I’m a Scientist is like school science lessons meet the X Factor! School students choose which scientist gets a prize of $1000 to communicate their work.
Scientists and students talk on this website. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn. But only the students get to vote.
This zone is the Organs Zone. It has scientists studying health and disease in various parts of our bodies. Who gets the prize? YOU decide!
Hi bennymoff2012,
Thanks for your very good question- the digestive system is on average 7 meters long. It’s main function is to break down the food we eat by pushing/moving along the contents, absorbing nutrients and expelling wastes.
It takes about 8 hours for food to reach your small intestine. Th eundigested material then passes through your large intestine for absorption of water and anything that is not absorbed is removed from the body after 1-3 days.
If you think about the variety of food that we consume, and the different types of nutrients that our body uses for energy, growth and repair- it makes sense that digestion is achieved through a long and complex process of behaviours. The enteric nervous system/mini brain helps to control the movement of food along the digestive system. It also helps to regulate what is absorbed, what chemicals and digestive enzymes need to be secreted (according to what you ate!) and it needs to know when to move to the next stage of digestion. Each organ in the digestive system performs several different specialised functions. The structure and anatomy of the digestive system enables digestion to occur at an optimal rate – if this is not balanced – you may feel ill and suffer from diarrhea or want to vomit.
I hope this has helped answer your question!
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