Human Digestive System
- series of muscular contractions that
- composed of a tubular alimentary canal ( a.k.a
digestive tract ) and its accessory glands
Tubular canal - mouth to anus ( most of its
length coiled in the digestive tract )
Organs of the Digestive System and its
functions
1. Mouth
- teeth’s role is to physically digest by
breaking down food into smaller pieces
- muscular action of the tongue forms
and rolls the food into a bolus
*Bolus
- plural: boli
- smooth, rounded package of food
where starch has already broken down
2. Salivary Glands
- secrete saliva to lubricate food
particles and enzyme salivary amylase to
begin the chemical breakdown of
starches in food
*mucin
- present in saliva
- helps soften the food
*salivary amylase
- enzyme present in saliva
- begins the chemical digestion of food,
breaks down starch present in food
3. Pharynx
- serves as a pathway for the movement
of food from mouth to esophagus
- its muscular walls function on the
process of swallowing
4. Esophagus
- connects the mouth and the stomach
- it’ll take 5-10 seconds for food to pass
from pharynx, through the esophagus
and down to the stomach
- Muscle layer surrounding it cause
rhythmic, wavelike contractions called
peristalsis
*peristalsis
plunges the bolus into the stomach
5. Stomach
- as the food went down here,
sphincters controls the food to stay
inside for 2-6 hours to allow stomach
acids and enzymes to continue the
digestive process
- its’ thick muscular walls contract to
mash the food into a sloppy soup while
its lining filled with gastric glands
release strong gastric juices
Two types of secretory cells:
Parietal cells - release hydrochloric acid
Chief cells - secrete pepsinogen
- peristalsis in the stomach mixes the
food and gastric juices well
- the food becomes liquefied and
together with gastric juice forms chime
which passes in small amounts into the
duodenum
*sphincters
- Muscular ring like valves that
regulates passage of food in and out the
stomach
*pepsinogen
- a weak enzyme
- when activated, is converted into a
more powerful enzyme known as pepsin
* gastric juices
- a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid
and enzyme pepsin
6. Pancreas
- produces hormones responsible for
controlling the glucose level in the blood
- releases bicarbonate that neutralizes
the acidity of the chyme
7. Liver
- aids in digestion by producing an
alkaline which contains bile
* bile
- a greenish-yellow liquid which contains
bile salts and bile pigments
- not an enzyme
 - breaks large fat particles into smaller
ones so those particles could be digested 11. Rectum
by enzymes easily in the small intestine - this is where feces are temporarily
stored
8. Gallbladder
- a greenish-yellow bag that temporarily 12. Anus
stores bile - Here, feces are expelled or removed via
the process called egestion or defecation
9. Small intestine - end of the system
- terminal digestion of carbohydrates,
lipids and proteins occurs here, as well Diseases
as the nutrients absorbed by the blood Diarrhea
- proteins -> amino acids Constipation
- sugar -> simple sugars
- fats -> fatty acids and glycerol
- nutrients are absorbed by the
bloodstream through the walls of the
small intestine
- the wall contains numerous transverse
folds and furrows, whereas its inner
lining is covered with millions of tiny
fingerlike structures called villi ( singular:
villus )
- epithelial cells of the villi bear
numerous cytoplasmic extensions called
microvilli
- food is absorbed by the villi into a
network of blood vessels that carry the
nutrients in the whole body
Divided into three:
- duodenum
- jejunum
- ileum

10. Large intestine

- absorb water and mineral salts from
the undigested food material
- in 18-24 hours, most of the water
contained in the undigested food is
absorbed
- vitamin K and 2 B vitamins, which are
needed by the body, are produced by
helpful bacterial residents inside the
large intestine
- feces are formed here
*feces
- formed solid waste by nutrients that
are not absorbed by the large intestine