Digestive System Lab

In the lab we measured out what would approximately be the length of our digestive system, using some colored ribbons and some string. I would have to say that my main take away from this lab was how something so big can fit into a tiny space in my body cavity. 

My height compared to the length of my digestive system is really different, my digestive system is roughly 11 times longer than the space in me that it occupies. I think it's able to fit inside my abdomen because of the fact that it has all of the folds in the small intestine and large intestine to make them able to be compressed so they can fit into a small spot. I feel like it takes about five hours on average for food to move through the system. but it actually takes about six to eight hours for food to get through. The factors that would influence how long it took would be how complex the food was and what is it made of. Digestion is when food is mechanically and chemically broken down into smaller parts, this includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. Absorption is when nutrients the body needs are taken in from what is left of the food, this includes the small intestine and the large intestine.