HSS 2342 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Taste, Hydrolysis, Cecum
26 Jan 2017
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Digestion: body"s way of breaking down foods into nutrients in preparation for absorption; challenges include: human beings breathe, eat, and drink through their mouths. Air taken in from the mouth must go to the lungs, food and liquid must go to the stomach. Throat must be arranged so that swallowing and breathing don"t interfere with each-other: below the lungs = diaphragm, dome of muscle that separates the upper half of the major body cavity from the lower half. Body needs a passage that will allow food from the mouth to pass through the diaphragm and reach the stomach: contents of digestive tract should be kept moving forward, slowly but steadily. Permits all reactions to reach completion: food must be lubricated with fluids. Too much = liquid that would flow too quickly; too little = form a paste too dry to move at all.
