What are accessory organs of our digestive system?

When you consider the digestive tract as a hollow tube that extends from the mouth to the anus, it becomes a fun concept to consider and also makes it easier to distinguish between the organs that are considered to be "main" and "accessory."

The teeth, tongue, and salivary glands work as accessories to digestion when food is first placed in our mouths, where it is chewed and divided into small portions with our tongue and teeth. Enzymes in saliva are also produced in the salivary glands and start the process of breaking down food.

After swallowing, the food passes down the oesophagus and into the stomach, which are both major organs. In the stomach, gastric juices thoroughly churn up and break down the food; it's important to note that the stomach absorbs very little nutritional value from food.

After the stomach has finished its job, food is released into the small intestine, one of the primary digestive organs, which is separated into three sections: the duodenum, which is the first part to receive food, and the pancreas and liver/gallbladder, which function as accessory organs by secreting a variety of enzymes directly into the duodenum through a network of ducts, allowing food to be further broken down and digested.

Upon completion of this process, the waste proceeds to the jejunum, the second segment of the small intestine, where nutrients are extracted from the broken-down slurry. Subsequently, the waste proceeds to the ileum, the last segment of the small intestine, where any leftover nutrients are eliminated from the waste prior to its passage into the large intestine, the last major organ. By this stage, nearly all of the nutrients have been absorbed, so the main function of the large intestine is to absorb as much of the water as possible from the waste.

The appendix emerges from the caecum, the first section of the large intestine. It then travels upward via the ascending colon to a bend that changes into the transverse colon, which moves the waste across the abdomen before it reaches the next bend, which changes into the descending colon. From here, the now-solid matter passes through the sigmoid colon and into the rectum, where it is free to be expelled as faeces, or poop.

To encapsulate this procedure:

The pancreas, tongue, salivary glands, liver/gallbladder, and teeth are examples of accessory organs.

The mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small and large intestines (caecum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid colon, and rectum), and the anus are the primary organs.

The accessory organs of the digestive system include the liver, pancreas, and gallbladder.