Digestive system

Anatomy

2 main groups:
1. Alimentary canal
a. Ingestion
b. Digestion
c. Absorption
d. Defecation
2. Accessory digestive organs

Alimentary canals ALIMENTARY CANAL

Also called gastrointestinal (GI) tract
1. Mouth Mouth
2. Pharynx  Also called oral cavity
3. Esophagus  Lips/ labia
4. Stomach  Cheeks
5. Small intestine  Hard & soft palate
6. Large intestine  Uvula
 Vestibule
Accessory digestive organs  Tongue
1. Teeth  Lingual frenulum
2. Salivary glands  Tonsils (palatine & lingual)
3. Pancreas  mastication
4. Liver
5. Gallbladder

Coverings of digestive organs

 Peritoneum
o Parietal peritoneum
o Visceral peritoneum
 Omentum
o Lesser omentum
o Greater omentum
 Mesentery
Pharynx

2 skeletal muscle layers:

 Inner layer: runs longitudinally
 Outer layer: runs circularly

Esophagus
 Also called gullet
 25 cm (10 inches)

4 basic tissue layers:

 Mucosa
o lines the lumen
o epithelium + lamina propria + smooth
muscle
 Submucosa
o connective tissue + blood vessels +
nerves + lymphs
 Muscularis externa
o inner circular layer + outer longitudinal Stomach
layer (smooth muscles)  15- 25 cm (6- 10 inches)
 Serosa  Cardiac region
o visceral peritoneum o Cardioesophageal sphincter
 Fundus
o Body
o Pyloric antrum
 Pylorus
o yloric sphincter
 Greater curvature
 Lesser curvature
 Small intestine
 major digestive organ of the body
 Longest section of the alimentary tube ( 2. 5 –
7 meters/ 8-20 ft)
 3 divisions:
o Duodenum
o Jejunum
o Ileum
 Ileocecal valve
 segmentation

Stomach: storage tank, site for food breakdown

 Mucosa
o Rugae Increase absorptive surfaces:
o Gastric glands 1. Circular folds ‘ plicae circulares’
 Gastric pits 2. Villi
 Gastric juices 3. Microvilli ‘ brush border’
 Pepsinogens
o Chief cells
 HCl
o Parietal cells
 Acidic mucus
o Mucous neck
cells
o Parietal cells: intrinsic factor
o Enteroendocrine cells: Gastrin

 chyme
Hepatopancreatic ampulla
 Pancreatic ducts
 Bile ducts

Goblet cells: HCO3-

Teniae coli: ‘ribbons of the colon’
Haustra

ACCESSORY ORGANS
Teeth
 Incisors : chisel-shaped; for cutting
 Canines : fanglike; tearing/ piercing
 Premolars & molars: grinding

 Fxn: mastication

2 sets of teeth:
1. deciduous/ baby/ milk teeth (20 teeth)
Large intestine  complete by 2 yrs old
 much larger in diameter but shorter in length  falls by 6- 12 yrs & thereby
than small intestine replaced by permanent teeth
 About 1.5 m/ 5 ft long
 Fxn: dry out the indigestible food residue by 2. permanent teeth
absorbing water & eliminate this in the form of  all but the 3rd molar erupts by the
feces end of adolescence
 3rd molars ‘wisdom teeth’ : emerge
5 divisions: between 17-25 yrs old
1. Cecum
2. Vermiform appendix Crown
3. Colon  Enamel
 Ascending colon  Dentin
 Right colic flexure (hepatic flexure)  Pulp/ pulp cavity
 Transverse colon  Root canal
 Left colic flexure (splenic flexure) Root
 Descending colon  Cementum
 Sigmoid colon  Periodontal membrane
4. Rectum  Teeth
5. Anal canal (anus)
 External voluntary sphincter
 Internal involuntary sphincter
 Salivary glands
1. Parotid glands
 lies anterior to the ears
2. Submandibular glands
 floor of the mouth
3. Sublingual glands
 floor of the mouth

Saliva
 mixture of mucus & serous fluids
 helps bind food together into a mass called
bolus

Salivary amylase
 starts starch digestion

Salivary glands

Pancreas
 Soft, pink, triangular gland that extends from
spleen to duodenum
 Most of the part is located posterior to the
parietal peritoneum- retroperitoneal
 Produces enzymes that help in digestion

2 major regions:
1. Crown : exposed part ; covered with enamel
 Enamel
o hardest substance of the body;
made of calcium salts
o underneath the enamel is
dentin

 dentin
o bonelike material that forms
the bulk of the tooth
o surrounds the pulp Liver
 Largest gland of the body
 pulp  Has 4 lobes
o supplies nutrients to the tooth  Suspended from the diaphragm & abdominal
tissues and provide sensation
wall thru a delicate mesentery cord called
falciform ligament
 root canal
 Produces bile- leaves the liver thru the
o part of pulp cavity that extends
common hepatic duct & enters the duodenum
into the root
thru the bile duct
o provides a route for blood
 Bile – yellow to green, watery solution
vessels & nerves
containing bile salts, bile pigments, lipids, &
electrolytes
2. Root
o fx: emulsify fats
 embedded in the jawbone
 covered with cementum- attaches the
tooth to the periodontal membrane
 Physiology
Digestive system
 major fxn: digestion & absorption

6 processes
1. ingestion
2. propulsion
a. peristalsis
3. mechanical digestion
a. mastication
b. segmentation
4. chemical digestion
5. absorption
Gall bladder major absorptive site is small
 Small, thin- walled green sac intestine
 Stores bile that is not in use 6. defecation
 Gallstones
 Jaundice Peristalsis
 Hepatitis  involuntary; involves alternating waves of
 Cirrhosis contraction & relaxation of the muscles of
digestive tract

3. Mechanical digestion
 Mixing of food in the mouth- mastication
 Churning of food in the stomach
 Segmentation in the small intestine

Segmentation
 movement of food back & forth in the small
intestine, serving to mix it with the digestive
juices
4. Chemical digestion
 Enzymes
o protein molecules that acts as
catalysts

1. Carbohydrates
 digested to monosaccharides
 indigestible sugar: cellulose (
becomes fiber)
2. Proteins
 digested to peptides/ polypeptides
3. Lipids
 digested to fatty acid & glycerol

Activities of different digestive organs

Activities of the small intestine
Activities occurring in the mouth, pharynx and
esophagus 1.) Digestion
 Food breakdown physically  Release of intestinal juices
1. secretin
o mechanical digestion
2. cholecystokinin
 Release of salivary amylase
3. gastric inhibitory peptide
o chemical digestion
 Brush border enzymes break down sugars
 Swallowing or ‘deglutition’
and complete protein digestion
o 1st phase : buccal phase
 Secretion of protective mucus
o 2nd phase : pharyngeal-
esophageal phase (peristalsis)  Pancreas secrete pancreatic juices
1. pancreatic amylase
Peristalsis 2. trypsin, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase
3. lipases
 involuntary; involves alternating waves of
contraction & relaxation of the muscles of 4. nucleases
5. HCO3
digestive tract

2. Absorption
 Secretion of gastric juices  Active transport
o Parietal/Oxytin cells : HCl
 Diffusion: water & lipids
o Chief cells : Pepsinogens
How does food move in the small intestine?
 Secretion of the hormone Gastrin - thru peristalsis and segmentation
gastrin
parietal cells ---------- HCl Peristalsis
pepsinogens ------ pepsin
 involuntary; involves alternating waves of
contraction & relaxation of the muscles of
 Production of chyme digestive tract
Segmentation
*Secretion of Rennin
 movement of food back & forth in the small
*enterogastric reflex
intestine, serving to mix it with the digestive
juices
Activities of the large intestine
1. Haustral contraction Central role of Liver in metabolism
a. Mass movement
2. Bacteria metabolizes some of the remaining Liver functions:
nutrients, resulting to the release of flatus 1. Detoxify drugs & alcohol
3. Bacteria make vitamins such as vitamin K & B 2. Degrade hormones
4. Colon mostly absorbs water 3. Make or build different substances needed by
5. Defecation reflex the body
4. Metabolize nutrients
*Hepatic portal circulation

Nutrition & Metabolism Liver

 Maintain blood glucose levels within 100
Nutrition mg/dL of blood thru:

 Nutrients GLUCOSE  GLYCOGEN = GLYCOGENESIS

o substance in food that is used by the GLUCOSE  FATS = LIPOGENESIS
body to promote normal growth, GLYCOGEN  GLUCOSE = GLYCOGENOLYSIS
maintenance, and repair FATS  GLUCOSE = GLUCONEOGENESIS
PROTEIN  GLUCOSE = GLUCONEOGENESIS
major nutrients
water, carbohydrates, lipids, & Carbohydrate metabolism
proteins
Cellular respiration
minor nutrients C6H12O6 + 6 O2 ------------ 6CO2 + 6H20 + ATP
vitamins & minerals
Imbalances
1. Hyperglycemia
Metabolism 2. Hypoglycemia
 referring to all chemical reactions that are
necessary to maintain life Fat metabolism
Forms of Fats:
1. Catabolism 1. Triglycerides (TAG)
 process of breaking down substances 2. Phospholipids
into simpler forms 3. Fatty acids
2. Anabolism 4. Cholesterol
 process of building large substances
from smaller ones Fat metabolism
 Fats/lipids – build cell membranes,  Use to synthesize lipoproteins, thromboplastin
make myelin sheath, insulate the body & cholesterol
with fatty cushion; major energy fuel in  Build cell membranes
the absence of carbohydrates  Form myelin sheaths of neurons
  Fat --------- fatty acid (acetic acid) Metabolic rate & body heat production
acetic acid + O2 ---------- CO2 + H20 + ATP  Kilocalorie (kcal): energy value of food
 Incomplete fat metabolism o Carbohydrates & Proteins: 4 kcal/ g
o results to accumulation of acetone and o Fats: 9 kcal/ g
acetoacetic acid o
 accumulation of acetone and acetoacetic acid  Basal metabolic rate
---------- acidosis/ ketoacidosis o amount of heat produced by the body
 Ketoacidosis/ acidosis are commonly results per unit of time when it is under basal
from ‘no-carb diet’ conditions
o most important factor is thyroxine
Protein metabolism levels
 Make up the bulk of cells
 Protein ------ amino acids  Total metabolic rate
 Liver only gets its fill of amino acids, the rest o total amount of kcal the body must
will circulate in the blood. consume to fuel ongoing activities
 Cells take up these amino acids to function o most important factor is muscular
properly & to make their own proteins work
 20 amino acids are needed by each cell to
function, 9 of which are available only on diet- Body temperature regulation
essential amino acids  Body’s thermostat: hypothalamus
 Amino acids became only a source of energy  Heat- promoting mechanisms
when there is inadequacy in carbohydrates & o vasoconstriction & shivering
fats  Heat- losing mechanisms
 Metabolism of protein for energy becomes o radiation & evaporation
toxic to the body due to its by- product  Hypothermia- Frostbite
ammonia.  Hyperthermia- Heat stroke, heat exhaustion
 The liver takes its action by combining
ammonia to CO2, producing urea that is Developmental aspects of the digestive system
excreted in the urine  Forms by 5th week of gestation
 Rooting reflex
Liver  Sucking reflex
 Makes blood proteins such as:
a. Albumin Cleft palate
 holds fluid in the bloodstream, Tracheoesophageal fistula
otherwise it will go to tissues Gastroenteritis
causing edema Appendicitis
b. Clotting proteins : important in Polyps
hemostasis

Cholesterol metabolism & transport

 Cholesterol
o serves as structural basis of steroid
hormones & vitamin D; major building
block of plasma membranes
o 15% from diet; 85 % from liver
o broken down by lipase
o secreted in bile salts to feces
o insoluble in blood; transported thru
lipoproteins
o Lipoprotein carrier
 low density lipoprotein (LDL) :
‘bad cholesterol’
 high density lipoprotein (HDL)
: ‘good cholesterol’

Body energy balance

 Energy intake : energy liberated during food
oxidation/ cellular respiration
 Energy output : includes the energy we
immediately loss as heat + energy we used to
do work + energy stored in the body

 Energy intake =total energy output

=heat + work + energy storage