Overview of the Digestive System - Digestive Disorders - MSD Manual Consumer Version (2024)

FAQs

What is the general overview of the digestive system? ›

The digestive system breaks down food and absorbs nutrients for energy and growth. It is a long tube starting from your mouth, going all the way to your anus. Common digestive health conditions are gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), diverticulitis, stomach ulcers, and haemorrhoids.

A digestive disease is any health problem that occurs in the digestive tract. Conditions may range from mild to serious. Some common problems include heartburn, cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, and lactose intolerance.

Common digestive disorders include gastroesophageal reflux disease, cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance and hiatal hernia. The most common symptoms of digestive disorders include bleeding, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, pain, nausea and vomiting.

The GI tract consists of the oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anal canal. The accessory organs include the teeth, tongue, and glandular organs such as salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

The GI tract is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube from the mouth to the anus. The hollow organs that make up the GI tract are the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus. The liver, pancreas, and gallbladder are the solid organs of the digestive system.

What are gastrointestinal diseases? Gastrointestinal diseases affect your gastrointestinal (GI) tract, from mouth to anus. There are two types: functional and structural. Some examples include colitis, food poisoning, lactose intolerance and diarrhea.

However, symptoms such as gas, bloating, pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation can also be due to conditions of the abdominal wall, blood vessels, urinary tract, reproductive organs, or even chest organs. Generalized stomach problems may be due to diet, infection, or inflammation.

Standard imaging tests for gastric conditions include upper gastrointestinal series (UGI), ultrasounds, MRIs, CT scans and X-rays. For an even clearer picture of the gastrointestinal tract, a barium swallow or barium enema may be used in conjunction with an X-ray.

What is wrong with my gut? ›

Frequent discomfort, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and heartburn could be signs that your gut is having a hard time processing food and eliminating waste. You feel tired more often than not. People with chronic fatigue may have imbalances in the gut.

What Is the Digestive System? Motility, digestion, absorption and secretion are the four vital functions of the digestive system. The digestive system breaks down the foods we eat into energy our bodies can use.

The digestive system converts the foods we eat into their simplest forms, like glucose (sugars), amino acids (that make up protein) or fatty acids (that make up fats). The broken-down food is then absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine and the nutrients are carried to each cell in the body.

The digestive system converts the foods we eat into their simplest forms, like glucose (sugars), amino acids (that make up protein) or fatty acids (that make up fats). The broken-down food is then absorbed into the bloodstream from the small intestine and the nutrients are carried to each cell in the body.

Digestion is the process of mechanically and enzymatically breaking down food into substances for absorption into the bloodstream. The food contains three macronutrients that require digestion before they can be absorbed: fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.

The digestive processes are ingestion, propulsion, mechanical digestion, chemical digestion, absorption, and defecation. Some chemical digestion occurs in the mouth. Some absorption can occur in the mouth and stomach, for example, alcohol and aspirin.