The Human Digestive System

How do we digest food?

            The human body requires a constant supply of food in order to carry out its numerous activities. The food we consume performs two main functions in our body. First, it supplies proteins for the growth of the body and second, it supplies energy to the tissues for the day to day work.

The Human Digestive System

            The process of digestion is very complex and elaborate. Digestion begins at the mouth. When we chew food, the saliva produced in the mouth moistens it. The saliva contains a substance called ptyalin, which converts the starch of the food into simple sugar. This is the first stage of digestion. Therefore we should swallow the food only after chewing it properly.

            After that, the food material passes through the esophagus to the stomach where the gastric juices get mixed with it. The walls of the stomach secret juices containing an enzyme called pepsin and hydrochloric acid. Pepsin breaks down the molecules of proteins into peptones.

            From stomach, the food then enters the small intestine, where it mixes with three other digestive juices- bile, pancreatic juice and intestinal juice. The liver produces bile. Its main function is to digest the fats. The pancreatic juice is basic in nature and neutralizes the acids. It also digests the proteins. The intestinal juice converts sugar into glucose. Here, many enzymes also mix with the food. The digestion of food mainly takes place here. The digested food is them absorbed by the blood vessels present in the wall of small intestine. The remaining waste of the food now goes to the large intestine and is finally excreted out of the body as faeces through the anus.

What is Cirrhosis of the Liver?

            Cirrhosis is a liver disease, which renders a part of the spongy liver tissue scarred and useless. Some of the main reasons of the disease are excessive alcohol consumption, inflammation of the liver. The liver is the largest organ in the body, and plays a very vital role since it helps to digest food and keeps the blood clear. Once the liver tissue gets damaged, it may become useless and stop making proteins and purifying the blood.

            The most common type of cirrhosis is known as Laennec’s cirrhosis. Although it can occur at any age, it usually affects people between the ages of 40 to 60 years. It is more commonly found among males rather than females. To begin with, this involves an abnormal increase in liver fat. Soon, the liver starts degenerating, and in the end only a little fat is left.

            Cirrhosis can block the blood vessels of the liver and cause internal bleeding. Many people afflicted by cirrhosis become weak and lose weight. In certain cases, the abdomen gets swollen with excess body fluids. The patient’s skin and eyes may become yellow.

            Cirrhosis is of several types. Post necrotic cirrhosis is caused by viral infection or by toxins. Pageantry cirrhosis occurs when the iron deposition in the liver cells crosses the normal level because of blood disorder, or too much iron in the duct, or an accumulation of iron form blood transfusions. In Wilson’s disease, the quantity of copper present in cirrhosis is indicated by large, soft lesion in the liver, which erodes the tissues and eventually leave masses of scared tissues and fissures.

            Cirrhosis may also give rise to high blood pressure in the portal vein that can lead to hemorrhages in the spleen, liver, esophagus or intestines. The disease can be treated in the early stages by drugs, proper diet and by avoiding alcohol. In some extreme cases, surgical operation may be needed. If not controlled, cirrhosis can lead to coma and eventually cause death.