Definition of Digestive System

The digestive system is the set of organs and structures related to the digestion process of the food.

It is formed by a series of hollow viscera through which the food is being transformed as it passes until it gives rise to feces. This system is closely related to a series of glands responsible for producing enzymes and various substances such as digestive juices necessary to transform food into simpler compounds capable of being absorbed.

Components of the digestive system

Mouth. This system begins in the mouth, a cavity located in the head in which there are structures such as the teeth necessary to grind food and language that drives them back towards the pharynx. At the back of the mouth are the tonsils, lymphatic tissues that are an important part of the defense system, there the first recognition of microorganisms in order to attack them and protect the body against them. In the mouth there is a fluid produced by the salivary glands, it is saliva, rich in protective antibodies as well as substances necessary to start the digestive process.

Pharynx. It is a kind of crossroads between the airway and the digestive tract, once the food leaves the mouth it pushes back the epiglottis, a structure located behind the tongue that acts as a valve that diverts food into the esophagus, preventing it from entering the tract aerial.

Esophagus. It is a tubular conduit that communicates the pharynx with the stomach crossing the thorax, in its lower part it has a sphincter called the lower esophageal sphincter that under normal conditions prevents that the contents of the stomach are returned to the esophagus, when this occurs a disorder known as reflux occurs gastroesophageal.

Stomach. It is a key organ of digestion, it is located in the abdominal cavity, it is shaped like a sac, there a very powerful acid is produced, the acid hydrochloric, necessary for the digestion of food that in conjunction with the mechanical action represented by gastric movements allow the conversion of food into a homogeneous liquid called chyme that passes into the small intestine through a sphincter called pylorus.

Small intestine. It is a tubular structure that follows the stomach and has an inner layer or mucosa folded back on itself giving rise to a series of Villi whose function is to increase the absorption surface, in the initial part of the small intestine known as the duodenum are found the drainage holes in the ducts of the liver and pancreas, which release a number of enzymes and substances necessary for digestion and absorption of nutrients which leads to the transformation of chyme into chyle.

Large intestine. Once the chyle leaves the small intestine it passes to the large intestine, it is a hollow structure of approximately one meter in length that is distributed in the abdomen in shape of a frame, which is why it is recognized as a colonic frame, the main function of color is to absorb water so that the chyle solidifies giving rise to feces fecal

Right. It is the final part of the large intestine, it acts as a reservoir where stool accumulates until its expulsion.

Year. It is the orifice of exit of the digestive tube that communicates to the rectum with the outside.

Regulatory mechanisms of the digestive system

The digestive system carries out its functions regulated mainly by the endocrine system by releasing a series of hormones responsible for stimulating appetite, production of bowel movements and secretion of digestive juices.

The nervous systemautonomous is another important regulatory mechanism through the effects of the nervous system nice and parasympathetic, the latter has a stimulatory effect on this system.

Photos: iStock - Ugreen / Nerthuz