BABY AND CHILDHOOD DIGESTIVE SYSTEM DISORDERS: INTERESTING EVENTS
Along the course of the intestinal tract, a large number of interesting events take place. As you know, digestion commences when saliva is pumped into the mouth. More juices, mainly acid and certain chemicals, are injected into the stomach. Further along, other chemicals called enzymes are pumped into the intestinal passageways also. All these are aimed at helping the food break down into its simplest component parts. In this form they are more readily absorbed by the villi, tiny finger-like processes that penetrate into the small bowel cavity.
Chemicals manufactured by the liver and stored in the gall bladder find their way into the bowel via the duodenum. These are called bile salts, and they help fats to be digested.
Every so often, even though they have been studying the bowel system for many years, research doctors are discovering new chemicals that are used in the digestive processes, ones they didn’t realize existed before. Just how many different kinds there are we will perhaps never know. But they are all important and do a very valuable job.
The liver, the huge organ in the upper right side of the abdominal cavity, also produces many other chemicals which are vital in the normal functioning of the body. Besides, the liver tears apart unwanted products; it renders them harmless and prepares them for elimination from the system.
The spleen is another massive abdominal organ. This sits in the opposite upper side of the cavity. It has important duties associated with the blood system.
The kidneys, the filtering system, lie in the back part of the abdominal cavity. They are hooked up to the blood system and also do the job of getting rid of unwanted debris from the body.
Certain glands called endocrines are housed in this vast cavity. A very important one is the pancreas. It produces a number of vital hormones. Insulin, which regulates the way in which body sugars are cared for, is manufactured there. If this system is not working properly, a condition called diabetes may occur.
Down below is the pelvis, and the abdominal cavity is continuous with that region. The pelvis houses the bladder and, in women, the reproductive organs—the uterus (womb), the tubes and the ovaries. In males, it houses the prostate gland, which sits just under the bladder (the part which stores urine until it may be voided).
The entire cavity is lined with a thin, slippery, shiny tissue called the peritoneum. This keeps the inner region and all of its contents germ free. It is a wondrous system.
But alas, many things may go wrong within its boundaries. Let’s take a peek at some of the hapless things that can go wrong with our insides.
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