Digestive Overview
Digestive Overview Objectives
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List and describe the basic digestive functions, including the role and locations of both mechanical and chemical digestion.
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Identify the locations of organs within the thoracic (chest), abdominal, and pelvic cavities.
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Summarize the path food takes from ingestion through processing to egestion as fecal material.
This is a big organ system with many different organs and functions. We are starting with an overview that provides perspective of what the system has to accomplish.
Before we delve into the various digestive organs, it is important to have a clear idea of where organs are actually located in the body.
Here is a tour through the thoracic (chest), abdominal, and pelvic cavities using a torso model.
Now a closer look at the primary digestive organs that will be encountered throughout this guide.
Mark takes us on the path that food takes as it is digested into chyme, nutrients are absorbed, and feces is egested.
Digestion is both mechanical and chemical; here are real-world examples of each digestive process.
The next section introduces the upper gastrointestinal tract (G.I.T.), including the mouth, esophagus, and stomach.
Check your knowledge. Can you:
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list and describe the basic digestive functions, including the role and locations of both mechanical and chemical digestion?
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identify the locations of organs within the thoracic (chest), abdominal, and pelvic cavities?
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summarize the path food takes from ingestion through processing to egestion as fecal material?
Go back to the Digestive System Guide Overview
Go forward to the Upper G.I.T. Page
Digestive System Lecture Guide Contents
The material from this guide and corresponding lecture is assessed on the weekly quiz.
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Digestive System
