Fantastic Voyage
Unit 9 Project
Anatomy and Physiology II

Fantastic Voyage. Once again my mini-sub and I will be miniaturized (8 microns long) and witnessing another ‘Fantastic Voyage’ in a human body. This time I will be swallowed by George, a 55 years old man, while he is eating his meal consisting of a hamburger, French fries and a soda. I will pilot my mini-sub through George’s GI (gastrointestinal tract), which is the tube that starts with the mouth and proceeds to the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine (or colon), rectum and, finally, the anus (Pansky, 2007). Along this pathway I will describe the digestion of George’s meal and the major structures that I will encounter. Arrived to the distal …show more content…

Beside villi I see diffused lymphoid tissue; these are the Peyer's patches containing large numbers of lymphocytes which can generate an immune response in the mucosa in case of pathogenic microorganism’s attacks. The chyme is now broken down into small molecules; some of them are absorbed into the blood through membranes (Martini & Nath, 2008). I decide to follow the flow because veins from ileum drain eventually into superior mesenteric vein and this is where I need to go if I want to reach George’s circulatory system.
Here starts my journey into George’s the bloodstream. I am definitely in the superior mesenteric vein because I can recognize the conjunction with splenic vein forming the hepatic portal vein. This portal drains blood to capillary beds in the liver. The bloodstream is now entering the inferior vena cava and going towards the right atrium of the heart. I am definitely in the heart, the deoxygenated blood is moving towards the right ventricle via the tricuspid valve and then go into the pulmonary artery through the pulmonary valve and then enter the lungs (Patton & Thibodeau, 2008). In here blood is releasing carbon dioxide and acquiring oxygen. The oxygenate blood through the pulmonary vein reaches the left atrium of heart and goes to the left ventricle via the mitral valve. From the left ventricle blood enters the Aorta (via aortic valve) and keeps going towards the ascending aorta until it