© Chris Hamilton 2017
The Digestive System
The Digestive System
When you eat something (through your mouth), the food goes through the oesophagus into the stomach, then through the small intestine, into the large intestine and out of the anus as waste. The mouth, oesophagus, the stomach and the small intestine all help to digest the food. The digested food then is absorbed into the blood in the small intestine. Any water that is in the food is absorbed into the body in the large intestine. Any food that isn’t digested turns in to poo and goes out of the anus The liver and pancreas also work to help digestion. The liver makes bile which helps the body to digest fat. The Pancreas makes digestive enzymes which make the food break down quick enough to be absorbed before it passes through the body.Enzymes
Enyzymes are special proteins that break down large molecules into small ones. There are lots of different types of enyymes. Lipase enzymes break down fats into fatty acids and glycerol Protease enzymes break down proteins into amino acids Carbohydrase or Amylase enzymes break down starch into sugar. (from BBC Bitesize)How Enzymes Work
Here is a model of a starch molecule (from BBC Bitesize). The model shows that the enzyme (carbohydrase) attacks the links within the starch molecule and make it split up into smaller sugar molecules. These are then small enough to be absorbed into the blood stream.
Animation from docity.com
The Small Intestine
The small intestine is very good at absorbing what is digested. It is good because it has thin walls so the molecules can pass through easier. The wall of the small intestine has little hair things called villi that make the surface area bigger so it absorbs things quicker. The villi have blood vessels inside them that absorb the nutrients. Here is a diagram of this from BBC Bitesize.
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The Digestive System
The Digestive System
When you eat something (through your mouth), the food goes through the oesophagus into the stomach, then through the small intestine, into the large intestine and out of the anus as waste. The mouth, oesophagus, the stomach and the small intestine all help to digest the food. The digested food then is absorbed into the blood in the small intestine. Any water that is in the food is absorbed into the body in the large intestine. Any food that isn’t digested turns in to poo and goes out of the anus The liver and pancreas also work to help digestion. The liver makes bile which helps the body to digest fat. The Pancreas makes digestive enzymes which make the food break down quick enough to be absorbed before it passes through the body.Enzymes
Enyzymes are special proteins that break down large molecules into small ones. There are lots of different types of enyymes. Lipase enzymes break down fats into fatty acids and glycerol Protease enzymes break down proteins into amino acids Carbohydrase or Amylase enzymes break down starch into sugar. (from BBC Bitesize)How Enzymes Work
Here is a model of a starch molecule (from BBC Bitesize). The model shows that the enzyme (carbohydrase) attacks the links within the starch molecule and make it split up into smaller sugar molecules. These are then small enough to be absorbed into the blood stream.
