The gastrointestinal tract (or stomach and intestines) digests food and makes it ready to be absorbed into the bloodstream. Then it removes wastes from the bloodstream and excretes it from the body. It is part of the digestive system . The digestive system breaks food down into small, nutrient molecules.Then the blood distributes these nutrients to all tissues of the body and then removes the wastes those tissues produce and any undigested food. The digestive system consists of the oral cavity (mouth), esophagus, stomach, gut (small and large intestines), and rectum. Also, it includes the liver, gall bladder, salivary glands, and the pancreas.
Click on a substance to go to the health effects chapter in the toxicological profile. Then, search on any target organ system to find the health effects information on that system.