The Digestive System and Enzymes

You got this far without knowing what an enzyme is? Lies. But i'll cover it after this and then you will have to go back and read it all again to link up the enzyme to the properties. Forced double revision.

You need to know about quite a few places in the body though:

Mouth

• Food is moistened with saliva (comtains amylase enzyme that breaks down the starch)
• Food chewed to form bolus (ball-us... caus it's a ball of food... get it?)

Oespohagus

• Tube that takes food from mouth to stomach (peristalsis)

Liver

• Where bile is produced (neutralises stomach acid to allow enzymes to work)

Gall Bladder

• Where bile is stored (then released into small intestine)

Small Intestine

• Produces protease, amylase and lipase. (to break down food and aid digestion)
• Where energy from food is absorbed out into body

Stomach

• It pummels the food with its muscular walls (grrr... so manly)
• Produces protease enzyme (called pepsin)
• Produces hydrochloric acid
• To kill bacteria
• To give the right ph for the protease enzyme to work

Pancreas

• Protease amylase and lipase are produced here. (If only there was a SMALL INTESTINE link)

Large Intestine

• Where excess water is absorbed from the food.

Anus

• Hehehehehe.

Right! The Enzymes:

Digestive enzymes break down the big molecules into the smaller ones. Like a squishy thing... um... a compactor!

Eco friendly Rubbish. Literally.

 Except it breaks down... not compacts... well... scrap that. See, scrap that? Like scrap metal? *sigh*

So learn these:

• Carbohydrases: Break down (digest) starch into sugars.
• Proteases: digest proteins into amino acids.
• Lipase: digests fat to fatty acids and glycerol.