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
