Question: How is the digestive system actually controlled by the nervous system?

Keywords: , ,

  1. Hi lilwayne- thanks for your question!

    The digestive system is controlled by the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) which means that when we eat food, we don’t think about how it’s digested. The ANS controls the various digestive functions secretion of saliva, peristalsis and mixing movements along the digestive tract, release of important appetite hormones and digestive enzymes from glands and excretion/removal of waste as feces.

    There are two groups of nerves which control the digestive system – nerves controlled by the brain and nerves within the walls of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine react when their walls are stretched by food. The nerve cells in the wall of the intestine makes up the enteric nervous system (ENS) and control the release of substances that speed up or slow down the digestion, absorption, secretion and movement of food along your digestive tract.

    0

Comments