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The Human Body:
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Gastro-Intestinal Systemt
The Gastro-Intestinal System is a complex yet coordinated system that binds various organs with very different functions into an energy-giving mechanism for the body fuel which is needed in order for one to carry out the various daily activities.
The diagram 2.1 below shows a guide towards how the system looks like.
Diagram 2.1
It starts from when food is delivered into the mouth and proceeds to the esophagus, followed by the stomach, then goes on to the small intestine and finally reaches the colon and goes out from the body via the anus.
The processes that are involved as shown in diagram 2.1, are digestion, absorption and secretion. The process of digestion is such that ingested food must be dissolved and broken down into small molecules by way of enzymes. It starts in the mouth and finishes in the small intestine. Absorption is whereby digested material move from the lumen of the GIT across a layer of epithelial cells and enter the blood or lymph. The main areas of the absorptive processes occur in the small intestine. Secretion on the other hand, is the expulsion of in this case, digestive juices that help to break down the food particles.
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