Digestive system

A schematic front view, not to scale. Press a label to hide or reveal it, drag it to move it, and choose a part to read what it does.

Parts

Main parts All parts

Labels

Press a label to hide or reveal it. On wider screens, drag it, or use the arrow keys once it is selected, to move it.

Choose a label to read what the part does.

A simplified schematic, not a scale drawing: sizes and numbers of parts are for illustration only.

Name the parts

A number appears on the diagram; choose the name of the part it points to. If you are wrong you read what your choice does and what the right part does, then try again.

Only the parts to review and an unfinished round are kept, on this device only, with no name or account.

Use it in class

The worksheet and the board get exactly what is set now. You can edit the worksheet before printing, and its answer key comes on a separate page. On the board everything stays editable, and nothing is added to a live lesson.

Worksheet: blank labels Worksheet: blank labels, names given Labelled diagram on the board Blank labels and the names on the board Numbered blank labels on the board

How to use it

Choose Main parts for beginners, or All parts for older classes.
Hide all the labels, then ask the class to name each numbered part before you reveal its label.
Choose a label to read what the part does, and practise naming the parts by their numbers.
For class: print a blank-label worksheet, with its answer key on a separate page, or put the diagram on the board with editable labels.

Worked examples

The route food takes

Mouth
Pharynx
Oesophagus
Stomach
Small intestine
Large intestine
Rectum
Anus

Food passes through the alimentary canal in this order. The duodenum is the first part of the small intestine, and the rectum is the last part of the large intestine. Food never passes through the salivary glands, liver, gallbladder or pancreas, which send their juices into the canal through ducts, nor into the appendix.

The parts and what they do

A simplified human digestive system (not to scale): the alimentary canal that food passes through from mouth to anus, and the organs that add digestive juices to it.

1. Mouth: Where food enters; the teeth chew it and saliva starts the digestion of starch.
2. Teeth · further part: Cut, tear and grind food into small pieces that are easier to swallow and digest.
3. Tongue · further part: A muscle that mixes food with saliva, shapes it into a soft ball and pushes it back to be swallowed.
4. Salivary glands · further part: Make saliva, which moistens food and contains an enzyme that begins to digest starch.
5. Pharynx · further part: The throat: a passage shared by food and air that sends swallowed food into the oesophagus.
6. Oesophagus: A muscular tube that pushes food from the pharynx down to the stomach by waves of muscle contraction.
7. Stomach: A muscular bag that churns food and mixes it with acid and enzymes, starting the digestion of proteins.
8. Liver: Makes bile, which helps break fats into tiny droplets so they are easier to digest.
9. Gallbladder · further part: A small bag that stores bile from the liver and squeezes it into the small intestine after a meal.
10. Pancreas: A gland that makes pancreatic juice, rich in enzymes, and sends it into the small intestine to digest food.
11. Small intestine: A long, coiled tube where digestion is completed and nutrients pass into the blood through tiny finger-like folds called villi.
12. Duodenum · further part: The first part of the small intestine, where bile and pancreatic juice are added to the food.
13. Large intestine: A tube wider than the small intestine, where water is absorbed from undigested food, which then becomes faeces.
14. Appendix · further part: A small finger-shaped pouch attached to the start of the large intestine; food does not pass through it and it has no major role in digestion.
15. Rectum: The last part of the large intestine, where faeces are stored until they leave the body.
16. Anus: The opening at the end of the alimentary canal through which faeces leave the body.

Sources

The sentences on this page are Bayyinli's own, and the drawing was made for it. These sources were used to check names and facts only: