1. Mouth
Maryam and Lara 9E

2. Function
The mouth is a body organ
that is adapted to receiving
food and starting off the
digestion process. In the
mouth, there are other
organs like the tongue and
teeth, which roll the food
around and crush it
respectively, breaking it
down to smaller pieces for
swallowing.

3. Structure

4. The mouth contains the enzyme amylase. This enzyme is
contained in the saliva. The saliva is in 3 salivary pairs of
salivary glands which is found under the tongue, at the back
of the jaws, and in the cheeks. Saliva also has lysozyme
which helps break micro-organisms. The saliva is used to help
soften the food so that it is easy for people to swallow.
Amylase digests starch into maltose.
Digestion process/Enzymes

5. After the food is chewed it is formed into a ball or bolus and pushed back to
the pharynx. This is where the food will leave the mouth and enter the
esophagus.. To stop food from entering the windpipe there is a small flap
called the epiglottis. This flap closes over the trachea to stop food from
entering.

6. The brain governs the initial stages of eating and
swallowing.

7. Once food enters the mouth the teeth break it down into smaller
and smaller pieces. This has the dual function of making the
food easier to swallow and increasing the surface area of food on
which the saliva can act. The tongue, lips and cheeks assist the
teeth in the process by allowing the food to be "rolled" around
the oral cavity. The mechanical action described above produces
a softened bolus of food which is now ready to be swallowed.

8. Here the bolus is pushed into the upper part of the pharynx by the action of
the tongue.

9. As the bolus pushes it's way into the oesophagus it automatically pushes the
epiglottis downwards further closing off the airway.

10. This is an animation of the whole process