Chapter 1: Digestive System

Imagine your favourite lunch. You saver each bite as it goes into your mouth, and into your throat. Yet digestion does not stop at the mouth. In humans, there is an entire digestive system which breaks down food and extracts the nutrients and produces feces which is excreted. This chapter will outline the basic introduction to each organ, significant structural aspects, notable functions and overall location with respect to anatomy.

This chapter will follow the overall path of food through the body otherwise referred to as the alimentary canal, which spans from the mouth to the anus and each organ in between. However, this chapter will also introduce various accessory organs like the pancreas, liver and gallbladder which play important roles in assisting in digestion. Further, this chapter will outline the blood supply of the digestive system and various peritoneal folds – sheets of smooth tissue – which hold each organ in place.

For a more in depth analysis of the digestive system visit MF3 for McMaster medical students or xyz for non-McMaster medical students.