Digestion and Absorption - Essay Example

"Digestion and Absorption" is a perfect example of a paper on the gastrointestinal system. The human body consists of a number of systems out of which the digestive system is the most extensive and important one. It performs the basic functions of providing energy, enzymes, food, and water to all parts of the body and enables the proper working as well as the growth of the human body. This system is based on various physical and chemical processes.

The overall process involves numerous systems with the initial step starting right from the mouth and intake of the food, leading to the windpipe, and finally to the digestive system. The digestive system is constituent of the stomach which is the main component of this system.

The overall process is a combination of physical, mechanical and chemical processes. The end products are the energy, glucose, fats in case of the extra amount of food being taken.

The purposes are multifold, with providing of energy, it also enables providing breaking of large food particles into small ones.

It involves various chemical processes and chemical substances which are used as enzymes for breaking down and reducing the size in order to make the overall process easy and rapid.

The gastric juices, pepsin, all are present in the digestive system which help in creating the proteins which are vital for the functioning of the body.  Bile, cellulose, bile duct, these are few of the products and components of the digestive system.

It also entails the large intestine and small intestine (Hoffman 2008, 29), with one keeping up the purified content, while the other maintains the distinction and ensures that no impure material gets mixed with the pure, and thereby directs them to the excretion section. The digestive system also allows the heart to function properly for it provides it with energy that is being extracted from the food, and this energy is often transformed in form of the blood that is being supplied to the heart which in turn allows for the proper working of the overall body. While the heart is the chamber that ensures providing fresh blood, it is dependent on the digestive system for extraction of energy and food which provides it with the fuel.

The difference between the chemical and mechanical processes in the digestive processes is the presence and usage of enzymes as in case of a chemical process, while in the mechanical process it is the break down through hard methods such as the chewing, and absorbing and digesting of the food. Movement of muscles, exercise, exertion are few of the types of mechanical digestion while chemical digestion may also involve the usage and presence of acids for this matter (Ireland 2010, 422). The content which is impure or has been left after purification and extraction of the healthy material is being isolated and driven to the large intestine which in turn directs it to the excretory chamber of the body.

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