Digestive system

Eva Rudolf-Müller is a freelance writer in the medical team. She studied human medicine and newspaper sciences and has repeatedly worked in both areas - as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, and as a medical journalist for various specialist journals. She is currently working in online journalism, where a wide range of medicine is offered to everyone.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

The digestive system in the broadest sense includes the mouth and throat, esophagus, stomach, small intestine with liver, gall bladder and pancreas, and large intestine. In a narrower sense, it is understood to mean the gastrointestinal tract (digestive tract) - i.e. stomach and intestines. Its job is to prepare food and make it usable. Read everything you need to know about the digestive system!

What is the digestive system?

Humans and animals have to digest the food they eat in order to be able to use it. The digestive system takes care of that. There the ingested food is gradually chopped up and digested enzymatically. The required nutrients are absorbed into the blood, the unusable components are excreted.

The human digestive system is like a long tube (digestive tract) that starts in the mouth. From there, the route leads through the throat and the esophagus into the stomach and then further into the intestine: first into the small intestine and then into the large intestine, which opens out with the anus. The stomach and intestines are also referred to together as the gastrointestinal tract, digestive tract or gastrointestinal tract.

Glands that release secretions that are important for digestion flow into the digestive system: the salivary glands in the oral cavity, the pancreas and the liver or gall bladder in the small intestine.

The epithelium that lines the gastrointestinal tract also contains small glands that secrete digestive secretions.

What is the function of the digestive system?

The digestive system has a variety of tasks which, taken together, serve one goal: The food ingested should be made usable for the organism. The body gains energy from it as well as substances for growth and tissue replacement.

In addition, the organism gets through the digestive system all those substances that are constantly being lost (via urine, stool and sweat): water, sodium, calcium and many organic and inorganic substances.

In order to get to the nutrients in the food (sugar, fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc.), the ingested food must be unlocked: Because the body can neither eat meat, bread and butter nor fruit and vegetables as they are eaten, utilize.

Instead, food must first be mechanically chopped up in the digestive system (mouth and teeth) and then chemically digested (stomach and small intestine). The released nutrients are absorbed (small intestine), everything that cannot be used is excreted (large intestine).

Each part of the digestive system is involved in this complex task of digesting food in a specific way:

For example, digestive glands with their enzyme-containing secretions ensure the chemical breakdown of food. Mucous glands make the inner surface of the digestive organs of humans and the stool slippery. The muscles in the wall of the digestive tract take care of the mixing and the further transport of the food pulp. The small intestinal epithelium is responsible for the absorption of nutrients, and the rectum takes care of the elimination of indigestible residues.

digestion

You can read exactly how the body uses ingested food in the article Digestion.

Where is the digestive system located?

The digestive system begins in the mouth and ends in the anus. The mouth and throat lie in the head, the esophagus runs down through the throat into the stomach, which is located in the upper abdomen. The liver and gallbladder are also located in the upper abdomen (right).

The intestines that adjoin the stomach and the pancreas fill a large part of the abdomen. The appendix with appendix (first section of the large intestine) can be in contact with the ovaries in women. In the lower abdomen, the intestine is in contact with the urinary bladder, prostate and seminal vesicles in men and with the uterus and vagina in women.

What problems can the digestive system cause?

The complex digestive system can cause a wide variety of health problems. Some examples are heartburn, inflammation of the lining of the stomach (gastritis), stomach and duodenal ulcer, and diverticula and polyps of the intestinal tract. Inflammation of the liver (hepatitis), gallstones, irritable stomach and bowel syndrome, malignant tumors (such as stomach or colon cancer) and digestive disorders are common problems in the digestive system.

Tags:  drugs diet therapies