My Digestive System Lab

The Digestive System Lab

1. My "takeaways" from this lab is that the small intestine is actually the longest part of the digestive tract and can make, for me, about 80% of the alimentary canal. This makes sense because most of the nutrition absorption occurs in the small intestine along with the chemical digestion. Included, though, in the small intestine which can make it so large is the liver, gallbladder and pancreas. Towards the beginning of the alimentary canal are the smaller aspects such as the mouth and the esophagus that lead into the stomach. They each have their own quick  ways to help with the tract and they lead the food to the small intestine but the small intestine does the heavy work.  

2. My height is 1.68 meters and my digestive system is 9.449 meters long. With that comparison, my digestive system is 5.6 times longer than my height and I believe that the reason it is able to fit into our abdomen is because it is folded and compacted together. Another way it can fit inside our abdomen is by the wrapping around the other organs. 

3. My guess for how long it takes for food to go all the way through the digestive tract is 3 hours; the reasoning for this response is because athletes are told to eat every 3 hours. According to "Mayo Clinic", it takes food an average of 53 hours to pass through the body. To pass through the stomach and small intestine it takes 6-8 hours, but to pass through the large intestine it takes much longer. some factors that may influence the time is the amount of fiber that is consumed because more fiber slows down the digestive system but it cleans out our so that the canal is open. Another influence may be the amount of food a person eats because if they continuously eat, they canal may not be able to focus on the food that it istrying to digest that has already been eaten. 

4. Digestion is the breakdown of foods into the macro molecules so that later the cells are able to absorb the nutrients that has been broken down. The pancreas is the main place where enzymes are produced and secreted to help speed up the digestion process. The pancreas is located in the small intestine and the lining of the SI is covered with micro villi that help increase absorption. Digestion, though, starts in the mouth where teeth break up the food and saliva has enzymes in it that help break down the food as well. 

5. A topic that I would like to learn more about is how the protein and lipid are able to change into enough glucose to support the body.