What Is the Digestive System?

The digestive system breaks down the food we eat.

It is made of lots of organs that work together to change the food we eat into energy and nutrients that our body needs to live.�

The Digestive Tract

The digestive tract includes the mouth, the pharynx (throat), esophagus, stomach, and intestines.

These organs create a path for food to move through the body.

The Mouth

Digestion starts at the mouth. We put food into our mouths and use our teeth to chew it into small pieces.

The mouth has glands that make saliva. Saliva makes the food easier to swallow.

The Esophagus

The esophagus is a muscular tube that helps food move from the throat to the stomach.

The Stomach

The stomach contains millions of glands that produce digestive juices with enzymes and hydrochloric acid. This helps break the food down more.

Small Intestine

The small intestine is where a lot of the nutrients from your food get go into your bloodstream.

Large Intestine

The leftover food goes into the large intestine. The large intestine is also known as the colon.

Rectum and Anus

The waste food that is not used by the body, is stored in the rectum and it leaves the digestive system through the anus