DM3: Anatomy and Physiology Task 1 Jasmine Crompton
(D1: 1.1)
The Digestive System:
What is the function of our digestive system?
The Digestive system is one of the body's eleven organ systems. The digestive system is made up of organs that
are used to digest and break down the food that we eat and absorb and use the vital nutrients from food that our
body needs to function. It then disposes of any remaining waste. The nutrients are things like fats, proteins and
carbohydrates. Proteins are broken down into amino acids which are good to help grown and repair body
tissues. Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose which is essential for brain and gives our bodies energy.
Fats are broken down into fatty acids which help all the cells in our body's cells function as they should. The
digestive system has three main functions these are: the digestion of the food we eat, absorption of nutrients and
the disposal of any food waste. Digestion is the process in which our food begins to be broken down into
separate components which our bodies can absorb. Absorption is when the nutrients are passed into our blood
stream following this any food that is not useful to our bodies is disposed of and passes out of our bodies which
is disposal.
What is the structure of our digestive system?
The digestive is system is made up of different organs these are: mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine,
large intestine, pancreas, liver, gall bladder, rectum and anus. Each organ has its own vital function that makes
up the structure of the digestive system. Health Direct (2021) stated that the digestive system “Is a long,
twisting tube that starts at the mouth and goes through the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large
intestine and anus”, this describes how all the organs that are a part of the digestive system work together all
the way through the body.
The digestive system begins in your mouth when you chew your food, our teeth crush the food and saliva is
produced, this adds moisture which helps food to travel through the oesophagus. This is the GI tract. Food
travels through the oesophagus through peristalsis which are involuntary muscle contractions that move food
through the oesophagus towards our stomachs. Saliva also contains enzymes, saliva amylase, which begins the
process of breaking down food. The oesophagus then delivers food to the stomach. Once food is in the stomach
enzymes such as pepsin and gastric acid work to continue breaking down food into a “useable form”
(Professional, CC, Medical 2023.) Once food is broken down enough it is released into the small intestine.
The small intestine that continues to break down food into different nutrients. The small intestine works with the
liver and the pancreas to do this. The pancreas releases enzymes such as lipase and trypsin which help the small
intestine break down fats and proteins. The liver produces bile which also helps with the breakdown of food.
The liver bile is stored in the gall bladder and is also released from the gall bladder.
Digested food then travels to the large intestine where the nutrients that have already been broken down are
absorbed through the intestinal wall and transported round the body through our bloodstreams. The large
, DM3: Anatomy and Physiology Task 1 Jasmine Crompton
intestine then processes food waste, so it is ready to be disposed of through the anus, this is done by removing
water from the waste to form stool. The final part of the structure is the rectum and the anus.
The rectum is what connects the large intestine to our anus so that stool can pass through and ultimately be
disposed of. The anus is the final part of the digestive system at the end of the rectum. It opens to let food waste
come out and then closes.
(D1: 1.1)
The Skeletal System:
What is function of our skeletal system?
The functions of skeletal system are shape and support, attachment, locomotion, production, protection and
storage. The skeletal system is a support framework for our bodies that gives it structure and shape. The muscle,
tendants, bones and ligaments which all attach to each other and facilitate movement this is attachment. Our
bones act as internal levers, and our muscles pull on our bones which is locomotion. Within our bones there is a
soft part in the centre called bone marrow that produces red and white blood cells, this is production. Our
skeletal system is also essential to protect our internal organs from damage and storing essential minerals such
as calcium. It is made of four main organs which are: bones, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. There are two
hundred and six bones, more than nine hundred ligaments and approximately four thousand tendons in our
skeletal system. Which all work together to help it function properly.
What is the structure of our skeletal system?
The skeletal system as previously mentioned is what gives the body structure. Ligaments are what connect bone
to bone and hold them together they are a connective tissue. Cartilage covers the end of our bones, without
cartilage our bones would rub against one another. Tendons attach our muscle to our bones and are also a
connective tissue. Our bones connect with each other to form joints such as elbows and knees. Joints are what
allow us to move our bones, this is made possible by our muscles pulling on them.
The skeleton has two main subdivisions that are known as axial skeleton and appendicular skeleton. The axial
skeleton consists of the skull, spine and ribcage. The skull protects our brain. The spine protects our spinal cord,
which is what connects our brain to the rest of our bodies. The spine also enables us to move around and bend.
The ribcage protects our vital organs that are in our chests like our heart and lungs.
The appendicular skeleton consists of the pelvic girdle, shoulder girdle and the bones of the arms and legs. The
pelvic girdle transfers the weight of our upper to the lower body such as our legs when we are sitting or
standing, it also has attachment points that help with locomotion. The shoulder girdle is what attaches our upper
limbs to the axial skeleton, it also enables us to move our arms. The arms bones are essential to be able to use
and move your arms. The leg bones support the weight from the rest of the body and facilitate us walking.
What are the different types of bones?
