Showing posts with label Digestive System. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Digestive System. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Large Intestine


We've now learned about all of the parts of the large intestine.

Food enters the large intestine at the cecum, goes past the appendix, up the left side of the body at the ascending colon, across the transverse colon, down the descending colon, over the sigmoid colon and out the rectum.

All of these parts after the small intestine are together called the large intestine.



(from: wikipedia - large intestine)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Dorsal interossei hand muscles

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Rectum



We've now learn how food goes up the ascending colon on the right side of your body, across your transverse colon and down your descending colon and over to the middle at your sigmoid colon.

We've learned that feces is a fancy word for poop, or sometimes we say bodily waste.

When the bodily waste gets to your sigmoid colon, it goes down to the very last part of your colon called your rectum.
The rectum has nerve senses in it that send a message to your brain telling you that it's time to go to the bathroom.

When you go to the bathroom, your rectum pushes out the bodily waste, and you are finally done digesting the food that started all the way up in your esophagus!

(from: wikipedia - rectum)



Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lumbrical Hand Muscles

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Appendix


We've now learned about the cecum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon and sigmoid colon.

One interesting part of the large intestine is called the vermiform appendix, or sometimes just the appendix.

It's a small tube connected right below the cecum.
The used up food goes to your ascending colon, and your appendix is hanging below that.

Scientists aren't really sure what the appendix is for. Some think it is part of our body that we used to need long ago when we mostly just ate plants and not meat.
Others think it has to do with helping some of the things called bacteria that live in our colons and help us digest food.

Sometimes the appendix can get sick and cause problems in our bodies.
Since we don't really need the appendix, doctors can do a surgery called an appendectomy to cut it off.


(from: wikipedia - vermiform appendix)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hypothenar

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Sigmoid Colon


We've now learn how food goes up the ascending colon on the right side of your body, across your transverse colon and down your descending colon.

After that the intestine curves back toward the middle of your body.
When it does this it makes a little curve upward.

This curve upward allows the body to get rid of gases without having to push out feces.

Feces is a fancy science word for poop, and we know passing gas means a toot!
These are all funny things we laugh about sometimes, but they are part of our bodies, and doctors have to know how they work so they can take care of us if we get sick.

So the curve up of the sigmoid colon lets us push gases out of our body without feces coming out too.


(from: wikipedia - sigmoid colon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hand Muscles - Thenar

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Descending Colon


We've learned how food goes up the ascending colon on the right side of your body and across your transverse colon.

After that it goes to your descending colon.
The word descending means going down, and the food which is now all used up goes down your descending colon and waits to be removed from your body.


(from: wikipedia - descending colon)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forearm Supinators

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Transverse Colon


We've learned about the first part of the large intestine, called the ascending colon.
After the used up food goes up the ascending colon which is on the right side of your body, it turns and goes across your stomach area, all the way to the left side of your body.

This tube that takes the food from the right side to the left is called your transverse colon.


The transverse colon gets water and salt from the food as it takes it over to the other side of your body.

(from: wikipedia - transverse colon)

The word transverse means going across.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forearm Pronators

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Ascending Colon


We've learned how after food leaves your small intestine, it goes to your cecum.

After the food leaves your cecum, it continues in a tube that goes up on the right side of your body called the ascending colon.

The job of the ascending colon is to get water and salt from the food as it goes through the last part of your digestive system.

(from: wikipedia - ascending colon)

The word ascending means going up.

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forearm Extensors

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Cecum


We've learned now how food travels down your esophagus to your stomach, then through the parts of your small intestine.

After your mushed up food leaves your small intestine, it goes into part of your large intestine called the cecum.
cecum
(from: wikipedia - cecum)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Forearm Flexors

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Villi


We've learned now that the duodenum, ileum and jejunum are all part of the small intestine.

Inside your intestines are small things along the walls like little fingers.
These are called your intestinal villus, or just one of them is called a villi.

They are very small, and they help the intestines absorb all the good things from your food that your body needs.
intestinal villus
(from: wikipedia - intestinal villus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Calf Muscle

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Small intestine


We've learned now that the duodenum connects to the jejunum, which connects to the ileum.

These tubes are all part of what is called the small intestine.

The small intestine is very long and winds around in your body in the area below your stomach.
If you measured your small intestine from the end where it starts, all the way around each winding turn to where it ends, it would be around 20 feet long.
That's 3 times taller than most people!

small intestine
(from: wikipedia - small intestine)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Quadriceps

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Ileum


We just learned that in your digestive system, after the duodenum comes the jejunum.

After that comes the ileum. It is a very long tube that also helps your body use up the good things in your food, like the vitamin B12.

ileum
(from: wikipedia - ileum)



Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gluteus Maximus

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Jejunum


After the food goes through the duodenum, it continues down into the jejunum.

It is a very long twisting and turning tube that your food slowly goes through over several hours, and your body soaks up good things from your food while it is going through your jejunum.
jejunum
(from: wikipedia - jejunum)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rectus Abdominis

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Liver


We just learned about the Gall Bladder

The liver is a part of your digestive system near your stomach.

The parts of your body like your stomach or gall bladder are called organs, and the liver is the largest organ in your body.

Just like the gallbladder, it helps put bile into the duodenum, but it does a lot of other things too.

It helps store the sugar in your body for when you need energy, it helps the blood in your body clean and healthy, it helps create chemicals called hormones that help change your body, and it helps clean out bad things in your blood called toxins.

liver
(from: wikipedia - liver)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Latissimus Dorsi

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Gallbladder


We just learned about the Pancreas

The gallbladder is part of our digestive system, connected to the duodenum.

When food comes through the duodenum, it sends a message to the gallbladder.
The gall bladder lets out something called bile which is a chemical that takes fat from our food and breaks it up into smaller chunks.

gallbladder
(from: wikipedia - gallbladder)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Trapezius

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Pancreas


The pancreas is a part of the digestive system that is right next to the duodenum.

It is connected to the duodenum, and when food passes by it lets out chemicals that help your body control the amount of glucose (which is like sugar) it uses for energy.

It releases chemicals called insulin, glucagon, somatostatin and polypeptide.

pancreas
(from: wikipedia - pancreas)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pectorals

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Duodenum


After the mushed up food comes out of your stomach through your pylorus, it goes into your duodenum.
Your duodenum helps mush up your food some more using special chemicals, it tells the pylorus when to close up and not let too much food through.

It also connects to other parts of your digestive system like your liver, gall bladder and pancreas.
Those parts of your body let out liquids and chemicals that help break your food up.

duodenum
(from: wikipedia - duodenum)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Deltoids

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Stomach - Pylorus


After the food is all mushed up into chyme, it slowly goes out of your stomach into a tube called the pylorus.

Your stomach's job of mushing up all the food is done, so now it's time for your body to do something with all that mushed up food and it sends it down the tube.
pylorus
(from: wikipedia - pylorus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Triceps

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Stomach - Bolus and Chyme


When you chew up and swallow your food, the mushed up food is called bolus.

After your stomach's proteases and hydrochloric acid work on the food, it is called chyme.
stomach
(from: wikipedia - stomach)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Biceps

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Stomach - Protease


We just learned that the stomach has hydrochloric acid in it to help break down your food.

It also has things called proteases that are special chemical molecules that also help break the food down for your body.

proteases
(from: wikipedia - protease)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Hyoid Bone

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Stomach - Hydrochloric Acid


While the food that is in your stomach is getting mushed up by the peristalsis, it is also getting turned to mush by a chemical called hydrochloric acid.

This acid is so strong that if you had a glass of just hydrochloric acid and you touched it with your hands, it would burn your skin.

Luckily your stomach has this gooey slimy stuff in it called mucus all along the walls of your stomach that protect it from the acid.
stomach
(from: wikipedia - stomach)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Ear Bones - Hammer Anvil Stirrup