The Digestive System Lab

During our activity, our class cut and taped together string and yarn based on various measurements taken on the different organs of our digestive systems. Since it is impossible to physically measure the length of organs such as the stomach, intestines, and esophagus in a classroom setting, we had to use estimates. For example, since the stomach isn't that large, and is known to generally be the size of a hand, we measured the length from our thumb to our pinkie finger in centimeters and used that measurement for the stomach. One "take away" that I really got after this lab was that organs in the digestive system have to be compacted into a tiny pace, so they seem small, but really that have a lot of surface area within them in order to improve functionality and absorb the greatest amount of nutrients for the bad as possible.

Even though my digestive system is longer than my body, I believe that it is able to fit inside the abdomen because the intestines (which are the longest parts of the digestive system) are condensed into small bundles, and the mouth and the esophagus are also used in the respiratory system as well, so they have a dual function and save space in the body.

How long do you think it takes on average for food to move through your entire digestive system? My guess was that food takes 4 hours to move through the entire system. Then, I looked up the answer online from the Mayo Clinic and found out that it actually takes about 6-8 hours to pass through the digestive system in a regular, healthy person. I believe I was wrong because I underestimated the amount of time that it takes to turn food into chyme in the stomach and for the chyme to pass through the intestines as the intestines are actually very long and have a lot of surface area that absorbs the nutrients in food. The link is below.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/digestive-system/expert-answers/faq-20058340

Digestion is different from absorption because in digestion food is just broken down, but in absorption, the nutrients from food is taken into cells so it can be used as energy and keep the body functioning correctly. Some digestive organs include the mouth, and the stomach. Organs involved with absorption include the large and small intestines, the pancreas, and the liver.

During this unit, I would like to find out how different diseases can affect the digestive system and how those diseases factor into causing or encouraging obesity.