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The Digestive System: Extreme Heartburn

Related Article: Learn more about the digestive system.

When stomach contents flow back into the esophagus because of a weakness in the sphincter, it is painful and can cause chronic inflammation.

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Managing Your Health: The Digestive System (24:40)

Why in the world does your body need 24 feet of intestines? Discover the answer in this program as you tour the digestive tract and learn how the esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines work.

Digestive System: Forms of Digestion (0:27)

Digestion includes mechanical and chemical digestion.

Digestive System: Mouth (1:08)

Both mechanical and chemical digestion take place in the mouth.

Digestive System: Stomach (1:33)

Both mechanical and chemical digestion take place in the stomach.

Digestive System: Small Intestine (2:15)

Chemical digestion breaks food down into its simplest forms.

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Managing Your Health: The Digestive System (24:40)

Why in the world does your body need 24 feet of intestines? Discover the answer in this program as you tour the digestive tract and learn how the esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines work.

The Digestive System: Colonoscopy (4:48)

This chapter takes the viewer through a colonoscopy.

The Digestive System: Large Intestine (0:39)

The large intestine stores whatever was not absorbed by the small intestine as food, later eliminating it as waste. It also absorbs water and makes vitamin K from bacteria that live in the bowel.

The Digestive System: Lactose Intolerance (3:42)

A person is lactose intolerant when the enzymes that digest lactose are not working. Symptoms include severe gas and discomfort. Many people lose the ability to digest lactose after the age of five.

The Digestive System: Small Intestine (0:55)

When food reaches the small intestine, bile from the gall bladder and enzymes help make the food molecules small enough to be absorbed. The wrinkles in the small intestine increase the surface area of absorption.

The Digestive System: Ulcers (3:48)

Ulcers are holes in the stomach. They come in different degrees. Scientists now know that ulcers are caused by bacteria.

The Digestive System: Extreme Heartburn (3:11)

When stomach contents flow back into the esophagus because of a weakness in the sphincter, it is painful and can cause chronic inflammation.

The Digestive System: Digestive Malfunction (2:45)

Sometimes the digestive system malfunctions, and we experience a stomachache, gas, diarrhea or constipation.

The Digestive System: Digestion (1:42)

Digestion is the process of breaking food down into smaller pieces. The digestion process can take anywhere from twenty hours to several days.

Human Body: The Gastrointestinal Tract and Enzymes (3:04)

With help from enzymes, the structures of the gastrointestinal tract, including the mouth, the esophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, the large intestine, the rectum and the anus, function to break down food into nutrients.