Week 7 reflection

Digestive Juices

The digestive juices are the secretions of the digestive tract that break down food. They include saliva,gastric juice, pancreatic juice,bile,and intestinal juice.The digestive juices are secreted by different organs, it varies widely in chemical composition, and each play different roles in the digestive process.Each is constantly produced by the body in small amounts, but the presence of food as it passes through the digestive tract causes increased production and secretion.

Where does digestion begin in?

Digestion begins in the mouth, where the mechanical action of the teeth and tongue and the chemical action of saliva begin to break down food. Saliva is produced by the salivary glands in the mouth.Upon being swallowed, food heads to the stomach, where it is bathed in gastric juice, the second of the digestive juices. Gastric juice is a nearly colorless, strongly acidic liquid secreted by the gastric glands. Its active food-dissolving ingredients are the digestive enzymes pepsin and rennin, which break down proteins, and hydrochloric acid. Gastric juice also contains mucus to protect the stomach lining from being dissolved by the acid.