The digestive system prepares food for use by hundreds of millions of body cells. It uses mechanical and chemical methods to break food down into nutrient molecules that can be absorbed into the blood. Food enters the mouth and is broken down by chewing and mixed with saliva. It then passes into the stomach through the esophagus. The stomach contains acid and enzymes that continue breaking down the food. From the stomach, food enters the small intestine where most absorption occurs before the remaining waste is eliminated.
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