The gastrointestinal tract (the major portion of the alimentary canal) can be viewed as a tube going through the body. Its contents are considered exterior to the body until absorbed. Salivary glands, liver, and the pancreas are considered accessory glands of the GI tract as they have ducts entering the GI tract and secrete enzymes and other substances. For foreign substances to enter the body, they must pass through the gastrointestinal mucosa, crossing several membranes before entering the blood stream.
Biotransformation is vital to survival in that it transforms absorbed nutrients (food, oxygen, etc.) into substances required for normal body functions. For some pharmaceuticals, it is a metabolite that is therapeutic and not the absorbed drug. For example, phenoxybenzamine (Dibenzyline®), a drug given to relieve hypertension, is biotransformed into a metabolite, which is the active agent. Biotransformation also serves as an important defense mechanism in that toxic xenobiotics and body wastes are converted into less harmful substances and substances that can be excreted from the body.