The functions of the digestive system are to take in food, prepare it for digestion, digestion and expelling waste. A variety of complex organs and parts of the body work together to move food from the mouth to the anus while extracting as many nutrients, vitamins and other necessary parts for the body’s health.

Food Intake
When you eat food, your teeth, tongue and saliva all work together to get the food from its current state into a softer wetter mass. Teeth grind and tear food into smaller parts, while saliva breaks down the food. The tongue positions the food among the teeth, and eventually sends little bits of chewed food down the esophagus, which leads to the stomach.

Digestion
When food enters the stomach, it is immediately assaulted by gastric juices or stomach acid. Powerful acids break down the food even more into a more semi-solid state to send it on to the small intestine. The liver and pancreas release enzymes and bile into the small intestine to get food into its most useable form. The small intestine absorbs the nutritional particles into the bloodstream and extracts every useable part it can.

Waste Elimination
When food leftovers, bacteria and unusable material pass out of the small intestine into the large intestine, the process of waste elimination begins. Waste is processed in the large intestine so that it can be easily and quickly expelled from the body. Water is taken out of the stool as it moves through the large intestine, and the stool is compacted. The stool moves to the rectum, where it is held until it’s time for elimination through the anus.

Contributing Organs
The liver functions as a part of the digestive system by secreting bile into the small intestine. It also filters out harmful chemicals and bacteria. The liver processes nutrients from the small intestine in preparation for delivery throughout the body. The pancreas is another organ that creates digestive liquids into the small intestine. Helpful in breaking down food to a digestible state, the pancreatic enzymes focus particularly on fats and carbohydrates. Insulin is also created there – a key part in using sugar.