We+Like+Cells!


 * We Like Cells

Jack Newman, Sam McCabe and Ben Martin **

The Digestive System is a vital part of the human body’s survival. Without it, we could not exist. We use it everyday without thinking. So why is it so important?

It all starts with your mouth. As you chew food, salivary glands inside your mouth release saliva which starts to partly break up food. The saliva also makes the food slippery and easy to swallow. Then, the food (now called bolus) travels down your Oesophagus by the muscles squeezing the food down into your stomach. These muscles contract with wave like movements. Once the food is into the stomach, strong muscles churn each mass of bolus up. After it has been churned and it is mushy, the stomach acids kick in and in about 3-6 hours the bolus is now chyme (a soupy kind of liquid) and is off into the small intestine. The small intestine is a like a long folded up tube that fits neatly into your body. One part of it is called the jejunum. This is where the nutrients are absorbed and here’s how it happens: first of all, the jejunum wall produces enzymes along with the ones made by the pancreas. Then, the enzymes separate all the carbohydrates, fat and protein from the waste. Then those nutrients are sent into your blood stream and flow around the body giving it energy. The undigested food and water is sent out into the large intestine where it is excreted through the anus as faeces.

By Jack

media type="youtube" key="DFyt7FJn-UM" height="385" width="480"Here is a video explaining Homeostasis. Homeostasis is the interconectivness and balance of the body's systems.

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Above: By Travis Finlay


 * Once your brain has finished telling you to eat the food that’s in your hand it goes on an interesting adventure. First off it goes through the esophagus where your brain is trying to get your food even more compact for your stomach. Then while its in your stomach it is churning so it can get the nutrients out of your food and into your body. While in the stomach, the liver and gall bladder drop in some liquid to make your food from whatever color it was in to a brown like color. After this it goes thorugh the small intestine, which despite its name is 6.7 metres long.

It is only called the smalll intestine because it is so thin. But it is stretchable so it can let those big pieces of food through. This will make it even more compact then it already is. Is it just me or does the aim of the digestive system to make things small and compact? It is here in the small intestines that all of the nutrients get absorbed from the food. The small intestine needs some help to complete all of these tasks and he gets help from 3 friends. The liver, the gall bladder and the pancreas.After this it will go through the large intestine and the large intestines basic task is to make it even more compact. After it goes through the small intestine it gets held up by the rectum and then you get the feeling that you need to excrete solids. And then once you do sit down, it goes out through your Anus**.

By Ben Martin

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Jack's Demo Explanation

Ben's Explanation