in digestion. The small intestine is about 5.5 metres (18 feet) long and folds ...
Main article: List of systems of the human body. Nervous system in a human body. There are 11 distinct organ systems in human beings, [2] which form the basis of human anatomy and physiology. The 11 organ systems: the respiratory system, digestive and excretory system, circulatory system, urinary system, integumentary system, skeletal system ...
A fourth phase of acid secretion is known as the basal state which occurs in the times between meals (interdigestive phase). The level of acid secretion during these times is regulated by body weight, individual, number of parietal cells, and time of day. Acid secretion is lowest in the morning before awakening and highest at night. [2]