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← Inside Your Gut

A1 · 4 min · Free

The digestive journey

Put the main parts of digestion in order and describe one job each part does.

Opening scene

An oat, a blueberry and a spoonful of yoghurt all travel through the same connected system. Each part changes or handles the meal in a different way.

Play

Put the journey in order

Move the four cards into the route food follows. The buttons work with touch, mouse and keyboard.

A simplified digestive routeA line connects mouth and oesophagus, stomach, small bowel and colon in sequence.

Static route:

  1. Mouth and oesophagus — Chewing starts the process, then swallowing moves food towards the stomach.
  2. Stomach — Mixes food with fluid and digestive juices.
  3. Small bowel — Continues digestion and absorbs many nutrients.
  4. Colon — Absorbs water and helps form stool.

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  1. Small bowelContinues digestion and absorbs many nutrients.
  2. Mouth and oesophagusChewing starts the process, then swallowing moves food towards the stomach.
  3. ColonAbsorbs water and helps form stool.
  4. StomachMixes food with fluid and digestive juices.

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Make sense of it

The idea in plain language

Digestion starts before food reaches the stomach. Chewing breaks food into smaller pieces, while saliva begins the digestive process. The oesophagus then moves the swallowed food towards the stomach.

The stomach mixes food with fluid and digestive juices. From there, the mixture enters the small bowel, where digestion continues and many nutrients move into the body. What remains passes into the colon. The colon absorbs water and helps form stool before it leaves the body.

This is a simplified map of the route, not a picture of how quickly digestion should happen for any one person. Timing varies, and symptoms can have many causes. The activity explains the main sequence and jobs only.

Check the idea

Can you name the four parts in order and one main job for each?

A useful explanation follows the route: mouth and oesophagus, stomach, small bowel, then colon.

You mapped the route food follows through the digestive system.

For my appointment

Build a question

  • Which part of digestion would be most useful for me to understand better?
  • Could you explain how my own procedure or condition relates to this general digestive map?

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Sources and review

Clinical review: Dr Sivasuthan, 11 July 2026. Review due 11 July 2027.

  • The digestive system — Healthdirect Australia (accessed 2026)
  • Your Digestive System & How it Works — National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (accessed 2026)

Scope: general education for adults exploring general gut-health education.

General gut-health education from your care team. It doesn't replace advice from your doctor or an Accredited Practising Dietitian — please talk to them about your own situation.