The digestive system is composed of several different organs; each helping the human body successfully ingest and digest key nutrients. As food enters the mouth, it is broken down into smaller particles. Once the food is chewed, the particles pass through the pharynx down into the esophagus. When the food has made its way down the esophagus, it arrives in the stomach. The stomach stores and churns the food. This process helps prepare the body to absorb what it will use as nutrition. Next the small intestine receives the nutrients and the food is absorbed directly into the bloodstream. .
Whatever the body does not use for nutrition is then passed on to the large intestine, which will eventually leave the body through the rectum. The rectum is the last part of the large intestine, which stores and expels the waste through the anus. Other organs that affect the digestive process include the pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Depending on what we eat or drink, each of these organs serve a purpose in the process; assisting in the breaking down and distributing what the body needs and doesn't need. .
There are a number of complications that can occur in the digestive system and here are some of the medical terms that describe them. Gingivitis refers to the inflammation of the gums. This disease can cause complications in the mouth that can threaten the health of teeth and cause other health issues. Hepatoma is a medical term meaning a tumor of the liver. The word root of hepatoma is hepat, and the suffix of the word means tumor. If someone is diagnosed with hepatoma, they most likely have a damaged liver that can no longer function in the digestive system to protect the body from harmful substances. A third medical term is cholelithiasis, which means the presence of gallstones. Cholelithiasis is an extremely painful process to go through in which the stone must be pass through during urination.