DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
WEDNESDAY, 12/5/2012
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Breaks down the food you eat
Before you eat, when you smell a tasty food,
see it or even think about it……what
happens?
When you eat, saliva helps break down
chemicals in the food
ESOPHAGUS
TONGUE pushes food to back of the throat
into the ESOPHAGUS.
10 in. long and moves food to stomach
– Muscles in the walls help food to move by
squeezing it through the esophagus
– Attached to the end of the esophagus is the
STOMACH
Shaped like a “J”
Stores food
Breaks down food into a liquidy mixture
Slowly empties mixture into SMALL INTESTINE
(sort of like a mixer mashing food together with
the help of gastric juices which helps to kill
bacteria)
SMALL INTESTINE
1.5 – 2 in. around; at least 22 feet long
Packed inside of your stomach
Breaks down the food mixture so your body can
absorb all vitamins, minerals, proteins,
carbohydrates and fats
Food spends as long as 4 hours in small intestine
….with the help of the pancreas, liver and gallbladder
THE BUDDIES
PANCREAS – makes juices that help the
body digest fats and proteins
Juice from the LIVER called bile helps
absorb fats into the bloodstream
GALLBLADDER serves as the warehouse
for the bile
LIVER
Nutrient-rich blood goes here for processing
Filters out harmful substances or wastes
Helps figure out how many nutrients will
go to the rest of the body
LARGE INTESTINE
¾ in. around, 5 feet long
Packed inside your body
Has a tiny tube at the end called the
appendix
After most nutrients are removed from the
food mixture…..there is leftover ‘waste’
This ‘waste’ passes through the part of the
large intestine called the COLON.
LARGE INTESTINE
This is where the body gets its last chance to
absorb the water and minerals into the blood
As the water leaves, waste gets harder &
harder as it moves. It then becomes a solid
called……..
The large intestine pushes it into its very last
stop before being extracted. 
Drink water, healthy diet, fiber (fruits,
veggies, whole grains)
URINARY SYSTEM
*KIDNEYS – filters waste from the
blood and produces urine (IF THEY DO
NOT, TOXINS BUILD UP) 
*URETERS – two thin tubes that take
urine from the kidney to the bladder
*BLADDER – a sac that holds urine
until time to use the restroom
*URETHRA – tube that carries urine
from the bladder out of the body