The Human Body System

Digestive System Function, Structure, and Homeostasis

 

              The Digestive system is one of the most important systems in the body in maintaing homeostasis. This system is responsible for breaking down food into energy and nutrients needed for the body to function. Without this important system, there would be no energy for the body to move and process correctly. This system has 9 main organs that are responsible for the digestion and absorption of food. These organs include the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (colon), anus, liver, gallblatter, and pancreas. Each of these has its own function and has its own job in the digestive system. If one of these organs fail, it could throw off the whole system and cause many problems. Each one of these functions is described in detail on the "Organ Functions" page. Some of the organs in this system even have functions in other systems and play many different roles in keeping your body going. As this system continues to support other systems providing energy and stability, it is important to keep track of all the food you put into it.

               Large food molecules are vital for the Digestive System to work. There are two main reasons why this is so. One reason is that molecules that are generally small are more easily absorbed into the villi. This is through facilitated diffusion. However, the larger molecules need to be broken down first so this process can occur. The second reason is that the food we eat is a combination of different organisms. Our bodies are not used to these foreign compounds so they have to be broken down first before being absorbed. Both of these reasons are closely related and have similarities and differences. In any case, the body needs these larger molecules of food to live.

               Enzymes are very important in the digestion of food. They play one very important key role in this system; beaking down food. These enzymes are biological catalysts in digestion. They are secreted by the pancreas and heal to break down food, mostly dome in the stomach. These enzymes spped up the digestion process by lowering the amount of activation energy needed to start the reaction and make it more effictive to absorb certain nutrients. There are other ways to digest foods, for example the body's temperature, but it occurs way slower than enzymes. This is why enzymes are very important and needed in the body's digestion process.