The Digestive System and How it Works

The digestive system is made up of the digestive tract, which is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube from the mouth to the anus. These organs break down and absorb food.

Organs that make up the digestive track are the mouth, the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine (colon), the rectum, and the anus.

Organs that help with digestion but are not part of the digestive tract are the tongue, the glands in the mouth that make saliva, the pancreas, the liver, and the gallbladder.

How the Digestive System Works

Inside this long, twisting tube is a lining called the mucosa. In the mouth, stomach, and small intestine, the mucosa contains tiny glands that produce juices to help digest food.

Two solid organs, the liver and the pancreas, produce digestive juices that reach the intestine through small tubes called ducts. The gallbladder stores the liver’s digestive juices until they are needed in the intestine. Parts of other organ systems (for instance, nerves and blood) play a major role in the digestive system.

Source – digestive.niddk.nih.gov