digestive system
Meaning of digestive system: The digestive system is a continuous tract of organs, aided by the liver and pancreas, breaking food into nutrients the body can absorb and use.
Definition of digestive system
The digestive system is the group of organs responsible for taking in food, breaking it down into components the body can absorb, and eliminating what remains as waste. It centers on a long, continuous tube called the gastrointestinal tract, running from the mouth to the anus, along with several organs that support this tract's function.
Digestion begins in the mouth, where chewing and saliva start to break food down, and continues through the esophagus into the stomach, where acid and enzymes further break down food, and then into the small intestine, where most nutrient absorption occurs. The liver, pancreas, and gallbladder support this process by producing and delivering bile and digestive enzymes into the small intestine.
Remaining material passes into the large intestine, where water is absorbed and waste is formed and stored before leaving the body through the rectum and anus as a bowel movement. Coordinated muscular contractions move food and waste through the entire length of the digestive system.
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Used in a sentence
Imaging of the digestive system was obtained to evaluate the source of the patient's abdominal pain.
Good to know
The digestive system extends well beyond the stomach and intestines, since the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder are essential supporting organs whose secretions are required for normal digestion even though food never passes directly through them.