Question

Explain the of passage of food from the stomach

Answer 1

Chew your food more -- it also helps with your digestion. Also called the throat, the pharynx is the portion of the digestive tract that receives the foodfrom your mouth. Branching off the pharynx is the esophagus, which carries food to the stomach, and the trachea or windpipe, which carries air to the lungs.

Answer 2

Once the food is swallowed, it involuntarily proceeds under the control of the esophagus and brain. The lower esophageal sphincter muscle controls the passage of food and liquid between the esophagus and stomach. As food approaches the closed sphincter, the muscle relaxes and lets food pass through it into the stomach.

The stomach stores the incoming food, mixes it with digestive juices, and slowly empties its contents into the small intestine. The cells lining its wall secrete dilute hydrochloric acid that assists in the breakdown process.

In the small intestine, the food is mixed with digestive juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine. The walls of the small intestine are specialized to absorb the nutrients from the digested food into the bloodstream. The blood delivers these nutrients to various body parts.

Various enzymes aid the process of digestion and their effectiveness depends on different pH levels. A pH too high (basic) or too low (acidic) might denature a particular enzyme and prevent it from performing its function. Saliva keeps the pH in the mouth between 6.5 and 7, optimum for the enzyme salivary amylase to act on carbohydrates. Pepsin that helps digest proteins in the stomach, works best at a pH around 2, while the enzymes that function in the intestines (including peptidases and maltase), work best at a pH around 7.5

The digested mass is further pushed into the large intestine which is a highly specialized organ responsible for processing waste. The large intestine function is mainly about making the process of emptying the bowels easy and convenient.

The waste left over from the digestive process, is passed through the colon by means of peristalsis, first in a liquid state and ultimately in a solid form. This is because the colon absorbs water and any remaining nutrients, changing the waste from liquid to ‘stool’. The rectum stores stool until it is pushed out of the body through anus.