I am a sausage roll even before you eat me, when you smell me, see me, or think about me, digestion begins. Saliva begins to form in your mouth. The first step in the digestion of me takes place in the mouth; you put me in your mouth and your centre teeth/incisors, cut me into bit-sized pieces. On both side of the incisors are sharp and pointy teeth called canines. These teeth tear and slash me in your mouth into smaller pieces. Behind the canines are the premolars and molars, which crush and grind me into small enough pieces so that i can fit down the throat. As the teeth do their work, saliva mixes with the pieces of me, making me soft and moist. The saliva contains a chemical called salivary amylase, which starts breaking down complex carbohydrates, and another called mucin, which helps to soften the food. The amylase enzymes turn the starch molecules found in me into glucose. The glucose is used by cells to give people energy.
The tongue which is a muscle, works with me and saliva by pushing me around the mouth while you chew with your teeth. I am now a tiny bit of mushed-up food called a bolus when you’re ready to swallow I am pushed toward the back of your throat.
Swallowing forces me through a tubular entrance which is called the pharynx this is responsible for passing me from the mouth to the oesophagus. The pharynx contains a flap-like valve called the epiglottis, this closes over the trachea to prevent me entering the trachea and into our lungs which would case choking.
I then move down the oesophagus which is simply a transportation tube from the mouth to the stomach by a process called peristalsis. Peristalsis uses layers of muscle in your oesophagus and intestines. These muscles relax and contact in a wave motion to pass food forward.
I will soon approach the lower oesophageal sphincter, which is at the junction of the oesophagus and stomach. As i approach the closed sphincter, the muscle relaxes and lets me pass through to the stomach....