Human digestive system the colon or large intestine. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste matter is stored prior to defecation. Most of the digestion of food takes place in the small intestine. A major digestive organ is the stomach. Within its mucosa are millions of embedded gastric glands. Their secretions are vital to the functioning of the organ. There are many specialised cells of the GI tract. These include the various cells of the gastric glands, taste cells, pancreatic duct cells, enterocytes and microfold cells. Some parts of the digestive system are also part of the excretory system, including the large
Development of the digestive system develop as outgrowths of the endodermal epithelium of the upper part of the duodenum. Since the upper part of the foregut is divided by the tracheoesophageal septum into the esophagus posteriorly and the trachea and lung buds anteriorly, deviation of the septum may result in abnormal openings between the trachea and esophagus. The epithelial liver cords and biliary system growing out into the septum transversum differentiate into parenchyma. Hematopoietic cells (present in the liver in greater numbers before birth than afterward), Kupffer cells, and connective tissue cells originate in the mesoderm. The pancreas develops from a ventral bud and a