Digestion Lab Report

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The digestion lab experiment was conducted for the purpose of understanding digestive enzymes and how they work, and under which conditions they function best. Digestive enzymes are present in the body’s gastrointestinal system and mainly function to break down food into nutrients to be absorbed by the body (Oxford Journal, “The Effect of Enzymes on Digestion). The organs that secrete and/or make use of these digestive enzymes are the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, and gallbladder. These organs collectively make up the gastrointestinal system, along with the rectum and anus. The functions of these organs will be introduced as the digestive process is explained ahead. The digestive process begins …show more content…

The small intestine is the organ in the body where most digestion and absorption occurs. It is divided into three parts, the duodenum, ileum, and jejunum. The duodenum is the part of the small intestine in which most of the chemical digestion occurs. The duodenum also helps control the rate of digestion by either increasing or decreasing stomach contractions. Microvilli are small finger-like projections that are present on the epithelial cells lining the small intestine. They function to increase the absorption of nutrients by increasing surface area. Most enzymes that aid in digestion and absorption in the small intestine are produced by the pancreas and enter through the pancreatic duct. However, the epithelium of the small intestine secretes a number of enzymes, including secretin, cholecystokinin, and gastric inhibitory peptide. They function respectfully to stimulate the secretion of water in pancreatic juice, stimulate contraction of the gallbladder, and to stimulate the secretion of insulin by the pancreas (Lab Manual). While proteins and carbohydrates continue to be broken down here, fat is also broken down in the small intestine through a digestive enzyme called lipase. Lipase is produced by the pancreas and enters the small intestine to break down fat into particles that can be absorbed by the

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