In medicine, there are many tricky names that are not easy to understand, and the human body is such a complex system that many people have a very vague idea of the purpose of some organs. But one does not have to be seven spans in the forehead to guess what function the organs of the human digestive system perform. This is clearly indicated by their very name.
As far as we know, the tract is a large landscaped road; the digestive tract, aka the gastrointestinal tract, is the very way that food is eaten inside a person. However, such a definition, of course, is too primitive, somewhat akin to the anecdotal description of the purpose of the head: "I eat in it." But a more detailed examination of the structure of this system and the functions of its constituent organs helps to better understand how the digestive process occurs and what disturbances in it cause the body’s disorders and various diseases.
So, what is included in the human digestive system?
The first is the oral cavity, where food is so far subjected only to initial mechanical processing. Not only teeth and tongue help in this, but also salivary glands, because the enzymes contained in saliva already break down some elements.
Then the food enters the esophagus, but not directly, but through the throat, which in a reflexive manner helps to swallow the food that has already been chopped and collected into a lump. The esophagus itself is a straight tube up to 30 centimeters long. Its task is to quickly deliver food to the stomach, which is facilitated by the muscles and the flat epithelium lining the walls .
If you try to arrange the organs of the human digestive system by ranking, then the stomach is likely to be the main one. In this "bag" is the digestion of food under the influence of gastric juice. Its main components are hydrochloric acid, bicarbonates, pepsin and other enzymes. Three layers of smooth muscle rotate the food lump inside the stomach, speeding up processing.
However, not everything is digested in the stomach - a “baton” intercepts the intestines. If the human digestive tract is expensive, then the intestines are the longest distillation on it. Its total length reaches ten meters, and it fits in the abdominal cavity, as it is in a folded state, like a fan or frill. Its main part is the small intestine, but before it there is the duodenum, into which the ducts of the pancreas are secreted, secreting enzymes that break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates, and the gall bladder, which contains bile produced by the liver, also participating in the general process. The mucous membrane of the small intestine forms numerous villi that progressively move, pushing a food lump along the tract, which by this time is already split into nutrient molecules. Through the villi, they are absorbed into the blood and lymph.
The last section of the gastrointestinal tract is the large intestine. Its main function is the breakdown of fiber with the help of special bacteria, the absorption of fluid and the accumulation of undigested residues, from which stool is formed and excreted through the rectum. The initial section of the large intestine is called the cecum, from which the small process leaves, perhaps the only human organ that does not have any of its useful functions - the appendix.
As you can see, the human digestive system is not as simple as it might seem. This complex system is susceptible to poisoning when stale products or poisonous substances get into it; . And if our body takes over most of the complex work, then we should at least not interfere with it.