DIGESTION PATHWAY

MOUTH

• Teeth chew chips and break down food into smaller pieces
• Tongue and Saliva moistens food chemical action of salivary enzymes
• Breaks down starches into smaller molecules

ESOPHAGUS

• Hollow muscular tube
• Contracts and sends food to the stomach
• After food is chewed and swallowed
• Tube that runs from mouth to stomach

STOMACH

• Hollow muscular pouch
• Uses muscles, acids and other chemicals to break food into smaller pieces

SMALL INTESTINE

• Tube lined with villi
• Absorbs nutrients into the blood and chemically digests food
• Most digestion occurs here

LIVER

• Large heavy triangular shaped organ
• Aids in digestion by producing chemicals that break down food

LARGE INTESTINE

• Tube that contracts and pushes waste toward the anus
• Helps to get rid of waste and absorbs water back into the blood

ANUS

• Muscular opening
• Allows waste to exit the body