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Simply put, the digestive system is a portal for nutrients from the environment to gain access to the circulatory system.
Before such transfer can occur, foodstuffs first have to be reduced to very simple molecules by a combination of mechanical and
enzymatic degradation. The resulting sugars, amino acids, fatty acids and the like are then transported across the epithelium
lining the intestine into blood.
The focus of this section is to examine the "big picture" of digestive physiology and to look at fundamental aspects of
digestive system structure.
Core concepts required for understanding digestive structure and function:
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