"The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder)."
A study of the structure and function of the organs involved in the process of digestion, including the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
Anatomy of the digestive system: Comprehensive study of the digestive system, including its various parts and functions.
Digestive physiology: An overview of the various physiological processes that take place inside the digestive system, and how they work together.
Digestion and absorption of nutrients: A deep dive into the process of how nutrients are absorbed from food and transported throughout the body.
Digestive enzymes: A closer look at the specific enzymes involved in the digestive process and how they contribute to overall digestive health.
Gastrointestinal motility: Studying the movement of food through the digestive system, from the mouth to the anus.
Microbiology of the gastrointestinal tract: Exploring the complex microbial ecosystem that exists within the digestive system, and its impact on overall health.
Common digestive disorders: Examining the causes, symptoms, and treatments for common digestive disorders like constipation, diarrhea, and acid reflux.
Gastrointestinal cancers: An in-depth look at the different types of gastrointestinal cancers, including their risk factors, symptoms, and treatments.
Nutritional imbalances: Understanding how nutritional imbalances can affect digestive health, and identifying ways to correct these imbalances.
Digestive system pathology: Learning about the various diseases and conditions that can affect the digestive system, ranging from minor irritations to life-threatening conditions.
Gross anatomy: Examines the organs of the digestive tract and their physical structures, including their position, shape, and relation to each other.
Histology: Examines the microscopic structures of the digestive system organs, including tissues, cells, and their functions.
Physiology: Focuses on understanding the functions of each component of the digestive system, including absorption, secretion, and movement.
Embryology: Study of the developmental stages of the digestive system and how each organ forms during embryonic development.
Radiology: Examines the digestive system using techniques such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans to diagnose disorders or disease.
Immunology: Examines the immune response of the digestive system to pathogens and foreign substances.
Microbiology: Explores the gut microbiome and the different types of bacteria and fungi that reside in the digestive tract.
Pharmacology: Examines the interactions between drugs and the digestive system, including how drugs are absorbed, metabolized, and eliminated from the body.
Pathology: Examines the disorders and diseases of the digestive system, including inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, and cancers.
Anthropology: Explores the cultural and social aspects in the consumption of food, the digestive system's adaptations to different diets and eating patterns.
"Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and assimilated into the body."
"The process of digestion has three stages: the cephalic phase, the gastric phase, and the intestinal phase."
"The first stage, the cephalic phase of digestion, begins with secretions from gastric glands in response to the sight and smell of food."
"This stage includes the mechanical breakdown of food by chewing, and the chemical breakdown by digestive enzymes, that takes place in the mouth."
"Saliva contains the digestive enzymes amylase and lingual lipase, secreted by the salivary and serous glands on the tongue."
"Chewing, in which the food is mixed with saliva, begins the mechanical process of digestion."
"This produces a bolus which is swallowed down the esophagus to enter the stomach."
"The second stage, the gastric phase, happens in the stomach. Here the food is further broken down by mixing with gastric acid until it passes into the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine."
"The third stage, the intestinal phase, begins in the duodenum. Here the partially digested food is mixed with a number of enzymes produced by the pancreas."
"Digestion is helped by the chewing of food carried out by the muscles of mastication, the tongue, and the teeth."
"Peristalsis is the rhythmic contraction of muscles that begins in the esophagus and continues along the wall of the stomach and the rest of the gastrointestinal tract. This initially results in the production of chyme which when fully broken down in the small intestine is absorbed as chyle into the lymphatic system."
"Most of the digestion of food takes place in the small intestine."
"Water and some minerals are reabsorbed back into the blood in the colon of the large intestine."
"The waste products of digestion (feces) are defecated from the rectum via the anus."