Digestive System: Facts, Function &

Diseases
By Kim Ann Zimmermann, Live Science Contributor | March 11, 2016 05:15pm ET
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The human digestive system is a series of organs that converts food into
essential nutrients that are absorbed into the body and eliminates unused
waste material. It is essential to good health because if the digestive system
shuts down, the body cannot be nourished or rid itself of waste.

Description of the digestive system

Also known as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the digestive system begins at
the mouth, includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine
(also known as the colon) and rectum, and ends at the anus. The entire
system from mouth to anus is about 30 feet (9 meters) long, according
to the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).
Digestion begins with the mouth. Even the smell of food can generate saliva,
which is secreted by the salivary glands in the mouth, contains an enzyme,
salivary amylase, which breaks down starch. Teeth, which are part of the
skeletal system, play a key role in digestion. In carnivores, teeth are
designed for killing and breaking down meat. Herbivores teeth are made for
grinding plants and other food to ease them through the digestion process.
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Swallowing pushes chewed food into the esophagus, where it passes through
the oropharynx and hypopharynx. At this point, food takes the form of a
small round mass and digestion becomes involuntary. A series of muscular
contractions, called peristalsis, transports food through the rest of the
system. The esophagus empties into the stomach, according to the National
Institutes of Health (NIH).
The stomachs gastric juice, which is primarily a mix of hydrochloric acid and
pepsin, starts breaking down proteins and killing potentially harmful bacteria,

according to ASGE. After an hour or two of this process, a thick semi-liquid

paste, called chyme, forms.
At this point the pyloric sphincter valve opens and chyme enters the
duodenum, where it mixes with digestive enzymes from the pancreas and
acidic bile from the gall bladder, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The next
stop for the chyme is the small intestine, a 20-foot (6-meter) tube-shaped
organ, where the majority of the absorption of nutrients occurs. The nutrients
move into the bloodstream and are transported to the liver.
The liver creates glycogen from sugars and carbohydrates to give the body
energy and converts dietary proteins into new proteins needed by the blood
system. The liver also breaks down unwanted chemicals, such as alcohol,
which is detoxified and passed from the body as waste, the Cleveland Clinic
noted.
Whatever material is left goes into the large intestine. The function of the
large intestine, which is about 5 feet long (1.5 meters), is primarily for
storage and fermentation of indigestible matter. Also called the colon, it has
four parts: the ascending colon, the transverse colon, the descending colon
and the sigmoid colon. This is where water from the chyme is absorbed back
into the body and feces are formed primarily from water (75 percent), dietary
fiber and other waste products, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Feces are
stored here until they are eliminated from the body through defecation.

Diseases of the digestive system

Many symptoms can signal problems with the GI tract, including: abdominal
pain, blood in the stool, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn,
incontinence, nausea and vomiting and difficulty swallowing, according to
the NIH.
Among the most widely known diseases of the digestive system is colon
cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 51,783
Americans died from colon cancer in 2011 (the most recent year for available
data). Excluding skin cancers, colon and rectal cancer, or colorectal cancer,
is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the
United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
Polyp growth and irregular cells, which may or may not be cancerous, are the
most common development paths for colorectal cancers (also referred to as
CRC), and can be detected during a routine colonoscopy, according to Dr.
John Marks, a gastroenterologist affiliated with the Main Line Health health
care system.
The best news is that, if caught early enough, they can also be removed
during the colonoscopy eliminating the possibility that they grow further
and become cancer, Marks said.

For those patients whose cancer has already spread, there are various
minimally invasive surgical options that have extremely good prognoses. It is
recommended that asymptomatic patients without a family history begin
getting tested regularly between the ages 45 and 50, according to Marks.
Symptoms which may suggest that you need a colonoscopy at an earlier
age include rectal bleeding and stool/bowel habit changes which last for
more than a few days.
While CRC gets a great deal of attention, many diseases and conditions of
the digestive system including irritable bowel syndrome,
diverticulitis, GERD (acid reflux) and Crohns disease can be chronic and
are difficult to diagnose and treat, according to Dr. Larry Good, a
gastroenterologist affiliated with South Nassau Communities Hospital. With
many of these diseases, blood work and colonoscopies all looks normal, so
there is an absence of red flags.
Many of the diseases of the digestive system are tied to the foods we eat,
and a number of sufferers can reduce their symptoms by restricting their
diets, Good said. Of course no one wants to hear that they cant eat certain
foods, but many times, eliminating acidic things from the diet, such as
tomatoes, onions, and red wine, can have an impact, Good said.
There are a number of tests to detect digestive tract ailments. A colonoscopy
is the examination of the inside of the colon using a long, flexible, fiber-optic
viewing instrument called a colonoscope, according the American
Gastroenterological Association. Other testing procedures include upper GI
endoscopy, capsule endoscopy, endoscopic retrograde
cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic ultrasound.

Study of the digestive system

Gastroenterology is the branch of medicine focused on studying and treating

the digestive system disorders. Physicians practicing this specialty are called
gastroenterologists. The name is a combination of three ancient Greek
words gastros (stomach), enteron (intestine) and logos (reason). It is an
internal medicine subspecialty certified by the American Board of Internal
Medicine.
To be certified as a gastroenterologist, a doctor must pass the
Gastroenterology Certification Examination and undergo a minimum of 36
months of additional training.

Milestones
References to the digestive system can be traced back to the ancient
Egyptians. Some milestones in the study of the gastrointestinal system
include:

Claudius Galen (circa 130-200) lived at the end of the ancient Greek
period and reviewed the teachings of Hippocrates and other Greek
doctors. He theorized that the stomach acted independently from other
systems in the body, almost with a separate brain. This was widely
accepted until the 17th century.

In 1780, Italian physician Lazzaro Spallanzani conducted experiments

to prove the impact of gastric juice on the digestion process.

Philipp Bozzini developed the Lichtleiter in 1805. This instrument,

which was used to examine the urinary tract, rectum and pharynx, was
the earliest endoscopy.

Adolf Kussmaul, a German physician, developed the gastroscope in

1868, using a sword swallower to help develop the diagnostic process.

Rudolph Schindler, known to some as the father of gastroscopy,

described many of the diseases involving the human digestive system in
his illustrated textbook issued during World War I. He and Georg Wolf
developed a semi-flexible gastroscope in 1932.

In 1970, Hiromi Shinya, a Japanese-born general surgeon, delivered the

first report of a colonoscopy to the New York Surgical Society and in May
1971 presented his experiences to the American Society for
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

In 2005, Australians Barry Marshall and Robin Warren were awarded

the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery
of Helicobacter pylori and its role in peptic ulcer disease

What Is the Order of Digestive System?

You may know about some of the solid and hollow organs included in the digestive
system, but not many have complete information about them. Now let's get a closer look:

1st Stop The Mouth

When you start chewing something, your salivary glands start producing saliva to
lubricate your food. Your break down your food and your tongue mixes it up with saliva.
There are three pairs of salivary glands in your mouth the sublingual, parotid and
submandibular glands. These glands produce up to a liter of saliva every day.
2nd Stop The Esophagus
Your tongue, teeth and saliva will turn your food into a soft, round mass that will make it
easy to swallow. There are muscles in your throat and mouth used to push food to your
esophagus, which is the tube connecting your stomach with your throat. The esophagus
also has muscles that create synchronized waves to propel your food into your stomach.
It works in a systematic way the muscles behind the round mass of food you have in
the esophagus will contract to push it forward and the muscles ahead of it will relax to
make it easy for your food to travel to your stomach. When your food reaches the lower
end of the esophagus, a muscular valve, called the lower esophageal sphincter, feels the
pressure from the food and opens up to let what you eat enter your stomach.

3rd Stop The Stomach

You have powerful muscles in your stomach that help to break down your food into
smaller pieces. The digestive glands in your stomach will also produce enzymes and
stomach acid. The combination of stomach acid and enzymes turn the food into a paste
called chyme. Your stomach muscles will then contract to push the chyme towards your
small intestine. The food will enter the small intestine through a valve called the pylorus.
The pylorus releases a small amount of food at a time.
4th Stop Small Intestine
Small intestine comes next in the order of digestive system. The digestion will continue
even when your food has entered your duodenum, the first section of your small intestine.
A variety of digestive juices released by liver, pancreas and gallbladder will enter your
small intestine for complete digestion of food. Pancreas produces enzymes to break
down carbohydrates, proteins and fats, whereas the liver produces bile to digest fats. The
wall of your small intestine also secretes other juices for digestion. The food will then
move into the second section of your small intestine where it will turn into smaller
molecules of nutrients. After that, it moves into the final portion of your small intestine
where the remaining nutrients are absorbed.
5th Stop The Large Intestine
After the absorption of nutrients in the final section of your small intestine, there remains
a combination of water, electrolytes and waste products, such as dead cells and plant
fiber. This waste enters your large intestine (colon), which is a 5-7 food long muscular
tube connecting your small intestine to the rectum. The waste moves through your colon
by means of peristalsis. It enters your large intestine in a liquid state but then converts
into solid form because the water is absorbed in the colon. Stool goes in the S-shaped
colon and enters into the rectum once or twice a day. The rectum is an 8-inch chamber
connecting your colon to your anus. It receives stool form the colon and holds it until
evacuation happens.
That's everything about the order of digestive system, but if you still have questions or
want to know more about organs in the digestive system, watch the following video: