Evan Lyons
College Biology
Digestion Essay
Mrs. Childs
Digesting a Meal
A meal such as a piece of pizza is made up of carbohydrates in the crust, protein in the
sauce, and fats in the cheese.
The pizza is first put into the mouth. Bones that are called teeth cut the pizza into a size
that is manageable to swallow. The molars then grind up the piece of pizza into smaller pieces.
Saliva is released and salivary amylase begins to break down the starches in the piece of pizza.
The tongue then combines the pizza with the saliva and it is rolled into a ball that is known as a
bolus.
The piece of pizza then enters the esophagus. The esophagus carries the pizza from the
mouth to the stomach. Peristalsis helps move the bolus of pizza down into the stomach.
Peristalsis are contractions of the esophagus.
Next the piece of pizza comes to the gateway of the stomach; the cardiac sphincter. The
pizza then enters the stomach. There are folds in the stomach called rugae that expand when the
food enters the stomach, allowing more room for digestion. Hydrochloric Acid is in the stomach
juices which helps break down the pizza. Hydrochloric Acid is one of the strongest acids. This is
why the stomach has a thick mucus layer to protect it from being digested itself. Pepsin is also in
the stomach juices. Pepsin is an enzyme that breaks down proteins. The piece of pizza is now a
thick pasty substance known as chime. The pizza spends three to four hours in the stomach
before leaving through the pyloric sphincter.
Pancreatic juices are then excreted which contain more enzymes to digest the pizza.
Lipase digests fats, trypsin digests proteins, and pancreatic amylase digests the starches. Bile is
then produced by the liver. It is stored in the gall bladder when not being used for digestion. Bile
emulsifies fat which are small droplets that are like pudding. All of these enzymes enter the
duodenum, or the first part of the small intestine.
The pizza then enters the small intestine. There are three parts to the small intestine: the
duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. Fingerlike projections called villi line the small intestine
and increase the surface area allowed for digestion to occur. These are made up of microvilli,
lacteal, goblet cells, and blood capillaries. The villi and microvilli help increase the surface area
to about that of a tennis court. This helps absorb all the nutrients needed. Amino acids and fatty
acids are also absorbed the small intestine. The pizza has been in the small intestine for
approximately five to six hours more.
The pizza then enters the large intestine, where it spends the greatest part of its journey.
The large intestine is made of the cecenum, the ascending colon, the transverse colon, the
descending colon, the rectum, the anal canal, and finally the anus. Bacteria help with the process
of digestion and they produce Vitamin K an essential nutrient. Water is absorbed by the intestinal
wall. The piece of pizza is then exited through the anus and becomes feces.
