The Digestive System
Kianni Stith
SCI/241
The University of Phoenix
March 28, 2013

Digestion begins before a bite is even taken. The time it takes for the body to digest food varies depending on if you are a man or woman, size of food you ate, age of the person eating it, speed of metabolism, and what it is you’ve consumed. For the average, healthy individual, digestion usually takes between 24 and 72 hours. At the sight and smell of food, your mouth waters (triggered by the salivary gland) and is ready to be chewed. Once you’ve taken a bite, the saliva moistens the food, then the teeth chew it up, forming what is called a “bolus”. The bolus moves to the pharynx to be swallowed and moved to the stomach. Once swallowed the Bolus starts an incredible journey. It travels down the esophagus where it is further broken down into smaller and smaller pieces until it reaches the stomach. Once in the Stomach, the bolus is mixed and metabolized even further. In the stomach the bolus is mixed with fluids that change it into “CHYME”. The chime is metabolized in the stomach for 2-6 hours (depending on the size and type of food eaten). Once food enters the body, a quite interesting expedition begins. The second half of digestion, where waste is determined is wasted, is less pretty, yet equally magnificent. Once food leaves the stomach, it enters the small intestine, where most of the absorption of nutrients occurs. Bile from the liver usually takes care of digesting the fats while bicarbonate secretions and digestive enzymes aid in taking care of the rest. Next, what is not absorbed into the small intestine moves into the large intestine (separated