DIGESTION
Digestion (Spotlight series) The digestive system is central to our whole being! When I say that I do not mean to be flippant, because it actually is a central feature of our anatomy. In a sense, the digestive tract is a long tube, around which our various tissues and organs are arranged. The food we take in is passed along that tube, being altered by grinding, chemical reaction and enzymatic breakdown. We absorb nutrients from it and dispel unwanted products of digestion as it passes, finally getting rid of the waste matter with the passage of a bowel movement. And the amazing thing is that it is, like most of our body workings, an automatic and well-nigh continuous process. A knowledge of the anatomical positions of the various organs and of the position that the digestive tract takes up within the abdominal cavity helps to identify where a problem may be coming from. Again taking pain as an example, acute discomfort in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen could be ...