Topic

11: Digestive System

Objectives
• Describe the processes that occur in the gastrointestinal tract
• Describe the tissues of the gastrointestinal tract wall
• Differentiate between the organs of digestion and accessory organs and explain their role in digestion
• Name the enzymes involved in the chemical digestion of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids
• Discuss the absorption of the end products of digestion into the lymphatic and cardiovascular systems
• State common water soluble vitamins

Overview of Digestion
- The organs of the digestive system are located within a tube called the gastrointestinal
tract.
- It starts at the mouth and ends at the anus.
- The digestive system breaks down polymers into monomers so that they can be used to
build new polymers within human cells.
- Functions:
o Physically/chemically breaking down food
o Absorbing nutrients into bloodstream
o Removing undigested waste
o Producing intrinsic factor (required for absorption of vitamin B12)
o Housing symbiotic bacteria (normal flora)
1. Ingestion occurs when we take in and swallow food.
2. Digestion
o Mechanical digestion is the physical mixing and breaking down of food into
smaller pieces.
o Chemical digestion involves digestive enzymes.
3. Secretion is the release of water, ions (mostly sodium), gastric acid, enzymes, bile, and
bicarbonate into various regions of the gastrointestinal tract to aid digestion.
4. Absorption is the process of moving digested nutrients and water and ions from the
lumen of the digestive tract into the bloodstream.
5. Defecation/Elimination is the removal of undigested matter, called feces.
Tissues of the Digestive System
Layers of the GI Tract
- The wall of the digestive tract has 4 layers:
o Mucosa: composed of epithelial cells (mostly
simple columnar in small intestine for
absorption)
o Submucusa: areolar connective tissue
o Muscularis: smooth muscle
o Serosa: areolar connective tissue + simple
squamous epithelium



Organs of the Digestive System
1. Mouth
- B The mouth receives food and begins the process of mechanical and chemical
digestion. Food is referred to as a bolus.
- Gums (gingiva)
o over joints between tooth sockets and teeth
- Teeth
o Mechanical breakdown
- Tongue
o Mechanical breakdown
o Forms bolus
o Contain taste buds
- Salivary glands
o Chemical breakdown
o Saliva moistens food and contains salivary amylase
2. Pharynx + Esophagus
- After the bolus is chewed, it moves to a cavity in the throat (pharynx) where muscles
allow it to be swallowed. It then travels down the esophagus, past the trachea and
epiglottis, to the stomach.
- Pharynx
o Cavity that serves as a passage way for food and air
o Connects mouth and nasal cavity to esophagus and trachea
- Epiglottis
o Flap of skin that covers trachea when food is swallowed
- Esophagus
o Tube that carries food to stomach
o First site of peristalsis
- Trachea
o Tube that carries air to lungs
3. Stomach
- The bolus enters the stomach through a ring of muscle called the lower esophageal
(aka cardiac) sphincter. Inside, 2 main events take place:
- 1. Gastric juice is added
- Mucosa layer secretes:
o Mucous – from goblet cells; protects lining of stomach
o Pepsinogen – from chief cells; breaks down proteins once
activated
o Hydrochloric acid – from parietal cells; low pH activates
pepsinogen (into pepsin) and kills bacteria
- 2. Food is churned
o Muscularis layer mixes food
o Food then leaves stomach as chyme through the pyloric
sphincter.


4. Small Intestine
- After leaving the stomach, food enters the small intestine
2-4 mL at a time.
- This food is now called chyme.
- The first part of the small intestine is called the
duodenum and it is here most food is digested.
- Next is jejunum, then,
- Ileum
- This requires the addition of 3 “juices” and the help of
accessory organs – the liver, gall bladder and pancreas.
Bile
- A chemical (not an enzyme) that is needed to emulsify lipids.
- Made by the liver but stored in the gall bladder.
- When needed, bile travels down the common bile duct to
the duodenum where it mixes with chyme.
Pancreatic juice
- Secreted by the pancreas.
- When needed, it travels down pancreatic duct to the duodenum
- Pancreas – contains:
- Enzymes
o Pancreatic amylase, trypsin, lipase, nuclease
- Other
o Insulin = regulates glucose levels in blood
o Bicarbonate = neutralizes stomach acid (Recall: pH=2)
Intestinal juice
- Secreted by the small intestine
- Contains enzymes:
o Maltase, lactase, sucrase
o Peptidase
o Nucleosidase

5. Large Intestine
- Food that has not been absorbed by the small intestine enters the large intestine. Here,
water, ions, and some vitamins are absorbed, and intestinal bacteria* reside. Leftover
waste is then eliminated from the body through the anus.
- There are 4 main parts of the large intestine:
o Cecum - contains appendix
o Colon - ascending, transverse, descending, sigmoid
o Rectum
o Anal canal






Absorption
Small Intestine
- Once the molecules of life are digested, the small intestine absorbs the nutrients. Villi
and microvilli increase surface area to maximize absorption.

Vitamins
- Fat Soluble Vitamins
o A, D, E and K
o Absorbed the same way as lipids
- Water Soluble Vitamins
o B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12)
o Vitamin C
o Absorbed by diffusion (except B12 which requires a transport protein called
intrinsic factor)
- Most of these vitamins are absorbed in the small intestine, except for those that are
produced by bacteria in the large intestine (B1, B2, B12, and Vitamin K)

Digestive Enzymes



Mouth

Stomach

Small Intestine – “juice” liver, gall bladder

Small Intestine – “juice” from pancreas

Small Intestine – “juice” from small intestine