essay about process of ingestion

If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked.

To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser.

High school biology

Course: high school biology   >   unit 8.

• Meet the gastrointestinal tract!
• Kidney function and anatomy

The digestive and excretory systems review

• The digestive and excretory systems

The digestive system

Accessory organs.

• Salivary glands : moisten food and begin chemical digestion of starches.
• Liver : creates bile for fat digestion, detoxifies blood, processes absorbed vitamins
• Gallbladder : stores bile produced by the liver
• Pancreas : secretes pancreatic juices to help digestion of proteins and carbohydrates

The excretory system

• the skin , which removes excess water and salt via sweat,
• the lungs , which exhale carbon dioxide, and
• the liver , which breaks down toxic substances in the blood and convert nitrogenous waste into urea

Urinary tract

• Filtration : Blood enters a nephron, which filters out impurities.
• Reabsorption : The impurities move through tubules, while the rest of the blood is reabsorbed through capillary walls into the blood.
• Excretion : Urine is transported from the kidneys through the ureters and into the urinary bladder . It remains stored in the bladder until it is released through the urethra.

Common mistakes and misconceptions

• Incorrect : Digestion begins in the stomach.
• Correct : While some digestion occurs in the stomach, the process actually begins in the mouth, where chewing and salivary amylase act on the food.
• Incorrect : The digestive system produces urine.
• Correct : Some people think that the digestive system has two outlets—one for feces and one for urine. However, urine is a product of the excretory system, not the digestive system.
• Incorrect : The small intestine is shorter than the large intestine.
• Correct : The small intestine is actually longer than the large intestine. In fact, at approximately 20 feet in length, the small intestine is nearly four times as long as the large intestine (5 feet long)! However, the intestines are named for their diameters , not their lengths. The large intestine has a diameter of about 3 inches compared to the small intestine, with a diameter of about 1 inch.

Want to join the conversation?

• Upvote Button navigates to signup page
• Downvote Button navigates to signup page
• Flag Button navigates to signup page

23.2 Digestive System Processes and Regulation

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Describe six fundamental activities of the digestive system, giving an example of each
• Compare and contrast the neural and hormonal controls involved in digestion

The digestive system uses mechanical and chemical activities to break food down into absorbable substances during its journey through the digestive system. Table 23.3 provides an overview of the basic functions of the digestive organs.

External Website

Visit this site for an overview of digestion of food in different regions of the digestive tract. Note the route of non-fat nutrients from the small intestine to their release as nutrients to the body.

Digestive Processes

The processes of digestion include six activities: ingestion, propulsion, mechanical or physical digestion, chemical digestion, absorption, and defecation.

The first of these processes, ingestion , refers to the entry of food into the alimentary canal through the mouth. There, the food is chewed and mixed with saliva, which contains enzymes that begin breaking down the carbohydrates in the food plus some lipid digestion via lingual lipase. Chewing increases the surface area of the food and allows an appropriately sized bolus to be produced.

Food leaves the mouth when the tongue and pharyngeal muscles propel it into the esophagus. This act of swallowing, the last voluntary act until defecation, is an example of propulsion , which refers to the movement of food through the digestive tract. It includes both the voluntary process of swallowing and the involuntary process of peristalsis. Peristalsis consists of sequential, alternating waves of contraction and relaxation of alimentary wall smooth muscles, which act to propel food along ( Figure 23.2.1 ). These waves also play a role in mixing food with digestive juices. Peristalsis is so powerful that foods and liquids you swallow enter your stomach even if you are standing on your head.

Digestion includes both mechanical and chemical processes. Mechanical digestion is a purely physical process that does not change the chemical nature of the food. Instead, it makes the food smaller to increase both surface area and mobility. It includes mastication , or chewing, as well as tongue movements that help break food into smaller bits and mix food with saliva. Although there may be a tendency to think that mechanical digestion is limited to the first steps of the digestive process, it occurs after the food leaves the mouth, as well. The mechanical churning of food in the stomach serves to further break it apart and expose more of its surface area to digestive juices, creating an acidic “soup” called chyme . Segmentation , which occurs mainly in the small intestine, consists of localized contractions of circular muscle of the muscularis layer of the alimentary canal. These contractions isolate small sections of the intestine, moving their contents back and forth while continuously subdividing, breaking up, and mixing the contents. By moving food back and forth in the intestinal lumen, segmentation mixes food with digestive juices and facilitates absorption.

In chemical digestion , starting in the mouth, digestive secretions break down complex food molecules into their chemical building blocks (for example, proteins into separate amino acids). These secretions vary in composition, but typically contain water, various enzymes, acids, and salts. The process is completed in the small intestine.

Food that has been broken down is of no value to the body unless it enters the bloodstream and its nutrients are put to work. This occurs through the process of absorption , which takes place primarily within the small intestine. There, most nutrients are absorbed from the lumen of the alimentary canal into the bloodstream through the epithelial cells that make up the mucosa. Lipids are absorbed into lacteals and are transported via the lymphatic vessels to the bloodstream (the subclavian veins near the heart). The details of these processes will be discussed later.

In defecation , the final step in digestion, undigested materials are removed from the body as feces.

Age-related changes in the digestive system begin in the mouth and can affect virtually every aspect of the digestive system. Taste buds become less sensitive, so food isn’t as appetizing as it once was. A slice of pizza is a challenge, not a treat, when you have lost teeth, your gums are diseased, and your salivary glands aren’t producing enough saliva. Swallowing can be difficult, and ingested food moves slowly through the alimentary canal because of reduced strength and tone of muscular tissue. Neurosensory feedback is also dampened, slowing the transmission of messages that stimulate the release of enzymes and hormones.

Pathologies that affect the digestive organs—such as hiatal hernia, gastritis, and peptic ulcer disease—can occur at greater frequencies as you age. Problems in the small intestine may include duodenal ulcers, maldigestion, and malabsorption. Problems in the large intestine include hemorrhoids, diverticular disease, and constipation. Conditions that affect the function of accessory organs—and their abilities to deliver pancreatic enzymes and bile to the small intestine—include jaundice, acute pancreatitis, cirrhosis, and gallstones.

In some cases, a single organ is in charge of a digestive process. For example, ingestion occurs only in the mouth and defecation only in the anus. However, most digestive processes involve the interaction of several organs and occur gradually as food moves through the alimentary canal ( Figure 23.2.2 ).

Some chemical digestion occurs in the mouth. Some absorption can occur in the mouth and stomach, for example, alcohol and aspirin.

Regulatory Mechanisms

Neural and endocrine regulatory mechanisms work to maintain the optimal conditions in the lumen needed for digestion and absorption. These regulatory mechanisms, which stimulate digestive activity through mechanical and chemical activity, are controlled both extrinsically and intrinsically.

Neural Controls

The walls of the alimentary canal contain a variety of sensors that help regulate digestive functions. These include mechanoreceptors, chemoreceptors, and osmoreceptors, which are capable of detecting mechanical, chemical, and osmotic stimuli, respectively. For example, these receptors can sense when the presence of food has caused the stomach to expand, whether food particles have been sufficiently broken down, how much liquid is present, and the type of nutrients in the food (lipids, carbohydrates, and/or proteins). Stimulation of these receptors provokes an appropriate reflex that furthers the process of digestion. This may entail sending a message that activates the glands that secrete digestive juices into the lumen, or it may mean the stimulation of muscles within the alimentary canal, thereby activating peristalsis and segmentation that move food along the intestinal tract.

The walls of the entire alimentary canal are embedded with nerve plexuses that interact with the central nervous system and other nerve plexuses—either within the same digestive organ or in different ones. These interactions prompt several types of reflexes. Extrinsic nerve plexuses orchestrate long reflexes, which involve the central and autonomic nervous systems and work in response to stimuli from outside the digestive system. Short reflexes, on the other hand, are orchestrated by intrinsic nerve plexuses within the alimentary canal wall. These two plexuses and their connections were introduced earlier as the enteric nervous system. Short reflexes regulate activities in one area of the digestive tract and may coordinate local peristaltic movements and stimulate digestive secretions. For example, the sight, smell, and taste of food initiate long reflexes that begin with a sensory neuron delivering a signal to the medulla oblongata. The response to the signal is to stimulate cells in the stomach to begin secreting digestive juices in preparation for incoming food. In contrast, food that distends the stomach initiates short reflexes that cause cells in the stomach wall to increase their secretion of digestive juices.

Hormonal Controls

A variety of hormones are involved in the digestive process. The main digestive hormone of the stomach is gastrin, which is secreted in response to the presence of food. Gastrin stimulates the secretion of gastric acid by the parietal cells of the stomach mucosa. Other GI hormones are produced and act upon the gut and its accessory organs. Hormones produced by the duodenum include secretin, which stimulates a watery secretion of bicarbonate by the pancreas; cholecystokinin (CCK), which stimulates the secretion of pancreatic enzymes and bile from the liver and release of bile from the gallbladder; and gastric inhibitory peptide, which inhibits gastric secretion and slows gastric emptying and motility. These GI hormones are secreted by specialized epithelial cells, called endocrinocytes, located in the mucosal epithelium of the stomach and small intestine. These hormones then enter the bloodstream, through which they can reach their target organs.

Chapter Review

The digestive system ingests and digests food, absorbs released nutrients, and excretes food components that are indigestible. The six activities involved in this process are ingestion, motility, mechanical digestion, chemical digestion, absorption, and defecation. These processes are regulated by neural and hormonal mechanisms.

Interactive Link Questions

Answers may vary.

Review Questions

Critical thinking questions.

1. Offer a theory to explain why segmentation occurs and peristalsis slows in the small intestine.

2. It has been several hours since you last ate. Walking past a bakery, you catch a whiff of freshly baked bread. What type of reflex is triggered, and what is the result?

Answers for Critical Thinking Questions

• The majority of digestion and absorption occurs in the small intestine. By slowing the transit of chyme, segmentation and a reduced rate of peristalsis allow time for these processes to occur.
• The smell of food initiates long reflexes, which result in the secretion of digestive juices.

This work, Anatomy & Physiology, is adapted from Anatomy & Physiology by OpenStax , licensed under CC BY . This edition, with revised content and artwork, is licensed under CC BY-SA except where otherwise noted.

Images, from Anatomy & Physiology by OpenStax , are licensed under CC BY except where otherwise noted.

Access the original for free at https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction .

Anatomy & Physiology Copyright © 2019 by Lindsay M. Biga, Staci Bronson, Sierra Dawson, Amy Harwell, Robin Hopkins, Joel Kaufmann, Mike LeMaster, Philip Matern, Katie Morrison-Graham, Kristen Oja, Devon Quick, Jon Runyeon, OSU OERU, and OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

NOTIFICATIONS

The human digestive system.

• + Create new collection

The human digestive system consists of a long muscular tube and several accessory organs such as the salivary glands, pancreas and gall bladder. It is responsible for food ingestion and digestion, absorption of digestion products and the elimination of undigested materials.

Ingestion – the taking in of food

Food is taken into the mouth where it is physically broken down by the teeth into smaller pieces.

The presence of food in the mouth triggers a nervous reflex that causes the salivary glands to deliver a watery fluid called saliva to the mouth.

Saliva moistens and lubricates the food, with the aid of a slippery substance called mucin, making swallowing easier as well as dissolving some of the food and allowing it to be tasted.

The presence of a digestive enzyme, known as amylase, in saliva allows chemical digestion of starches to begin.

Digestion – breaking the large into the small

The Digestion of food involves both mechanical and chemical processes as the food is broken down into smaller components . The swallowing reflex allows food from the mouth to be moved into the oesophagus. Here, waves of muscular contractions known as peristalsis move food down this thin-walled tube to a muscular bag known as the stomach.

Both physical and chemical digestion occurs within the stomach. The continual churning movements of the muscular walls of the stomach mix food with a digestive fluid, known as gastric juice.

Cells lining the stomach produce this highly acidic fluid, and the enzymes present commence the chemical breakdown of the protein component of the food. Eventually, the food is reduced to a creamy paste known as chyme.

A structure at the bottom of the stomach known as the pyloric sphincter controls the entry of chyme into the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. Ducts from the gall bladder and pancreas feed fluids rich in bile salts and digestive enzymes into the duodenum. In addition, some of the cells lining the small intestine produce a fluid known as ‘succus entericus’ made up mostly of water, mucus and sodium bicarbonate.

Collectively, these fluids help to lubricate the partially digested food as it moves down the gut, neutralise the acidic chyme, emulsify fats and oils and enzymatically digest the protein, carbohydrate and fatty acids present. This breaking down of large molecules into small molecules is essential as it enables the absorption of these smaller molecules into the bloodstream.

Absorption – uptake of the soluble products of digestion

The small intestine is 5–6m in length, and most of the chemical digestion occurs within the first metre. Once digested into smaller molecules, absorption can take place.

Millions of tiny finger-like structures called villi project inwards from the lining of the small intestine. These structures greatly increase the surface area of contact that the products of digestion have with the small intestine, allowing for their rapid absorption into the bloodstream. Once absorbed, they are then transported to the liver by means of the hepatic portal vein.

Egestion – the removal of undigested food materials

On reaching the end of the small intestine, all the digested food products, along with the minerals and vitamins that are useful to the body, should have been removed from the watery contents. What remains consists of the indigestible components of food such as cellulose from the consumption of plant-based foods. These materials are then passed on to the large intestine.

The 4 main functions of the large intestine are:

• recovery of water and electrolytes (sodium, chloride) from indigestible food matte r
• formation and storage of faeces
• fermentation of some of the indigestible food matter by bacteria
• maintaining a bacterial population.

It has been estimated that there are over 500 species of bacteria present in the large intestine, and these friendly (commensal) bacteria perform a variety of functions. For example, undigested carbohydrates (fibre) are metabolised to short-chain fatty acids, and small amounts of vitamins, especially vitamin K and the vitamin B group, are produced for absorption into the blood.

As undigested material accumulates in the rectum, it stimulates a response that leads to the evacuation of the waste through the anus.

Related content

Digestion chemistry – introduction curates Hub resources on the human digestive system.

Designing a model of the human digestive system – unit plan guides students to design a working model of part of the human digestive system that can be built in the classroom.

Activity ideas

The activity Labelling the human digestive system uses the interactive Label the human digestive system to explore some of the main structures of the digestive system.

Check out the ruminant digestive system with this activity and interactive .

See our newsletters here .

Would you like to take a short survey?

This survey will open in a new tab and you can fill it out after your visit to the site.

• Biology Article

Human Digestive System

Digestive system of humans.

The digestive tract of humans starts with the mouth and ends with the anus. It includes different structures such as the mouth, oesophagus, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, gall bladder, and anus.

Table of Contents

Introduction Structure Parts

• Small Intestine

Large Intestine

Accessory organs, digestion process.

• Mixing and Movement

Disorders Functions  Notes

The Human Digestive System

The digestive system of the human body comprises a group of organs working together to convert food into energy for the body. Anatomically, the digestive system is made up of the gastrointestinal tract, along with accessory organs such as the liver, pancreas and gallbladder. The hollow organs that make up the gastrointestinal tract (GI tract) include the mouth, stomach, oesophagus, small intestine and large intestine that contains the rectum and anus.

Human Digestive System and Nutrition involve the intake of food by an organism and its utilization for energy. This is a vital process which helps living beings to obtain their energy from various sources. The food which we eat undergoes much processing before the nutrients present in them are utilized to generate energy. This processing is known as digestion. Humans and other animals have specialized organs and systems for this process.

The digestion process involves the alimentary canal along with various accessory organs and organ systems. In humans, the process is quite simple due to our monogastric nature. This means that we have a one-chambered stomach, unlike other animals such as cows, which have four chambers.

Some parts of nervous and circulatory systems also play a significant role in the digestion process. A combination of nerves, bacteria, hormones, blood and other organs of the digestive system completes the task of digestion.

Let us have a detailed look at the human digestive system, its parts and functions. Also provided at the end of the chapter are digestive system notes.

Also Read:  Alimentary Canal

Diagram Of The Human Digestive System

The diagram given below represents different parts of the human digestive system that convert food into essential nutrients absorbed by the body.

Parts of the Human Digestive System

The digestive system of the human body comprises a group of organs that work together in converting food into energy and other basic nutrients to power the body. The food we take in is digested and utilized by our body, and the unused parts of the food are defecated.

The digestive system of the human body is the sum of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT; also called alimentary canal) and accessory organs (tongue, liver, pancreas, etc.). These two parts together help in the digestion process.

The alimentary canal is the long tube through which the food that we eat is passed. It begins at the mouth (buccal or oral cavity), passes through the pharynx, oesophagus or food pipe, stomach, small intestines, large intestines, rectum and finally ends at the anus. The food particles gradually get digested as they travel through various compartments of the alimentary canal.

Accessory organs are organs which participate in the digestion process but are not actually a part of GIT. They stimulate the digestion by releasing certain enzymes that help in breaking down the food.

Let us have a detailed look at the digestive system of the human body, along with its parts and functions:

Food starts its journey from the mouth or the oral cavity. There are many other organs that contribute to the digestion process, including teeth, salivary glands, and tongue. Teeth are designed for grinding food particles into small pieces and are moistened with saliva before the tongue pushes the food into the pharynx.

A fibromuscular y-shaped tube attached to the terminal end of the mouth. It is mainly involved in the passage of chewed/crushed food from the mouth through the oesophagus. It also has a major part in the respiratory system, as air travels through the pharynx from the nasal cavity on its way to the lungs.

This is a muscular tube that connects the pharynx, which is a part of an upper section of the gastrointestinal tract. It supplies swallowed food along with its length.

Also Read:  Food Pipe

It serves as a muscular bag which is situated towards the left side of the abdominal cavity, beneath the diaphragm. This vital organ acts as a storage for the food and provides enough time to digest meals. The stomach also produces digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid that maintains the process of digestion.

Mucous : It is an aqueous secretion produced by the mucous membranes. It functions by protecting the stomach lining and gastric pits from the acid, which is produced by the glands to destroy the bacteria that entered along with the food particles.

Digestive enzymes : They are the group of enzymes which functions by breaking down polymeric macromolecules like biopolymers into their smaller and simpler substances.

Hydrochloric acid : It is the digestive fluid formed by the stomach during the process of digestion. It functions by destroying harmful microorganisms present in the food particles.

The small intestine is a thin, long tube of about 10 feet long and a part of the lower gastrointestinal tract. It is present just behind the stomach and acquires a maximum area of the abdominal cavity. The complete small intestine is coiled and the inner surface consists of folds and ridges.

This is a thick, long tube measuring around 5 feet in length. It is present just beneath the stomach and wraps over the superior and lateral edges of the small intestine. It absorbs water and consists of bacteria (symbiotic) that support the breakdown of wastes to fetch small nutrients.

Also Read:  Large Intestine

Waste products are passed into the end of the large intestine called the rectum and eliminated out of the body as a solid matter called stool. It is stored in the rectum as semi-solid faeces which later exits from the body through the anal canal through the process of defecation.

It is a large gland present just behind the stomach. It is short with its anterior connected to the duodenum and posterior pointing towards the left part of the abdominal cavity. The pancreas releases digestive enzymes to complete the process of chemical digestion.

Read More:  Pancreas

The liver is a roughly triangular, reddish-brown accessory organ of the digestive system located to the right of the stomach. It produces bile , which helps in the digestion of fat in the small intestine. The bile is stored and recycled in the gallbladder. It is a small, pear-shaped organ which is located just next to the liver.

Also Read:  Cellulose in Digestion

The process of digestion begins from the mouth and ends in the small intestine – the large intestines’ main function is to absorb the remaining water from the undigested food and enable bacterial fermentation of materials that can no longer be digested.

The alimentary canal or the gastrointestinal tract is a series of hollow organs and tubes that begins from the mouth cavity and continues into the pharynx, through the stomach, small intestines, large intestines, and finally ending at the anus. Food particles gradually get digested as they travel through various compartments of the gastrointestinal tract.

The digestion process takes place in the following steps.

The very first step involves mastication (chewing). The salivary glands, along with the tongue, helps to moisten and lubricate food, before being pushed down into the food pipe.

It involves the process of lubricating and manipulating food and pushing it down the food through the food pipe (using peristalsis ), and into the stomach.

The stomach, small intestine, liver, and pancreas secrete enzymes and acids to aid the process of digestion. It functions by breaking down food particles into simple components and easily absorbable components.

Also Read:  What is Liver

The process of converting complex food particles into simpler substances in the presence of enzymes and acids secreted by different digestive organs.

Read more: What are digestive juices?

This process begins in the small intestine where most of the nutrients and minerals are absorbed. The excess water in the indigestible matter is absorbed by the large intestines.

The process of removing indigestible substances and waste by-products from the body through the process of defecation.

In a nutshell, the digestion process consists of the six following steps:

Ingestion  ⇒ Mixing and Movement  ⇒  Secretion  ⇒  Digestion  ⇒ Absorption  ⇒ Excretion

Also Read:  Gastrointestinal Tract

Disorders of the Human Digestive System

Vomiting : It is the ejection of stomach contents through the mouth.

Diarrhoea : It is the abnormal watery bowel movement. Prolonged diarrhoea eventually leads to dehydration.

Constipation : A condition in which the faeces are clutched within the rectum due to an irregular bowel movement.

Indigestion : A pain or discomfort in the stomach which is caused when food is not digested properly, resulting in the feeling of fullness.  Indigestion is mainly caused due to inadequate enzyme secretion, food poisoning, anxiety, overeating and eating spicy foods.

Also Read:  Difference between trachea and oesophagus

Functions of the Human Digestive System

Digestion and absorption are the two main functions of the digestive system.

Digestion is necessary for breaking down food particles into nutrients that are used by the body as an energy source, cell repair and growth.

Food and drink need to be converted into smaller molecules of nutrients before it is absorbed by the blood and carried to the cells throughout the body. The body breaks the nutrients present in the drinks and food into carbohydrates, vitamins, fats and proteins.

Human Digestive System Notes

• The human digestive system breaks down food to release energy essential for the body to carry out its activities.
• The process of digestion takes place in 6 major steps.
• The food is ingested by the alimentary canal and is propelled through the body for further processing.
• The autonomous nervous system controls the peristalsis, contraction and relaxation of muscles within the alimentary canal wall.
• The food is passed to the small intestine where it is digested, and the nutrients are absorbed.
• Water, electrolytes and vitamins are absorbed by the large intestine and the waste is defecated.

Also Read:  Mouth and Buccal Cavity

To learn more about the human digestive system parts and functions, as well as related topics such as the digestion process and disorders of the digestive system, keep visiting  BYJU’S Biology or download the BYJU’S app, for further reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Deduce the function of the human digestive system..

The digestive system consists of the alimentary canal and the accessory organs. Their main function is to break down the ingested food into its components and produce vital nutrients and energy required to sustain life.

What are accessory organs?

Accessory organs are organs which are not part of the digestive system; however, they aid in the digestion process by performing many secondary functions. The main accessory organs of the digestive system are the tongue, liver, pancreas and gall bladder.

Outline the process of digestion, step by step.

The process of digestion involves the following steps, namely:

List out the parts of the digestive system.

• Mouth & Buccal Cavity

Explain the role of the tongue as an accessory organ.

The tongue is not a part of the digestive system, but it provides support functions such as moving and manipulating the food within the buccal cavity. Furthermore, moistening food also helps to swallow and pass through the oesophagus without much resistance.

Register at BYJU’S to explore digestive system notes and more.

Put your understanding of this concept to test by answering a few MCQs. Click ‘Start Quiz’ to begin!

Select the correct answer and click on the “Finish” button Check your score and answers at the end of the quiz

Visit BYJU’S for all Biology related queries and study materials

Your result is as below

Request OTP on Voice Call

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post My Comment

Excellent notes

its good thing for learning

Its very good article and for learning

It is important for everybody because after knowing it anybody could become able to care of his or her health.

Thanks a lot. It really helped me

Year it really helped I passed my exam

Thank you byjus it really help me a lot

Notes are very good 👍👌

Thank u so much for your help! Byjus is really doing great work.

Thanks a lot for helping me with my biology project

Thanks for your help.

Thank you for helping students especially for those who want to write the exam

It helps me a lot. Awesome notes. Very good

Helpful 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks a lot, very good

Thanks for your help great😊

Thank you for your help👍👍👍

Thank you BYJUS because of you only I got full marks in my exams and trust me because each and every single thing is described so nicely and in so simple language. (VERY HELPFUL MUST DOWNLOAD BYJUS TO GET GOOD AND EVEN EXTRA MARKS : ) ^_^ )

Thanks for this brief notes which help me to cover my digestion topics

Thanks a lot for this such an informative notes It’s really helpful for me👍keep growing

Thank you so much sir. It’s such an informative note great efforts.

I understood the digestion process more nicely.

Thanks for these brief notes which help me to cover my digestion topics

It helps us in study

• Share Share

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

The Process Essay The process pattern of organization is especially importantin scientific writing. For example, it is used to describe biological processessuch as T cell lymphocyte production, chemical processes such as the interactionof drugs, and technical processes such as a colonscopy.         The definition essay contains an introductory paragraph , body paragraphs , and concluding paragraph . Each part has a basic pattern of organization. However, before we examine these patterns, let's first look at a sample outline for the digestiveprocess. This outline, along with the adapted sample essay , is used by permission of student Hanan Adnan, who was in Ms. Rania Al-Nakib's 2001 spring semester HSC English 182 class. Outline   I. Introduction    Thesis: Ingestion, digestion, and absorption are the three major steps involved in the digestive process. II. Food is ingested.      A. Food enters the mouth.     B. Food is chewed.     C. Food is ready to travel to the stomach. III. Food is digested.      A. Food is mixed with acidic gastric juices in the stomach.     B. The partially liquid food moves from the stomach to the small intestine.     C. Enzymes are secreted. IV. Absorption      A. The digested food passes through the walls of the small intestine.      B. The digested food is absorbed into the bloodstream. V. Conclusion      Paraphrased Thesis: The digestion process involves three major steps: ingestion, digestion, and absorption. Return to the top of page Process Essay Pattern of Organization   INTRODUCTION

1. State what the process is and why it is important.

The digestive  process is important in maintaining the lives of living organisms and in providing them with needed energy.

2. Give background information, and define the process.

Groups of organs, such as the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and intestines, work together to perform this complex task. Digestion is the process of breaking down food from large molecules into small ones to make it easier for absorption.

3. State the thesis sentence to include the purpose and the main idea of the essay.

The three major steps involved in the digestive process are ingestion, digestion, and absorption. Return to the top of page

Body Paragraphs

• Topic sentence

Ingestion, which occurs in the mouth, is the first step in the digestive process.

• Major supporting sentence(s)

After food enters the mouth, the teeth chew it. AND Saliva, which is produced by the salivary glands, plays a major role in breaking down the food into smaller pieces.

• Minor supporting sentence(s)

These small pieces travel to the stomach through the esophagus.

Concluding Paragraph

1. Paraphrase the thesis sentence.

2. Summarize the main steps of the process.

The Completed Essay

Introduction to the Digestive System

The digestive system includes the digestive tract and its accessory organs, which process food into molecules that can be absorbed and utilized by the cells of the body. Food is broken down, bit by bit, until the molecules are small enough to be absorbed and the waste products are eliminated. The digestive tract, also called the alimentary canal or gastrointestinal (GI) tract , consists of a long continuous tube that extends from the mouth to the anus . It includes the mouth, pharynx , esophagus , stomach , small intestine , and large intestine . The tongue and teeth are accessory structures located in the mouth. The salivary glands, liver , gallbladder , and pancreas are major accessory organs that have a role in digestion . These organs secrete fluids into the digestive tract.

Food undergoes three types of processes in the body:

Elimination

Digestion and absorption occur in the digestive tract. After the nutrients are absorbed, they are available to all cells in the body and are utilized by the body cells in metabolism .

The digestive system prepares nutrients for utilization by body cells through six activities, or functions.

The first activity of the digestive system is to take in food through the mouth. This process, called ingestion , has to take place before anything else can happen.

Mechanical Digestion

The large pieces of food that are ingested have to be broken into smaller particles that can be acted upon by various enzymes . This is mechanical digestion, which begins in the mouth with chewing or mastication and continues with churning and mixing actions in the stomach.

Chemical Digestion

The complex molecules of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are transformed by chemical digestion into smaller molecules that can be absorbed and utilized by the cells. Chemical digestion, through a process called hydrolysis , uses water and digestive enzymes to break down the complex molecules. Digestive enzymes speed up the hydrolysis process, which is otherwise very slow.

After ingestion and mastication, the food particles move from the mouth into the pharynx, then into the esophagus. This movement is deglutition, or swallowing. Mixing movements occur in the stomach as a result of smooth muscle contraction . These repetitive contractions usually occur in small segments of the digestive tract and mix the food particles with enzymes and other fluids. The movements that propel the food particles through the digestive tract are called peristalsis . These are rhythmic waves of contractions that move the food particles through the various regions in which mechanical and chemical digestion takes place.

The simple molecules that result from chemical digestion pass through cell membranes of the lining in the small intestine into the blood or lymph capillaries . This process is called absorption.

The food molecules that cannot be digested or absorbed need to be eliminated from the body. The removal of indigestible wastes through the anus, in the form of feces , is defecation or elimination.

Your Best College Essay

Maybe you love to write, or maybe you don’t. Either way, there’s a chance that the thought of writing your college essay is making you sweat. No need for nerves! We’re here to give you the important details on how to make the process as anxiety-free as possible.

What's the College Essay?

When we say “The College Essay” (capitalization for emphasis – say it out loud with the capitals and you’ll know what we mean) we’re talking about the 550-650 word essay required by most colleges and universities. Prompts for this essay can be found on the college’s website, the Common Application, or the Coalition Application. We’re not talking about the many smaller supplemental essays you might need to write in order to apply to college. Not all institutions require the essay, but most colleges and universities that are at least semi-selective do.

How do I get started?

Look for the prompts on whatever application you’re using to apply to schools (almost all of the time – with a few notable exceptions – this is the Common Application). If one of them calls out to you, awesome! You can jump right in and start to brainstorm. If none of them are giving you the right vibes, don’t worry. They’re so broad that almost anything you write can fit into one of the prompts after you’re done. Working backwards like this is totally fine and can be really useful!

What if I have writer's block?

You aren’t alone. Staring at a blank Google Doc and thinking about how this is the one chance to tell an admissions officer your story can make you freeze. Thinking about some of these questions might help you find the right topic:

• What is something about you that people have pointed out as distinctive?
• If you had to pick three words to describe yourself, what would they be? What are things you’ve done that demonstrate these qualities?
• What’s something about you that has changed over your years in high school? How or why did it change?
• What’s something you like most about yourself?
• What’s something you love so much that you lose track of the rest of the world while you do it?

If you’re still stuck on a topic, ask your family members, friends, or other trusted adults: what’s something they always think about when they think about you? What’s something they think you should be proud of? They might help you find something about yourself that you wouldn’t have surfaced on your own.  

How do I grab my reader's attention?

It’s no secret that admissions officers are reading dozens – and sometimes hundreds – of essays every day. That can feel like a lot of pressure to stand out. But if you try to write the most unique essay in the world, it might end up seeming forced if it’s not genuinely you. So, what’s there to do? Our advice: start your essay with a story. Tell the reader about something you’ve done, complete with sensory details, and maybe even dialogue. Then, in the second paragraph, back up and tell us why this story is important and what it tells them about you and the theme of the essay.

THE WORD LIMIT IS SO LIMITING. HOW DO I TELL A COLLEGE MY WHOLE LIFE STORY IN 650 WORDS?

Don’t! Don’t try to tell an admissions officer about everything you’ve loved and done since you were a child. Instead, pick one or two things about yourself that you’re hoping to get across and stick to those. They’ll see the rest on the activities section of your application.

I'M STUCK ON THE CONCLUSION. HELP?

If you can’t think of another way to end the essay, talk about how the qualities you’ve discussed in your essays have prepared you for college. Try to wrap up with a sentence that refers back to the story you told in your first paragraph, if you took that route.

SHOULD I PROOFREAD MY ESSAY?

YES, proofread the essay, and have a trusted adult proofread it as well. Know that any suggestions they give you are coming from a good place, but make sure they aren’t writing your essay for you or putting it into their own voice. Admissions officers want to hear the voice of you, the applicant. Before you submit your essay anywhere, our number one advice is to read it out loud to yourself. When you read out loud you’ll catch small errors you may not have noticed before, and hear sentences that aren’t quite right.

ANY OTHER ADVICE?

Be yourself. If you’re not a naturally serious person, don’t force formality. If you’re the comedian in your friend group, go ahead and be funny. But ultimately, write as your authentic (and grammatically correct) self and trust the process.

And remember, thousands of other students your age are faced with this same essay writing task, right now. You can do it!

trending now in US News

Diddy makes shocking statement after vile video of him beating,...

Families flee Boy Scouts of America as organization moves toward...

'Anxious' gambler, 72, says Atlantic City casino won't pay out...

Several students at historically black Morehouse College turn...

14-year-old dies following medical emergency on American Airlines...

6-year-old girl bravely saves NYU Law commencement with...

Ex-beauty queen shares warning after being duped out of $2K in...

High school senior killed weeks before graduation by alleged...

Biden speeds up asylum process for migrants headed to nyc, la, chicago.

• View Author Archive
• Get author RSS feed

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

The Biden administration is accelerating the asylum timeline for migrants who enter the US illegally en route to five major cities .

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that a new Recent Arrivals (RA) Docket will swiftly place single adults before immigration judges in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City.

Those asylum claims must be resolved within 180 days, though grace periods would be granted in some circumstances for migrants to obtain the necessary legal representation.

More than 3 million asylum cases were being considered in the US as of December, and many have to wait years before their claims are resolved.

As of May of last year, migrants crossing into Texas from Mexico were handed paperwork that put their court dates in Chicago as far in the future as 2032 .

House Homeland Security Committee chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) told The Post that a “brand-new ineffective bureaucratic process is no substitute for enforcing the laws passed by Congress.”

“This program will still lead to the release of countless inadmissible aliens into our communities, at best for months on end, and we already know that ‘removal proceedings’ don’t equal ‘actual removal’ under this administration,” Green said.

“Over the last three years, ICE’s non-detained docket has doubled due to the Biden administration’s refusal to comply with the law requiring them to detain and remove illegal aliens—and would-be border crossers know it,” he added.

“It’s time for Secretary Mayorkas to understand that ‘managing’ a crisis isn’t the same as ending it.”

Immigration has become a top issue for US voters ahead of the 2024 election, with many surveys showing it as a weak point for Biden , 81, in his expected faceoff with former President Donald Trump, 77.

Had the Senate passed a bipartisan border bill in February, a provision similar to the RA Docket would have forced asylum claims nationwide to be adjudicated within the same six-month period.

“This administrative step is no substitute for the sweeping and much-needed changes that the bipartisan Senate bill would deliver, but in the absence of Congressional action we will do what we can to most effectively enforce the law and discourage irregular migration,” Mayorkas said in a statement.

House Republicans, who impeached Mayorkas in February, have repeatedly pressured Biden to bring back Trump-era policies such as Remain in Mexico, which forced asylum seekers to await their immigration court dates south of the border.

Start your day with all you need to know

Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.

Thanks for signing up!

Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy .

Never miss a story.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced this week that his chamber would take the legislation back up — only to be called out immediately by the chief Republican negotiator on the bill, Sen. James Lankford.

“Senator Schumer made this statement, ‘It’s a win if the Republicans abandon us at the last minute, because if Democrats put together a tough bipartisan bill on the border, it would not take the border away as an issue for the Republicans, but it would at least give us a 50-50 chance to combat it,'” Lankford (R-Okla.) said in a floor speech Thursday, calling the effort a “political stunt.”

“All the American people see it, everybody sees this is political, but everyone in the country also says ‘Why don’t you guys and ladies fix this instead? Why don’t you actually resolve it?'” he exclaimed, saying Democrats and Republicans should return to the negotiating table.

More than 1.7 million migrant “gotaways” have illegally crossed into America since President Biden took office, new Border Patrol data shows, in addition to the more than 9 million who have entered the US over the same period.

Those numbers have shattered the all-time record for border crossings every year of Biden’s tenure.

Of those apprehended by border agents, over 85% are subsequently released into the US to await their immigration court hearing, Mayorkas admitted in a closed-door meeting with Border Patrol personnel earlier this year.

Share this article:

Advertisement

• school Campus Bookshelves
• menu_book Bookshelves
• perm_media Learning Objects
• login Login
• how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
• hub Instructor Commons

Margin Size

• Download Page (PDF)
• Download Full Book (PDF)
• Periodic Table
• Physics Constants
• Scientific Calculator
• Reference & Cite
• Tools expand_more
• Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

21.3: Digestive System Processes and Regulation

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 63501

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)

\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)

\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)

\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)

By the end of the section, you will be able to:

• Discuss seven fundamental activities of the digestive system, giving an example of each
• Describes the functions of each digestive organs
• Describe the difference between mechanical digestion and chemical digestion
• Describe the difference between peristalsis and segmentation

The digestive system uses mechanical and chemical activities to break food down into absorbable substances during its journey through the digestive system. Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) provides an overview of the basic functions of the digestive organs.

Digestive Processes

The processes of digestion include seven activities: ingestion, propulsion, mechanical or physical digestion, chemical digestion, secretion, absorption, and defecation.

The first of these processes, ingestion , refers to the entry of food into the alimentary canal through the oral cavity. There, the food is chewed and mixed with saliva secreted by salivary glands, which contains enzymes that begin breaking down the carbohydrates in the food plus some lipid digestion via lingual lipase. Chewing increases the surface area of the food and allows an appropriately sized bolus (chunk) to be produced.

Food leaves the oral cavity when the tongue and pharyngeal muscles propel it into the esophagus. This act of swallowing, the last voluntary act until defecation, is an example of propulsion , which refers to the movement of food through the digestive tract. It includes both the voluntary process of swallowing and the involuntary process of peristalsis. Peristalsis consists of sequential, alternating waves of contraction and relaxation of of circular and longitudinal layers of the muscularis externa (alimentary wall smooth muscles), which act to propel food along (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)). These waves also play a role in mixing food with digestive juices. Peristalsis is so powerful that foods and liquids you swallow enter your stomach even if you are standing on your head.

Peristalysis

In the small intestine the waves of peristaltic contractions are shorter than in the esophagus, as they only move the liquified food a small distance so digestion and absorption can continue. 

Digestion includes both mechanical and chemical processes. Mechanical digestion is a purely physical process that does not change the chemical nature of the food. Instead, it makes the food smaller to increase both surface area and mobility. It includes mastication , or chewing, as well as tongue movements that help break food into smaller bits and mix food with saliva. Although there may be a tendency to think that mechanical digestion is limited to the first steps of the digestive process, it occurs after the food leaves the oral cavity, as well. The mechanical churning of food in the stomach serves to further break it apart and expose more of its surface area to digestive juices, creating an acidic “soup” called chyme . Segmentation , which occurs mainly in the small intestine, consists of localized contractions of circular muscle of the muscularis layer of the alimentary canal. These contractions isolate small sections of the intestine, moving their contents back and forth while continuously subdividing, breaking up, and mixing the contents. By moving food back and forth in the intestinal lumen, segmentation mixes food with digestive juices and facilitates absorption.

Chemical digestion is aided by secretion of enzymes. Starting in the oral cavity, digestive secretions break down complex food molecules into their chemical building blocks (for example, proteins into separate amino acids). These secretions vary in composition, but typically contain water, various enzymes, acids, and salts. The process is completed in the small intestine.

Food that has been broken down is of no value to the body unless it enters the bloodstream and its nutrients are put to work. This occurs through the process of absorption , which takes place primarily within the small intestine. There, most nutrients are absorbed from the lumen of the alimentary canal into the bloodstream through the epithelial cells that make up the mucosa. Lipids are absorbed into lacteals and are transported via the lymphatic vessels to the bloodstream (the subclavian veins near the heart). The details of these processes will be discussed later.

In defecation , the final step in digestion, undigested materials are removed from the body as feces.

AGING AND THE...

Digestive System: From Appetite Suppression to Constipation

Age-related changes in the digestive system begin in the oral cavity and can affect virtually every aspect of the digestive system. Taste buds become less sensitive, so food isn’t as appetizing as it once was. A slice of pizza is a challenge, not a treat, when you have lost teeth, your gums are diseased, and your salivary glands aren’t producing enough saliva. Swallowing can be difficult, and ingested food moves slowly through the alimentary canal because of reduced strength and tone of muscular tissue. Neurosensory feedback is also dampened, slowing the transmission of messages that stimulate the release of enzymes and hormones.

Pathologies that affect the digestive organs—such as hiatal hernia, gastritis, and peptic ulcer disease—can occur at greater frequencies as you age. Problems in the small intestine may include duodenal ulcers, maldigestion, and malabsorption. Problems in the large intestine include hemorrhoids, diverticular disease, and constipation. Conditions that affect the function of accessory organs—and their abilities to deliver pancreatic enzymes and bile to the small intestine—include jaundice, acute pancreatitis, cirrhosis, and gallstones.

In some cases, a single organ is in charge of a digestive process. For example, ingestion occurs only in the oral cavity and defecation from the anus. However, most digestive processes involve the interaction of several organs and occur gradually as food moves through the alimentary canal (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)). Figure 21.3.2 shows the digestive tract with the locations of propulsion, chemical digestion, mechanical digestion, and absorption in different organs.

While most chemical digestion occurs in the small intestine, some occurs in the oral cavity (carbohydrates and lipids) and stomach (proteins). Absorption, also largely carried out by the small intestine, some can occur in the oral cavity, stomach, and large intestine. For example, alcohol and aspirin are absorbed by the stomach and water and many ions are absorbed by the large intestine.

Regulatory Mechanisms

Neural and endocrine regulatory mechanisms work to maintain the optimal conditions in the lumen needed for digestion and absorption. These regulatory mechanisms, which stimulate digestive activity through mechanical and chemical activity, are controlled both extrinsically and intrinsically.

Neural Controls

The walls of the alimentary canal contain a variety of sensors that help regulate digestive functions. These include mechanoreceptors, chemoreceptors, and osmoreceptors, which are capable of detecting mechanical, chemical, and osmotic stimuli, respectively. For example, these receptors can sense when the presence of food has caused the stomach to expand, whether food particles have been sufficiently broken down, how much liquid is present, and the type of nutrients in the food (lipids, carbohydrates, and/or proteins). Stimulation of these receptors provokes an appropriate reflex that furthers the process of digestion. This may entail sending a message that activates the glands that secrete digestive juices into the lumen, or it may mean the stimulation of muscles within the alimentary canal, thereby activating peristalsis and segmentation that move food along the intestinal tract.

The walls of the entire alimentary canal are embedded with nerve plexuses (enteric nervous system, submucosal and myenteric plexuses) that interact with the central nervous system and other nerve plexuses—either within the same digestive organ or in different ones. These interactions prompt several types of reflexes. Extrinsic nerve plexuses orchestrate long reflexes, which involve the central and autonomic nervous systems and work in response to stimuli from outside the digestive system. Short reflexes, on the other hand, are orchestrated by intrinsic nerve plexuses within the alimentary canal wall. These two plexuses and their connections were introduced earlier as the enteric nervous system. Short reflexes regulate activities in one area of the digestive tract and may coordinate local peristaltic movements and stimulate digestive secretions. For example, the sight, smell, and taste of food initiate long reflexes that begin with a sensory neuron delivering a signal to the medulla oblongata. The response to the signal is to stimulate cells in the stomach to begin secreting digestive juices in preparation for incoming food. In contrast, food that distends the stomach initiates short reflexes that cause cells in the stomach wall to increase their secretion of digestive juices.

Hormonal Controls

A variety of hormones are involved in the digestive process. The main digestive hormone of the stomach is gastrin, which is secreted in response to the presence of food. Gastrin stimulates the secretion of gastric acid by the parietal cells of the stomach mucosa. Other GI hormones are produced and act upon the gut and its accessory organs. Hormones produced by the duodenum include secretin, which stimulates a watery secretion of bicarbonate by the pancreas; cholecystokinin (CCK), which stimulates the secretion of pancreatic enzymes and bile from the liver and release of bile from the gallbladder; and gastric inhibitory peptide, which inhibits gastric secretion and slows gastric emptying and motility. These GI hormones are secreted by specialized epithelial cells, called enteroendocrine cells, located in the mucosal epithelium of the stomach and small intestine. These hormones then enter the bloodstream, through which they can reach their target organs.

Concept Review

The digestive system ingests and digests food, absorbs released nutrients, and excretes food components that are indigestible. The six activities involved in this process are ingestion (oral cavity), motility (GI tract), mechanical digestion (oral cavity, stomach, small intestine), chemical digestion (oral cavity, stomach, small intestine), absorption (oral cavity, stomach, small and large intestines), and defecation (anus). Contractions of smooth muscles (muscularis externa) result in peristalsis to push contents along in the GI tract and segmentation to mix the content with enzymes. These processes are regulated by neural and hormonal mechanisms.

Review Questions

Q. Which of these processes occurs in the oral cavity?

A. ingestion

B. mechanical digestion

C. chemical digestion

D. all of the above

Q. Which of these processes occurs throughout most of the alimentary canal?

B. propulsion

C. segmentation

D. absorption

Q. Which of the following occur(s) in the oral cavity?

A. mechanical digestion

B. chemical digestion

C. mastication

Q. Which of these statements about the colon is false?

A. Chemical digestion occurs in the colon.

B. Absorption occurs in the colon.

C. Peristalsis occurs in the colon.

D. Diverticular disease occurs in the colon.

Critical Thinking Questions

Q. Offer a theory to explain why segmentation occurs and peristalsis slows in the small intestine.

A. The majority of digestion and absorption occurs in the small intestine. By slowing the transit of chyme, segmentation and a reduced rate of peristalsis allow time for these processes to occur.

Q. Which organ is mostly responsible for diarrhea and constipation and why?

A. The colon absorbs water. If it absorbs too much water, then the remaining contents (stool) may be hard and constipation may result. If it absorbs very little water or even secretes water, then the remaining contents will be loose and watery, resulting in diarrhea.

Contributors and Attributions

OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology (CC BY 4.0). Access for free at  https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology

Rudy Giuliani Getting Served Indictment at 80th Birthday Party Sparks Jokes

F ormer New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani , the 18th and final individual indicted in Arizona's fake elector case, was served on Friday at his 80th birthday party, sparking social media users to make jokes about the incident.

Eighteen allies of former President Donald Trump , including Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows , were indicted by an Arizona grand jury in late April . The 58-page indictment accuses the individuals of acting as fake electors and working to overturn the state's 2020 presidential election results. They face charges of conspiracy, fraud, and forgery. President Joe Biden won the state by 10,457 votes.

In an X, formerly Twitter , post on Friday evening, Giuliani, a former Trump attorney, taunted Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes with a selfie photo with friends at his party and wrote, "If Arizona authorities can't find me by tomorrow morning: 1. They must dismiss the indictment 2. They must concede they can't count votes."

The post has since been deleted.

Shortly after, Mayes reposted Giuliani's X post and wrote, "The final defendant was served moments ago. @RudyGiuliani nobody is above the law." She has since attached a screenshot of Giuliani's deleted post. The hand-delivered papers provide Giuliani with the notice of his indictment.

Michael Ragusa, Giuliani's head of security, told Newsweek via email on Saturday afternoon, "Mayor Giuliani would never run from anything or anybody. He is an American hero and a patriot. It is foolish to think he was hiding from getting a subpoena. Every day on his live shows he would announce his location."

Ragusa added that on Friday evening, "a process server waited until he came out of the party around midnight, walked up to him, gave him the subpoena, and the mayor said 'thank you' like a gentleman."

According to the New York Post on Saturday, two officials with the Arizona's attorney general's office arrived at Giuliani's nearly 75-guest birthday party in Palm Beach, Florida, to deliver him the papers.

Ted Goodman, Giuliani's spokesperson, told Newsweek in a statement Sunday, "The mayor was served after the party and as he was walking to the car. He was unfazed and enjoyed an incredible evening with hundreds of people, from all walks of life, who love and respect him for his contributions to society. We look forward to full vindication soon."

Giuliani was the only defendant prosecutors were unable to serve with a summons, Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for Mayes' office, previously said.

Newsweek has reached out to the Arizona attorney's office via email.

Earlier this month, Giuliani was suspended from WABC, a New York radio station, and his show was canceled after owner John Catsimatidis said Giuliani "crossed the line" promoting false information about the 2020 election . Giuliani then responded on X, stating that the station fired him because he "refused to give into their demand that I stop talking about the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election."

Meanwhile, X users cracked jokes at Giuliani on the social media platform on Saturday.

Executive director of the Campaign for New York Health and former congressional candidate, Melanie D'Arrigo, quipped in her Saturday morning X post that "partygoers are only used to watching Rudy Giuliani being over-served at parties."

Internet personality Andrea Junker posted on X Saturday morning, "So while he was celebrating his 80th birthday with Roger Stone , Steve Bannon , and 75 MAGA guests, Rudy Giuliani was finally served with the Arizona indictment for their criminal conspiracy to overturn our 2020 election. — Now that's what I call the definition of sweet karma."

Early Saturday morning, former assistant U.S attorney Richard Signorelli wrote on X, "LOL Happy 80th to this vile alleged criminal who has lost everything in service to a cowardly demented sociopath," in reference to Giuliani's allegiance to Trump.

Scott Charles, a trauma outreach manager at Temple University, reposted a screenshot of Mayes' X post and wrote, "Rudy Giuliani getting served at his 80th birthday party within an hour of taunting Arizona officials in his fake electors case is the most Rudy Giuliani thing ever."

Meanwhile, former Trump lawyer John Eastman is the first person in the Arizona case to appear in court where he pleaded not guilty on Friday. Arraignments for several of the other individuals, including Giuliani, will take place on May 21.

Updated 5/19/24, 1:43 p.m. ET.: This article has been updated to include comment from Goodman.

Updated 5/18/24, 5:21 p.m. ET.: This article has been updated to include comment from Ragusa.

Related Articles

• Republicans Accused of Forging Ballot Signatures in Critical Swing State
• Joe Biden Just 'Got the Best' of Donald Trump—Republican Strategist
• Thousands Sign Christian Petition Condemning Harrison Butker's Remarks
• How to Watch Joe Biden's Morehouse Speech: Time, Live Stream and Event Info

Start your unlimited Newsweek trial