Digestive System: Structure, Function & Diseases

The digestive system is responsible for the utilization of food. It can be divided into different areas and is essential for a functioning organism. However, the digestive tract is also prone to disease.

What is the digestive system?

The digestive system refers to the organs responsible for absorption, transport and processing of ingested food. In addition to the oral cavity, this includes the esophagus and gastrointestinal tract. The individual organs perform a wide variety of tasks and draw all the necessary nutrients from the food. Since very many organs are part of the digestive tract, various diseases can occur. Most of them are harmless, but some of them can be life-threatening in some circumstances.

Anatomy and structure

The digestive system can be divided into two parts. One is the head part and the other is the trunk part. The oral cavity is also a part of the digestive system. The head part consists of the mouth parts, i.e. the lips, the teeth and the tongue as well as the oral cavity itself. Its main purpose is to break down the ingested food so that it can later be digested in the trunk part. The salivary glands make the food slippery with the help of saliva and the pharynx finally leads the food into the trunk part. This consists of the esophagus and the stomach. The small intestine is also part of it with duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Furthermore, the large intestine and anus are a part of the digestive system. Digestion therefore proceeds from top to bottom. It begins with the ingestion of food and ends with the excretion of feces. In between, the individual components perform a wide variety of tasks to utilize the food.

Function and tasks

The digestive system has the task of taking in food, breaking it down, utilizing it and then excreting the remains. The organs mentioned have a wide variety of functions in this regard. The mouth parts naturally serve to break down food so that it can be transported. The esophagus has the function of making the comminuted food slippery with saliva so that it does not injure the pharynx and stomach. In addition, it serves mainly as a channel for the onward transport of food. The stomach is needed to convert the ingested food into food pulp and enrich it with gastric juice. The small intestine and especially the bile duct have the task of adding pancreatic juice to the food pulp so that proteins and fats can be absorbed in the jejunum. Vitamins and water are also taken from the food pulp here. The large intestine serves as a storage place for feces and also has the function of reabsorbing water and electrolytes. The anus is the last part of the digestive tract and is used for excretion of feces. Bowel emptying proceeds at intervals that can be influenced only slightly. Emptying itself also proceeds involuntarily. The digestive system thus has a wide variety of functions, making it the most important part of the human organism. In summary, it serves to absorb and process food.

Diseases and ailments

The digestive system consists of various stations that harbor a high risk of disease due to the great burden of daily food intake. For example, the esophagus can be affected by so-called movement disorders. Tumors as well as reflux disease can also occur here. In the stomach itself, inflammation, stomach ulcers or duodenal ulcers can occur. Gastric cancer and gastric lymphoma can also occur. The small intestine may be affected by bacterial overgrowth. Bleeding as well as absorption disorders of certain substances such as sugar are also common complaints. The pancreas is often affected by cystic changes or tumors. Inflammations as well as tumors of the papilla vateri are also frequent clinical pictures. In the colon, diverticulosis, diverticulitis, collagenous colitis or similar diseases may occur. Similarly, pathogens can colonize and damage the colon. Anal tumors and colon cancer are serious diseases of the colon. The gallbladder itself may be affected by gallstones. Inflammation, tumors or other disorders of the gallbladder or bile duct can also occur here. In addition, there are a number of functional diseases of the digestive system. For example, functional dyspepsia or irritable bowel syndrome. Cysts can also be distributed throughout the digestive tract.The liver is a central component of the digestive system and can cause various complaints if the wrong food is fed to it. This is how liver cysts, inflammation caused by viruses or liver cirrhosis develop. Prolonged exposure or overdose of certain medications or drugs can cause acute liver failure. Chronic autoimmune hepatitis is also a common condition. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and fatty liver hepatitis are equally common. A rare disease of the liver is known as hemochromatosis. This is a congenital disorder that favors the absorption of iron. This causes damage to the organs and especially to the liver.