14—Anus, posterior opening of the alimentary canal/
through which the excrements are expelled. 15,
15—Lobes of the Liver/ raised and turned back-
16—Hepatic Duct, which carries the bile from the
Liver to the Cystic and common bile Ducts. 17—
Cystic Duct 18—Gal! Bladder in which bile is stored
19—Common Bile Duct- 20—Pancreas/ the gland
which secretes the pancreatic juice. 21—Pancreatic
Duct, entering the Duodenum with the Common
Bile Duct.
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
The system of channels traversed by food frocn.
the time of its entry into the mouth, to the final
stage of the excretion of the undigested part of it,
is called the alimentary canal { aliment=food ). The
various parts of this canal which is about 30 feet long,
and other organs involved in the digestive process
are indicated in the diagram above:
The alimentary canal starts with the mouth. Then
we come to oesaphagus which leads into the stomach.
The stomach is a large, pear-shaped muscular bag*
This is the most dilated part of the digestive system
and lies in the upper part of the abdomen just
below the heart, from which it is separated by the
diaphragm. Very often patients complain of heart
disease when they are really suffering from an
excess of wind in the stomach. The reason for this
is the nearness of the two organs The broad end
{fundus) of the stomach lies to the left under the
ribs, while the narrow end (pylorus) is at a lower
level on the right side- The stomach ordinarily
holds about 3 pints of food. In some persons it may
hold as much as 5 pints and more. From this store
house, the partly digested food is passed on little