DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The digestive system transforms the food we eat into nutrients an passes them to the blood.

It also expels the undigested food out of the body as faeces.

The function of the digestive system is digestion and absorption. Digestion is the breakdown of food into small molecules, which are then absorbed into the body.

 The digestive system is divided into parts: pharynx, oesophagus, liver, stomach, pancreas, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus.

Fun facts

1. An adult esophagus ranges from 10 to 14 inches in length, and 1 inch in diameter.

2. We make 1 to 3 pints of saliva a day.

3. Muscles contract in waves to move the food down the oesophagus. This means that food would get to a person's stomach, even if they were standing on their head

4. It takes your mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, gallbladder, pancreas and liver just to digest a glass of milk..

5. An adults stomach can hold approximately 1.5 liters of material.

6. The average male will eat about 50 tons of food during his lifetime in order to sustain a weight of 150 pounds.

7. Within the colon, a typical person harbors more than 400 distinct species of bacteria

8. The liver is the largest organ in the body and performs more than 500 functions.

9. The small intestine (pronounced in-test-in) is a long tube about 1 and a half to 2 inches around, and about 22 feet long.

11. Food stays in your stomach for 2 to 3 hours.