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Definition: digestion from Philip's Encyclopedia

Process of the digestive system, in which food is broken down mechanically and chemically into smaller molecules that can be readily absorbed by an organism. Digestion occurs mainly by means of chemical agents called enzymes.

digestion

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Process by which food eaten by an animal is broken down mechanically, and chemically by enzymes , mostly in the stomach and intestines , to make the nutrients available for absorption and cell metabolism. In digestion large molecules of food are broken into smaller, soluble molecules, which are absorbed through the wall of the gut into the bloodstream and carried to individual cells. The first stage of this may involve just the mixing of the food with water and the crushing and chopping of pieces of food by teeth or the mixing of food as it is squeezed along the gut. The second stage is the breakdown of large molecules by enzymes. The uptake of digested foods is mainly by absorption. The digestion of fats starts with the action of bile . This emulsifies lumps of fat into thousands of tiny droplets, allowing the enzyme lipase to break the fats down into glycerol and fatty acids. Lipase is released from the pancreas and digests fat in the small intestine . Fats are not soluble in water, …
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Full text Article Digestion

From The Human Body Book: An Illustrated Guide to Its Structure, Function and Disorders Full text Article Digestive System
Digestive journey Each part of the digestive...
The digestive process involves a series of physical and chemical actions that break down the components of food into nutrient particles small enough for absorption. Vigorous physical digestion of food – mashing and churning – occurs in the mouth, but becomes progressively less important in…
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Full text Article DIGESTION

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
English writer …digestion exists for health, and health exists for life, and life exists for the love of music or beautiful things. Generally Speaking On Misunderstanding (p. 107 ) Dodd, Mead & Company. New York New York USA . 1929. English prime minister, founder ... …
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Full text Article digestion

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Process by which food eaten by an animal is broken down mechanically, and chemically by enzymes , mostly in the stomach and intestines , to make the nutrients available for absorption and cell metabolism. In digestion large molecules of food are broken into smaller, soluble molecules, which are…
| 367 words
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Full text Article digestion

From Penguin Dictionary of Biology
Breakdown by organisms, ultimately to small organic compounds, of complex nutrients that are either acted upon outside of the organism (e.g. by saprotrophs), or have entered some organelle (e.g. food vacuole), or organ (enteron) or gut specialized for the purpose. Often includes the physical events…
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Full text Article Digestion

From Encyclopedia of Insects
Digestion of important nutrient classes. Arrows...
Digestion is the process by which food molecules are broken down into smaller molecules that are able to be absorbed by the gut tissue. Most food molecules requiring digestion are polymers such as proteins and starch, and are sequentially digested through three phases ( Fig. 1 ). Primary digestion…
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Full text Article digestion

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Major organs of the human digestive system. Food...
Process of dissolving and chemically converting food for absorption by cells. In the mouth, food is chewed, mixed with saliva , which begins to break down starches, and kneaded by the tongue into a ball for swallowing. Peristalsis propels it through the esophagus and the rest of the alimentary…
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Full text Article digestion

From The Oxford Companion to Food
the process by which the body breaks down food and extracts nutrients from it. The word was first used by medieval alchemists to describe a chemical reaction which dissolved materials. When the French scientist Denis Papin invented the first pressure cooker (see pressure cooking ) in 1679, he called…
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Full text Article anaerobic digestion

From Dictionary of Microbiology & Molecular Biology
The anaerobic breakdown of complex animal and/or plant materials to simple substances which include a high proportion of gaseous and soluble products; it involves a diverse range of organisms whose metabolic pathways are closely interrelated, and occurs e.g. in benthic muds, in the RUMEN and in…
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Full text Article digestion

From Science Encyclopedia: Encyclopedia of Chemistry
The process by which living organisms break down ingested food in the alimentary tract into more easily absorbed and assimilated products using enzymes and other chemicals. Digestion can occur in aerobic conditions, where waste is decomposed by microbial action in the presence of oxygen, or…
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Digestion, absorption and assimilation are the three processes by which food is incorporated into the body. begins as soon as the food enters the mouth and becomes mixed with saliva secreted by the salivary glands. It is not very thorough in animals, such as the dog, which bolt their food without…
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