Essay On The Digestive System

The digestive system is a group of organs that perform the process of digestion, which is food, containing nutrients, is eaten and broken down into different components. This whole system is designed uniquely to perform to turn food into energy you need to survive. The digestive system starts with the mouth and ends with the anus.

The mouth being the very beginning of the digestive tract is literally when the first bite of food is taken. Chewing up food breaks the food into little pieces, while saliva mixes with the food to begin the process of breaking it down. After the food has been broken down, it enters the esophagus, which is essentially the throat. The esophagus receives food from the mouth when swallowed by peristalsis, which is a

First is the pancreas, which secretes digestive enzymes into the duodenum. They break down protein, fats and carbohydrates. Insulin is also made by the pancreas and secretes it directly into the bloodstream. Secondly is the liver, the liver has a wide variety of functions, but the main function is to process the nutrients absorbed from the small intestine. Plus, the liver is the body’s chemical factory, which means it takes materials absorbed by the intestine and makes other chemicals the body needs to maintain it. Lastly is the gallbladder, which stores and concentrates bile and releases it into the duodenum to help absorb and digest fats. (Digestive System Function & Organs | Cleveland Clinic, n.d)

Being that the digestive system is made up of a lot of parts, makes it an easy target for a lot of different diseases. A main disease or problem of the digestive system would be a hernia. A hernia happens when an internal organ or tissue bulges through a weak area of muscle. Most hernias are in the abdomen but there are many different types including: inguinal, umbilical, incisional, hiatal, and congenital diaphragmatic. There are surgeries for hernias to repair the opening in the muscle wall, usually with a piece of mesh. (Hernia: MedlinePlus,

Celiac disease is a digestive disorder that damages the small intestine. People with this specific disease can’t eat gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. I’ve met a lot of people who have said that they are gluten free because of celiac disease, or just because of a preference of not eating gluten to make them feel better. For a while, I thought it was just a fad, but it seems to actually be a thing that really helps people. When it comes to treatment for celiac disease, you just need to cut gluten out of your diet. I thought there was not a surgery for this, but “a small percentage (2-5%) of adult-onset celiac disease patients develops refractoriness or premalignant complications, like ulcerative jejunitis and Enteropathy Associated T-cell Lymphoma.” (Surgery for Celiac Disease - Celiac Disease Foundation, n.d) So in those two diseases, sugery is indicated to remove the ulcerated area and the lymphoma from the intestine. (Treatment for Celiac Disease | NIDDK,