Illustration of opening mouth. (Shutterstock)
The digestive system is also assisted by three organs that are outside the digestive tract. These organs are the pancreas, liver and gallbladder.
SuaraJogja.id – Here is an explanation of oral cavity function. This cavity is the beginning of digestive system humans, to then travel 10 meters to colon.
The digestive tract, as quoted from the book Digestive System written by Khamim, S.Pd, consists of the mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus.
The digestive system is also assisted by three organs that are outside the digestive tract. These organs are the pancreas, liver and gallbladder.
In this article, we will focus on discussing the function of the oral cavity, what its parts are and how they work. Check out the following reviews:
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Early Digestive System
The mouth is an open cavity where food and water enter. The mouth is located at the head and is generally the first part of the digestive system.
The inside of the mouth is lined with a mucous membrane. The ducts from the salivary glands, which are located on the cheeks, under the tongue and under the jaw, drain their contents into the mouth. At the floor of the mouth, there is a tongue that functions to taste and mix food.
Taste is felt by the sense organs on the surface of the tongue. Then, smell is felt by the olfactory nerve in the nose. Taste is relatively simple, consisting of sweet, sour, salty and bitter.
While the smell is more complicated, because it consists of various kinds of smells. Behind and below the mouth is the throat or pharynx.
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Function of Teeth in Oral Cavity
In the oral cavity, there are teeth consisting of canines, side teeth, middle teeth, premolar teeth and molars.
The front teeth, also known as incisors, are used to chop food. Then the back teeth or molars function to chew food to become smaller parts that are easier to digest.
Food that has been broken down into small pieces is wrapped in saliva from the salivary glands with digestive enzymes and begins to digest it.
The function of saliva in the oral cavity
When you eat, the flow of saliva washes away bacteria that can cause tooth decay and other disorders. Saliva also contains antibodies and enzymes, such as lysozyme, which break down proteins and attack bacteria directly.
This food will travel to the throat. In the throat, there are spiglottic valves located on the right and left sides of the throat. The function of the spiglottis is to prevent food from entering the trachea and lungs.
No less important than the spiglottis, the roof of the back of the mouth or soft palate, is raised so that food does not enter the nose.
System After Oral Cavity
After passing through the oral cavity and throat, food will travel to the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus.
Food will be sorted, which one is needed by the body and which one is not needed. This process occurs in the small intestine when food meets enzymes and other substances, such as bile from the cells of the intestine, bile, liver and pancreas.
These substances break down carbohydrates, fats and proteins, to be processed into compounds that are absorbed and utilized by the body as energy. The process of absorption occurs in the small intestine.
Meanwhile, food that is not needed will continue to the large intestine and be processed into feces, and excreted from the anus. The anus itself is actually a part of the large intestine, like the rectum, where feces collect before being expelled through the anus.
Thus the discussion on the function of the oral cavity, which is quoted from the book Digestive System, pages 1-4, written by Khamim, S.Pd. Hopefully it can increase knowledge about the digestive system, especially the mouth.
Contributors: Lukman Hakim
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