It is in the mouth, that the Thanksgiving feast begins its journey through the fabulous digestive system. It is here that the lips, cheeks and tongue, carefully position the food that the teeth will chew. This chewing process breaks up the food, this being a part of mechanical digestion. While the teeth grind up the turkey and tasty stuffings, the salivary glands begin emitting enzymes, these enzymes being contained in saliva. This saliva helps to dissolve some foods, and adds mucus to make the food's passage through the digestive system a little more "speedy". The saliva also attacks dangerous microorganisms which enter the mouth. Saliva also contains an enzyme which helps to break down carbohydrates into sugars.
As the food is being ground and coated with saliva, it's passed over the taste buds, which in turn send messages to the
brain. The brain uses this information to decide whether or not the food should be swallowed. The food is then gathered into a ball, called a bolus, and it is pushed down into the pharynx by way of the tongue.
After making its way through the small intestine, the chyme is passed on through the colon, or large intestine. The colon proceeds to remove water from the chyme passing through it, reducing it into solid waste, or feces. Again, through the process of persitalsis, the fecal matter is passed through the colon, where it will then gather at the end of the colon, in rectum. Muscles located in the colon prevent the feces from being released until it becomes convenient for us to expel them from the body, by way of the anus.
This bolus of "Thanksgiving meal" is then passed down the esophagus, the esophagus being a 24cm long tube which connects the pharynx
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