LaShelle Benson
Unit 9
Catherine Rice
Today on our fantastic voyage we are going to be taken through the digestive system of a male, age 55 and we will be following what happens to a hamburger, fries and a refreshing glass of root beer, as its enters his body and begins the process of digestion. After that we will then follow the root beer into the blood stream and to the kidneys, through the urinary tract and then our journey will end when the urine is expelled. Let’s begin!!
The first step of our journey begins in the mouth. Here food is ground up using his teeth and his saliva helps to moisten the food to help make the food easier to swallow. Once the food is ground up and moistened up, the body then uses its swallowing reflex to help push the food down, using the pharynx, the muscle at the back of the throat, Its then pushed to the esophagus. At the very bottom of the esophagus is a round, ring like muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter, this attaches the esophagus to the stomach. This muscle is usually contracted but as food moves down the esophagus it relaxes and allows food to enter the stomach. Next we enter the stomach and as you can see the stomach begins to add more moisture to the food (gastric acid) from the stomach lining and it is mixed up almost like a slow moving blender. Once the food is mixed up the next step of our journey is where we enter the +small intestine. According to http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/yrdd/#food the first of the foods to enter the small intestine are the carbohydrates, this is because simple sugars are broke down first to provide energy to the body. Next to enter the digestive system is the proteins, this way the body can gets the nutrients that is needed to build strong muscles as quickly as possible. Last but not least the fatty parts of the food enter into the small intestine; the reason for them being last in this process is because they are the hardest for the body to break down. Once food is at this point, the food mixed with the acid is called chyme. The first part of the small intestine is called the duodenum, it then moves to the jejunum and then the ileum. The small intestine is the hardest working part of the digestive system. It continues to add juices to the food from the pancreas and the liver to help with digestion while at the same time it removes the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from the food and introduces them to the blood stream to allow the body to get everything it needs to maintain health. If we were to continue our voyage to the large intestine we would then see the colon and then the chyme would then lose some of the liquids and turn to feces which would then be stored in the rectum until it is expelled from this individual having a bowel movement.
Our journey is going to take us away from the large intestine though and will have us stop at the distal ileum instead, go through the mucosal membrane and enter the bloodstream via the Superior Mesenteric Vein.
Once we have arrived at the Superior mesenteric vein, we will follow the path to the Portal vein which will then lead us to this individual’s Liver. The liver is known for taking out the toxins that have been ingested, helping with absorption of proteins and also produces chemicals to help with further digestion. After we leave the liver we will reenter the blood system and go through the Hepatic vein and we will visit its neighbor, the Inferior vena cava. The Right atrium is our next stop as blood builds up in here it gets pumped into the, Right ventricle (via tricuspid valve), which is our next stop. Here blood is deoxygenated and then it is sent to the Pulmonary artery (via pulmonary valve). After the blood is deoxygenized and sent through the pulmonary artery it is sent to the Lungs. As I am sure you can guess the job of the lungs is to add oxygen back to the blood and Pulmonary vein. We will now follow the oxygenated blood through the Left atrium to the Left ventricle (via mitral valve). After we leave the left ventricle we will follow the blood to the Aorta. The aorta is a very important organ as it separates and sends the blood to all of the different body parts, were going to follow the path of through Ascending aorta. Next we will pass through the Arch of aorta which connects to the Descending aorta, then the Thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta, Left renal artery (branch). The renal arteries supply the blood to our next big destination, the left kidney. The kidney is a very important organ. Although a person can have a kidney removed, this means the other kidney has to be working at full function otherwise a person will need a transplant, you cannot live without at least 1 properly functioning kidney. The kidney is important in removing toxins, balancing out the water and salt ratio and removing any acids left over from the beginning of the digestive system so they do not enter the urine stream. To continue our journey we will have to get to the bladder but using the path of the ureters. The ureters, as you can see are two very small tubes where the cleaned urine flows through. Now that we have traveled the ureters we are now entering the bladder. Urine can stay in the bladder for a few minutes or hours, just depending on how they belong to and how strong or big of a bladder that particular individual has. Complications can arise if someone holds the urine in the bladder for too long as this allows for bacteria to form and can causing a bladder infection. If a bladder infection is not treated the bacteria will take the opposite route of us, head back up the ureters and back to the kidneys where it can cause even more complications and pain as a kidney infection. The last part of our journey will lead us to the urethra and as we follow the urethra it comes to an opening where the urine, and ourselves will be expelled.
As we have learned today each body part depends on the other in order to keep the body functioning and to maintain homeostasis, if one part of the body malfunctions and it can cause problems for the rest of the body. This sometimes makes a doctor’s job difficult and a patient may come in with complaints of a problem and after many tests finds out that the problem actually lies elsewhere in the body. I hope you have all enjoyed this journey through the digestive system today, and we hope to see you again on our next big adventure!
References: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/digestive/ http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/yrdd/#food http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110308194022AA3zUBt http://kidneyfunction.org/what-is-the-purpose-of-kidney-function/
References: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/anatomy/digestive/ http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/yrdd/#food http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110308194022AA3zUBt http://kidneyfunction.org/what-is-the-purpose-of-kidney-function/
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
The beginning of the digestive process starts with the smell and sight of food which activate the salivary glands. The mouth is the point at which food enters the digestive tract and continues the digestive process by chewing food. The food is then broken down into pieces and moistened by salivary glands which turn food into a bolus. The bolus goes down the pharynx into the esophagus which connects the pharynx to the stomach. The stomach is an organ that mixes food and secretes gastric juice. The bolus, once in the stomach, is mixed into a semiliquid mass called chime. The stomach is close together with the liver and pancreas but does not get assistance from these organs. The chime then enters…
- 251 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
When we vomit, the acidic nature of our stomach contents becomes immediately apparent both from the taste and from the burning sensation in our throats. The purpose of this acidity is to kill any bacteria we swallow with our food. In the stomach, digestive enzymes and a muscular churning action combine to reduce our food to a thick liquid called chyme. Chyme exits the stomach through a second sphincter and enters the small intestine. Typically, it takes the stomach about 4 hours to process a meal. The small intestine is about 20 feet long. In the duodenum, the first foot of the small intestine, digestion continues with the breakdown of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. Some of the digestive enzymes at work in the duodenum are made by the small intestine itself. Others are made by the pancreas. Pancreatic enzymes play an important role in neutralizing food, which arrives from the stomach in a highly acidic condition. In addition, the small intestine receives bile, a substance that is produced in the liver and stored in the gall bladder. Bile is an emulsifier?it breaks fats into tiny droplets that are more easily attacked by enzymes. Beyond the duodenum, the rest of the small intestine functions primarily in absorbing nutrients into the body. In order to be able to do this efficiently?that is, rapidly?the small intestine has a huge surface area. It is covered with numerous fingerlike projections called villi, each of which is in turn covered with tiny little projections called microvilli. Flattened, the small intestine would fill the area of a tennis court! Digested nutrients are absorbed across the surface of the small intestine into capillaries found inside each villus.…
- 4740 Words
- 19 Pages
Better Essays -
When a human sees or smells food the salivary glands are the first thing to react in the digestive system. Once the food is placed into the mouth, it is then taken over by the teeth, tongue, and saliva. These three are what help make the food moist and small enough to be swallowed. At this point the food then becomes what is called bolus. The bolus is then traveled through the pharynx then esophagus, and into the stomach. When the food travels through the pharynx, the epiglottis makes sure that the food paces by the without interring the lungs. Once the bolus enters the stomach, it is then broken down even further by the acids within the stomach. The bolus becomes a little more digested before leaving the stomach. Once the food is at this stage, it is then called Chyme. Chyme is a semiliquid food. It normally leaves the stomach within two to six hours. The small intestine is what does most of the digesting and takes the nutrients from the food. It has help from the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. The small intestine is made up of three parts, these parts are called, the jejunum, the ileum, and the duodenum. Anything that is not taken for nutrients in the small intestine goes to the large intestine. At this time it travels through what is called the sphincter. The sphincter prevents any of the food to go back into the small…
- 483 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The gastrointestinal tract starts with the mouth, which leads to the gullet via the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and ends at the anus. In due course of the journey, the ingested food is broken down by both physical and chemical means to release nutrients which are absorbed into the blood stream. The ingested food is physically broken down in the mouth by chewing so as to reduce its size for increased surface area over which enzymatic reaction will take place. Enzymatic reaction is known as digestion and this is defined as the chemical breakdown of the ingested complex food molecules by the action of biological enzymes, into simplest form that can be absorbed into the blood stream and assimilated into living cells. In human beings, various components of the ingested food are digested and absorbed at various sections of the alimentary canal .…
- 1938 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
The body is a very complex mechanism. There are many different veins and arteries that flow throughout the body. With there being many different veins and arteries throughout the body there are multiple paths to get to the lower lobe of the lung. In this paper we will discuss how to get from the femoral vein to the lower lobe of the lung.…
- 923 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Digestion first begins with the mouth. When you put food into your mouth your teeth and saliva helps to break down food into small molecules that absorbs into your bloodstream, your tongue finishes this process off by pushing the food into your throat in order for you to swallow. Food then goes through the esophagus and the esophagus muscles pushes the food into the stomach. While in the stomach digestive juices such as enzymes and acids assists in breaking down the food into paste. The food and digestive juices mixes and remains in the stomach for at least two hours. After departing the stomach food then goes through the small intestine. This is the most important part of digestion. The food paste travels through the small intestine and nutrients such as carbohydrates, minerals, proteins, fats, and vitamins are absorbed by villi and then goes through the bloodstream. The food which is undigested then goes through the large intestine as paste. Water is taken from the paste and it then becomes solid waste. The solid waste gathers inside the rectum which is at the end of the large intestine. Lastly, the waste goes through the anus (Hillendale Health, 2013).…
- 689 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
|food leaves your mouth it travels down the Pharynx to the Esophagus swallowing Peristalsis until the food gets to the small |…
- 500 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Good afternoon everyone, my name is Ash and I will be reporting to about my journey to check out the bacterium in the lower lobe of the right lung. I will be in my mini submarine Kim08. My assistants are going to shrink me down to a very small size that cannot be seen by the human eye and then inject me into the right femoral vein of Alex a female who is in good health. She seems to be having pain when she breaths in so were going to check it out and see what is going on in in the lower lobe of her right lung. I’m going to provide you with as much detailed information on what I see on my journey…
- 1056 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Hello everyone, this is Tanya I am about to take you on a very interesting voyage in to our patient Peggy Jones who is currently a healthy female of 35 years. I am going to need some help with getting me in to the sub and in to Peggy’s Femoral vein, to do this I need someone to put me through a process which is called miniaturization process that will make me only 8 microns long I will use a miniature sub and my assistant Chris will inject me in to Peggy’s femoral vein in which I will use as my thorough way to get to Peggy’s lungs and coming out through her nose. I need to do this because I was just informed of a bacterium invading the lungs of my patient Peggy.…
- 1223 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Then, the body absorbs the smaller molecules through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream The bloodstream then delivers the small molecules to the rest of the body. After this, the food continues into the large intestine, and out your body. What happens during the chemical digestion in the mouth, stomach, and small intestine? The process of digestion begins in the mouth when the food is chewed, being broken down into simpler nutrients, and is mixed with saliva.…
- 678 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Let’s go on a “!” Imagine that you are a video reporter piloting a mini-sub that has been put through a miniaturization process making you and the sub only 8 microns long! (Ever see the movie “Inner Space”?) You have been injected into the femoral vein of a healthy female. The alert just came out that a bacterium is invading the lower lobe of the right lung!! You are to pilot your sub to the site of the “invasion” and do a live report on what you see.…
- 610 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
2. a) The mouth is the beginning process it is located on your face. From the mouth it goes to the esophagus which is located down the throat the esophagus carries the food down to the stomach which is located in front of the liver. Stomach breaks down food and then enters the duodenum which is the first part of the small intestine. The center of your small intestine is right behind your belly button. Then the large intestine is located in the abdominal cavity. Then the anus is the rectum.…
- 473 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The process of digestion has many stages with the first starting in the oral cavity. Within the system, food passes through a tube called the alimentary canal, more commonly known as the gastrointestinal tract. The tract is made up of the oral cavity, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small intestines, and large intestines. To provide energy and nutrients to the body, major functions take place in the digestive system which include; ingestion, secretion, mixing and movement, digestion, absorption and excretion.…
- 552 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Now that you have broken down the food your tongue helps move your food to the back of your mouth. In this process the food moves to the start of the Esophagus. When the food that is ready to be farther digested your (Esophagus closes the passage ways leading to your lungs so the food goes to the stomach.)(www.gesa.org) When the food travels down the Esophagus to your stomach, (the sphincter valve that naturally stays closed opens to allow the food to enter the stomach.)(www.gesa.org)…
- 1303 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
every part of the gastrointestinal tract is designed to help in the digestive process in a specific way. The mouth is involved in chewing also know as masticating. The purpose is to break down food into small enough pieces to pass through the esophagus and enter the stomach. The food is moistened with saliva helping turning it into bolus in order to turn initiate the digestion of food. The esophagus is a tube like muscle which use contractions to pass food from the mouth into the stomach it does not help with the digestive or absorptive function. The stomach acts like a sort of storage depot for food, but also acts as a place in which mechanical and chemical breakdown of food happens. The small intestine absorbs water, electrolytes, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Whereas the large intestine is where the food matter and water that can’t be absorbed is the formed into stools. The rectum is a temporary storage area for feces before passed.…
- 513 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays