Question

What do u mean by digestion

Answer 1

Digestion refers to the breakdown of food into smaller components that can be absorbed into the bloodstream. This digestion or catabolism is divided into two types – the mechanical digestion of food that occurs in the mouth when it is physically broken up into smaller pieces and the chemical digestion that occurs in the gastrointestinal tract when the food is broken down into small molecules by digestive enzymes.

In mammals, digestion involves the intake of food through the mouth where it is chewed between the teeth in a process called mastication. The saliva present in the mouth contains amylase which begins the break down of starch in the food.

The food then travels down the food pipe or the esophagus to reach the stomach where gastric juices start to breakdown the protein in the food. The gastric juice mainly comprises pepsin and hydrochloric acid. As these substances can be damaging to the stomach, mucus is also secreted to line the stomach and protect it. The acids in the stomach work by denaturing the proteins present in food. While this chemical digestion is happening, further mechanical digestion is occurring through persitalsis, as the muscles in the stomach wall contract to mix up the food and digestive enzymes.

Answer 2

Digestion = The process by which food is broken down into simple chemical compounds that can be absorbed and used nutrients or eliminated by the body.

Hope this will help!!