N3 Anatomy and Physiology (1st Sem AY 2022-2023)

How the food changes consistency and form

All throughout the gastrointestinal tract, food undergoes different procedures which cause it to change consistency and form. First of which is chewing, wherein food encounters mechanical and enzymatic breakdown turning it into bolus to enable us to swallow, causing the food to change in form. After going down the esophagus, food enters the stomach, wherein churning and hydrolysis occur, turning bolus into chyme. Another process of hydrolysis then occurs in the small intestine. 

How the body was able to absorb the nutrients from the foods we eat

Once the food is converted into chyme, it goes through the small and large intestines wherein nutrients are absorbed. The small intestine breaks down food products in order to make use of the nutrients for other products in the body. The large intestine or the colon, on the other hand, absorbs water and electrolytes.