Where is the digestive system located? The digestive system is a continuous tube that is composed of a complex series of organs and glands which extends from the mouth to the anus through the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities. It is responsible for breaking down food into forms that can be absorbed and used by the body’s cells. It also absorbs water, vitamins, and minerals, and eliminates wastes from the body. (psio book) List the main types of microbes present. Substantial numbers of microbes are found in the body with most being found in the small and large intestine and the colon with an estimate 100 trillion. Majority of these microbes fall into only 4 of the 50 larger bacterial groupings; Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, …show more content…
The microbes are acquired from the mother’s body and from the environment the newborn is delivered in. Within the first week of life the composition of the gut flora is reliant on what the newborn is fed. Breastfed babies’ gut microbiota, for example, is mainly dominated by Bifidobacteria, compared to babies nourished with infant formulas. Scientists consider that by the age of three, microbiota becomes stable and similar to that of adults, continuing its evolution at a steadier rate throughout life. (Pacheco, Barile, Underwood, & Mills, …show more content…
The body can recognise the difference between foreign materials and itself. In an autoimmune disease the immune system is defective and does not communicate correctly which leads to the system targeting and attacking its own body tissue. There are two ways the immune system can fail, it can either not be able to distinguish the body’s tissue from foreign cells or it is unable to regulate the intensity of the immune system’s response. Alterations in a person’s gut microbiota, which can be linked to a changed diet or certain antibiotics, can increase the risk of infections that lead to autoimmune diseases. It has also been documented that people, who suffer from a certain disease like inflammatory disease for example, have a microbiota that is different to the microbiota of healthy people. Although there are limits to these findings as it is impossible to say if the altered microbiota is the cause of the disease (Phillips,