Sarah McGuiganThe journey of the chocolateSarah ate some chocolateThe chocolate starts its journey with ingestion, when Sarah puts the food into her mouth. The mouth is where food enters the alimentary canal and digestion begins. Her teeth grind up the chocolate making it smaller. This is known as mechanical digestion. Additionally the salivary glands produce saliva containing Amylase which is a type of enzyme. This type of enzyme catalyses the breakdown of sugars and starches. Enzymes also kills any harmful microorganisms that could have been in the food when it was eaten. Saliva results in making the food moist, this will allow food to be swallowed easier. Once Sarah swallows the food, it enters her Oesophagus. A process called Peristalsis occurs. This is when the two sets of muscle contract which results in the bolus of food being pushed down into the stomach. When the chocolate reaches the stomach, the food is churned up using strong acid and enzymes. The stomach works the best in acidic conditions. The nutrients from the food are absorbed in the small intestine. The chocolate then reaches the small intestine which is also known as Duodenum and ileum. The enzymes in the small intestines work best in alkaline conditions, but the food is acidic after being in the stomach. A substance called bile is produced in the liver and stored in the gall bladder. Bile neutralises the acid to provide the alkaline conditions needed in the small intestine. Digestive enzymes are produced in the pancreas. After three hours of the chocolate being in the small intestine, the chocolate becomes thin and watery due to bile and other juices from the pancreas, liver and gall bladder. These organs send these juices because the small intestine cannot break down the food by itself. The ileum has a lining of millions of fingers which are called villi. These absorb the chemicals that are needed in our bodies. Some parts of the chocolate that cant be digested moves into the large intestines which is also known as the colon. In the large intestines the water is removed from the liquidised substance to form a more solid material called faeces. Faeces is made up of mainly fibre. The chocolate will now have a long wait as it passes through the large intestines. In 24-48 hours later, the faeces enters the rectum. The rectum is where faeces is stored. Finally a process called egestion occurs which the faeces is being pushed out of the anus.