Follow Nat Geo Kids as we take a journey down through the human digestive system to find out where our grub goes!

 

The human digestive system

It takes around 24 hours for your dinner to wind its way through the nine-metre-long digestive tract. On its trip, it’s mixed with acids and digestive juices, and squeezed and squelched until all the nutrients that the body needs are absorbed. Then, the smelly leftovers, along with billions of dead bacteria, are ready to exit the body. Plop!

Let’s follow your food to learn about the brilliant bits of our bodies that make up the human digestive system…

 

Mouth

Human digestive system mouth illustration

 

It all starts here! Up to 28 strong teeth* chomp your food, breaking it into smaller bits. Meanwhile, the tongue keeps moving the food around, shifting it to the type of teeth that will be best at munching it. It also squeezes the chewed grub into swallowable lumps, pushing them back towards the throat. Gulp!

 

Fast fact: When you swallow, a little flap of cartilage called the epiglottis closes off the windpipe so food doesn’t go down there by mistake.

 

Here, you’ll also find the salivary glands that produce most of the slimy liquid in your mouth. This saliva moistens food, making it easier to swallow. It’s also full of chemicals called enzymes that help to break down food. Amazingly, just the smell of good grub can make your mouth start to water!

 

Fast fact: Your salivary glands can produce up to six cups of saliva per day. Squelch!

*MOST GROWN-UPS HAVE 32 TEETH. YOU USUALLY GROW FOUR ‘WISDOM’ TEETH BETWEEN THE AGES OF 17 AND 24.

 

Oesophagus

Human digestive system oesophagus illustration

Also known as the gullet, this 25cm-long tube contracts to shift chewed food down to your stomach. The squeezing motion of the muscles is called peristalsis and it occurs throughout the digestive system. A slimy mucus is also oozed from the oesophagus to help the food on its way. Easy does it!

 

Fast fact: Thanks to peristalsis, food would get to your stomach even if you were standing on your head!

 

Stomach

Human digestive system stomach illustration

Next stop on our journey through the human digestive system — the stomach! This stretchy muscular bag is about the size of a tennis ball when it’s empty, but expands to the size of a football to store a massive meal. As soon as food plops inside, the stomach lining releases digestive juices and acid that break down the food even more, killing harmful bacteria. Muscles slosh and squelch the food together with the juices until it becomes a sloppy soup called chyme that’s ready to be squirted into the small intestine…

 

Fast fact: The acid in your stomach is so strong it could dissolve an iron nail!* To stop your stomach digesting itself, it’s lined with a protective mucus, and your stomach cells are replaced every few days.

* Please do not eat a nail. Ever.

 

Intestines

Human digestive system intestines illustration

Despite the name, the small intestine is really not that small — it’s a whopping 6.5 metres long! It’s in this 3cm-wide tube that all the nutrients in your mushed-up food pass through the small-intestine lining and into the blood. Once all the goodness is gone, the sloppy mixture passes to the next part of the intestines…

 

Fast fact: The lining of the small intestine is covered with teeny finger-like bumps called “villi”. They give the lining a large surface area to help with absorbing nutrients.

 

More than twice as wide as the small intestine, but only 1.5 metres long, the large intestine’s job is to soak up water, salts and minerals from the indigestible leftovers. Finally, the remaining semi-solid waste, called faeces, travels to the lower colon and rectum for storage. When you go to the loo, a ring of muscle called the anus relaxes to allow the poo out! Super and stinky!

 

Fast fact: Your small and large intestines together are known as your bowels!

 

Liver

Human digestive system liver

This busy brown organ plays an important role in the human digestive system —  it’s your largest internal organ and has about 500 different jobs! It’s like a chemical processing factory — blood carries nutrients there from the small intestine, then the liver decides what to do with them. It also gets rid of toxins (substances that can be harmful to the body), recycles old blood cells, makes bile and other digestive juices, and produces, stores and releases glucose (to give you energy).

 

Fast fact: About one third of the body’s blood flows through the liver every minute!

 

Gallbladder

Human digestive system gallbladder illustration

The role of this green, pear-shaped organ is to store bile (a liquid that aids digestion) and make it thicker and stronger before adding it to the small intestine.

 

Did you know that we have FREE downloadable Human Digestive System Primary Resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

 

Pancreas

Human digestive system pancreas illustration

Your pancreas sits just behind the stomach and makes chemicals called enzymes which help digest nutrients in your food. It also makes insulin, a hormone which helps control your blood sugar levels.

 

Appendix

Human digestive system appendix illustration

Doctors used to think that this thin little organ was useless — a leftover body part from early humans. But today it’s thought that the appendix stores “good bacteria” that can help your digestive system work again after you’ve been poorly.

 

What did you think of our journey through the human digestive system? Leave a comment below and let us know…

 

Pancreas image: DK / Superhuman Encyclopedia. All other images: Getty Images UK.
With thanks to Dr Dewi Byrne.
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COMMENTS

  • sg2468

    cool

  • cool

  • robert

    this is awsome

  • jongchikalunka

    :)

  • Malachy

    Cool but super gross :)

  • Bethia

    WOW!

  • Sophie

    It is gross but cool and funny.

  • Sophie

    The digestive system is so magnificent. And I love how you described alot about it. And Evan added in some fun fact. If you were in high school or elementary I would have moved you up about 8 grades. Well done

  • Ellie

    I loved this

  • sannihith

    awesome facts and nice content

  • Adam Hurst

    Thanks

  • Cool

  • bobby

  • Bottlenose

    Cool!

  • Cool

  • McDonaldDuck667

    NOICE

  • Jace

  • kendra curtwright

    cool

  • jhd u

    wow

  • NotASnake

    Cool!

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    […] National Geographic Kids […]

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    […] National Geographic Kids […]

  • CeeCeeO

    Clear, concise and easily absorbed notes. Thank you.

  • Rhys

    Really Interesting to read!

  • that's gonna help me ace my test

  • Cha

    Cool

  • hrl4172

    very werd

  • Gross but awsome

  • brussell

    I think so too

  • PEPE THE FROG

    THIS IS SCARY!!! By the way, i'm a kid who had a really weird dream about seeing the Egyptians taking peoples guts out! like ewwwwwwww but the strange thing is I saw everyone getting their guts taken out!!!! So if you read this then please help me! I want to get rid of this dream!! Its been 3 days now and I still have the exact dream about peoples guts taken out like WHAT THE HELL! this dream is really scaring me!

  • Aazerah

    THIS IS AMAZING

  • WOW what amazing interesting information

  • Boy

    Nice

  • patatatatatatatatatatata

    some of this

  • olly

    thx

  • Bhadra

    Wow,I got so many things about digestive system .thanks

  • Hitesh Nagle

    The Journey is amazing.! If we eat something, the process of the digestion starts at that time...?

  • kai

    amazed

  • watermelon

    LOL

  • Wow

  • shylet mwale

    Your comment : its so educating and now l know better what my inside is like concerning digestive system. And the importance of each and every apart inside. l can give the knowledge to the young ones for a health lesson and how to care for your body and what to take in as food.

  • Armaan

    Really STRANGE FACTS

  • Kelen

    That is so cool.

  • Shingi

    Wow

  • Kaleia

    Awesome and wow!!!!!

  • Esme

    Very interesting! We learned a lot of new things.

  • litte sweet

    so cool

  • Henry

    Super!

  • Bax

    Awesome!

  • James

    It's cool!

  • Enrico

    blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah

  • Bribri

    Wow that's the one

  • bravin

    cool

  • Yashika

    Very interesting and learnt good facts that I will now remember.

  • mila

    wow!

  • cobra kai

    cool

  • nellyloveslife

    the liver does soooo many jobs imagine what would happen without it. '0'

  • Abhi

    Cool

  • [ERROR]

    That is the weirdest thing

  • Isla

    The Liver was the most interesting. Some of the pictures looked a bit weird but I got used to it.

  • Acook

    lol

  • Winston

    WOW! I never knew that. I thought that it was just your stomach digestive. I learned a lot from this.

  • Derpmerp

    Disgusting

  • Derpmerp

    Ewwwww

  • NIKZ

    sick

  • Vaibhavi

    Why is this super heathy?

  • b

    ok

  • Karen Campbell

    Can you teach about the nervous system?

  • Karen Campbell

    COOL!

  • zariyana

    wow!

  • can you teach about what is inside your bones?

  • Robloxboi123

    Looks good

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