DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Mihaila Alexandru Tiberiu

Erasmus Student
Definition:

• The digestive system represents the morphological and functional

assembly of organs that achieves digestion and absorption of ingested
food as well as the discharge of non-assimilable residues.

• The digestive system is used for breaking down food into nutrients
which then pass into the circulatory system and taken to where they
are needed in the body.
Description:

• Also know as the gastrointestinal tract,the digestive system begins at

the mouth,includes the esophagus,stomach,small intestine,large
intestine and rectum,and ends at the anus.The entire system from
mouth to anus is about 30 feet(9meters) long.
• The small intestine a 20-feet(6 meter) tube-shaped organ.The fuction
of the large intestine which is about 5 feet long(1.5 meters),is
primarily for storage and fermentation of indifestible matter.Also
called the colon,it has four parts:The ascending colon,the transverse
colon,the descending colon and the sigmoid colon.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
The four stage to food procesing
• 1.Ingestion
• 2.Digestion
• 3.Absorption
• 4.Egestion.
Definitions of the four stages.
• Ingestion:the process of taking food, drink, or another substance into
the body by swallowing or absorbing it.
• Digestion:Is the complex process of turning the food you eat into
nutrients which body uses for energy,growth and cell repair needed
to survive
• Absorption:Digested food molecules are absorbed in the small
intestine. This means that they pass through the wall of the small
intestine and into our bloodstream. Once there, the digested food
molecules are carried around the body to where they are needed.
• Egestion:Is the act or process of voiding or discharging undigested
food as faeces. To egest means to discharge undigested material or
food.
The digestive system consists of:

- digestive tract, a series of tubular organs of different caliber;

- appendix glands, anchored to different floors of the digestive tract.

Digestive tube

• It measures about 9 m long, from the oral cavity to the anus,

constituting the trajectory of ingested food during which they
undergo transformations necessary to prepare food for the cells of
the body, through physical and chemical digestive means.
Oral cavity

• It is the first segment of the digestive tract, representing the place

where digestion is started. The oral cavity comprises the tongue and
teeth. The taste, texture, but also the temperature of the food are
distinguished through the language. Dentia is mainly involved in
chewing, which together with the chemical digestion achieved by the
action of saliva forms at this level the food bowl.
The teeth are stuck in the dental alveoli located on the upper and
lower jaw. The definitive tooth consists of 32 teeth, divided
according to the following dental formula:
• Incisive – 2/2
• Canines – 1/1
• Premolars -2/2
• Molars – 3/3
 A tooth consists of three parts: crown, parcel (area of passage to the
root) and root.
In the longitudinal section is observed the enamel covering the
crown, the dentine is under the enamel and the cement covering the
root.
Dental pulp is a central cavity under the dentine.
This continues in the roots, through channels crossed by blood
vessels and nerves that pass through the perforated tip of the roots
towards the dental alveola
 In the course of his life, man has two successive teeth: milk teeth (20
teeth), so called because it develops when the child's main food is milk,
and definitive teeth, which man has from the age of 6-7 years to the
end of life.
By examining the X-ray reproduced in the figure you can see how the
change of milk teeth with the final ones occurs.
Tongue
It is a muscular organ, with root, body and type.
In the oral cavity is removed saliva produced by the salivary glands.
The tongue is the strongest muscle of the body, proportional to its
size.
Pharynx
• The pharynx is bounded by the oral cavity by the base of the tongue,
tonsils, palatal arch (Arcus palatoglossus), and towards the nasal cavity the
delimitation is carried out by the nasal cones. Posteroventral exit from the
pharynx is carried out on the one hand through the larynx continued with
the trachea, and on the other through the esophagus. The pharynx is
subdivided as follows:
• in the nasal or epipharyngeal area (Pars nasalis pharynngis)
• oral or mesopharyngeal area (Pars oralis pharynngis)
• laryngeal or hypopharyngeal area (Pars laryngea pharyngis)
• oesophageal area (Pars esophagea paryngis)
• The pharynx communicates with the nasal cavity and the middle ear
through Ostium pharyngeum tubae auditoryae or "Eustache's tromp". The
oral pharynx is separated from the nasal one by the palatine veil (Palatum
molle or Velum palatinum).
Esophagus

• It is a part of the digestive tract with the function of transporting

food, the Esophagus is a tube, which connects the pharynx to the
stomach. Its muscular walls produce undulating contractions, which
help transport food. It has a wide diameter compared to other cords.
In some species it can serve as a temporary food storage. It is covered
with an epithelial layer, which contains many subepithelial glands.
• The esophagus in adults is about 25 cm long. In the proximal (upper)
part of the esophagus is located behind the trachea and in front of
the spine.
The esophagus on its path can be divided into the following segments:
-Cervical segment (of the neck) pars cervicalis segment between the pharynx and the entrance to the
ribcage.
-Pectoral segment, thoracic pars stretching to the diaphragm muscle
-Abdominal pars abdominalis segment between diphragma and cardia (entry into the stomach)
Physiologically there are three sections of the necking of the esophagus:
-upper throat near trachea
-necking at cross-breeding with aortic crutch
-diaphragmatic necking, Hiatus oesophageus and Oesophagussphinxter
The tightness of the lower closure of the esophagus (last portion of 2 to 5 cm) is influenced by:
-if the esophagus is under tension
-if the opening hole in the stomach is twisted
-the existence of a venous stasis in the esophageal mucosa
The esophagus consists of several layers such as:
-serous layer and a layer of connective tissue
-muscle layer (lamina muskularis mucosae), (Tele muscularis), (Tele submucosa).
-mucous layer (Mucosa) with (Lamina epithelialis mucosae), (Lamina own mucosae)
The swallowing effect of the food bowl at the oral level, triggers by a reflex a peristaltic wave made by the
muscle layer in the esophagus that carries the food bowl from the pharynx to the stomach.
Stomach
• The stomach is a cavitary organ, placed in the gastric lodge in the abdomen
and represents the most dilated segment of the digestive tract. It is
responsible for transforming the food bowl through mechanical and
chemical actions into gastric chemistry, which it stores until it becomes
ready to be evacuated into the small intestine.
• Performs the predigestion of the food bowl, especially proteins, which, in
humans and some animals, is continued at the intestinal level.
• Through the acid pH of gastric juice, the destruction of bacteria is carried
out, with the exception of some like Helicobacter pylori, which develops in
the gastric mucosa being frequently responsible for gastric ulcers.
• The stomach also has a role in storing food, and only after emptying the
intestine, admits a new amount of predigested food.
Anatomy
• On an external examination of the stomach, we observe the small and large
curvature of the stomach (minor curvature and major curvature) and the fact that
it is covered by a membrane (Omentum minus und majus).
• Cardia is the entrance to the stomach of the esophagus (Oesophagus).
• The fundus area is the part of the stomach located above the cardia, which is
usually filled with gas.
• Corpus the body of the stomach is the largest part of the stomach.
• Corpus ends with the Pylorus pyloric orifice, which connects with a more dilated
area, Antrum pyloricum, continued with a narrow portion, Canalis pyloricus,
which ends with a muscular sphincter (Musculus sphincter pylori) with the pyloric
orifice, Ostium pyloricum.
• Blood vessels that irrigate the stomach are Truncus coeliacus
• Lymph nodes: lymph nodes of the stomach
• The acid kills off any invading bacteria or viruses.
• The enzymes help break down proteins and lipids.
• The mucus protects the lining of the stomach from being eaten away
by the acid
• The stomach does do some absorption too.
• Some medicines like aspirin,water and alcohol are all absorbed
through the stomach
• The digested bolus is now called chyme and it leaves the stomach by
passing through the pyloric sphincter.
 Small intestine
• It is the longest segment of the digestive tract, measuring a diameter
of 2.5 cm and a length of up to 6 m, from the hole of the pilor to the
ileo-cecala valve. In the small intestine, gastric chemistry is converted
into the intestinal chil through a complex of processes, being
absorbed about 90% of the nutrients that the body subsequently
receives following digestion. The small intestine is subdivided into the
duodenum, the fixed portion in which the hepatic and pancreatic
juice is secreted, the jejun, the middle portion, mobile, spiral, which
connects to the ileum, the final portion of the small intestine that
stretches to the ileo-cecala valve, from where the digestive tract
continues with the large intestine.
Duodenum

• Bile,produced in the liver but stored in the gall bladder,enters through

the bile duct.It breakis down fats.
• The pancreas secretes pancreatic juice to reduce the acidity of the
chyme.
Jejunum

• The jejunum is where the majority of absorption takes places.

• It has tiny fingerlike projections called “villi” lining it,which increase
the surface area for absorbing nutrients.
• Each villi itself has tiny fingerlike projections called microvilli,which
further increase the surface area for absorption.
Ileum
• The last portion of the small intestine is the ileum,which has fewer
villi and basically compacts the leftovers to pass through the caecum
into the large intestine.
Large intestine
• The large intestine is the last segment of the digestive tract, having a
caliber superior to the small intestine and a length of up to 1. 6 m,
between the ileo-cecala valve and the anus. At this level are taken the
remaining unabsorbed nutrients from the intestinal chil, transformed
and subsequently removed in the form of faeces. The large intestine
shows the check with the pyloric appendix, the colon, arranged in the
form of a frame around the small intestine, encompassing the
ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid potion ending with
the rectum, in which the faeces are stored before being eliminated by
the act of defecation. The anal canal, located below the rectum opens
through the anal or anus orifice, at which the digestive tract ends.
Rectum

• The rectum is an 8-inch chamber that connects the colon to the

anus.It is the rectum’s job to receive stool from the colon.When
anything(gas or stool) comes into the rectum,sensors send a message
to the brain.The Brain then decides if the rectal contents can be
released or not.
Anus
• The anus is the last part of the digestive tract.It is a 2-inch long canal
consisting of the pelvic floor muscles and the two anal
sphincters(internal and external).The lining of the upper anus is
specialized to detect rectal contents.It lets you know whether the
contents are liquid,gas or solid.The anus is surrounded by sphincter
muscles that are important in allowing control of stool.
The appendix glands of the digestive system

• Contributes to digestion through secretions.

• The salivary glands are responsible for saliva secretion, a mixture of

water, enzymes and mucin, in the oral cavity to lubricate the food to
be ingested. Also, the enzymes in the saliva interact with the food in
the oral cavity triggering the process of chemical digestion.
Liver
• It is placed in the liver box, under the diaphragm and represents the
largest gland in the body, weighing about 1. Five kilos. In addition to
the fact that the liver is the vital organ that detoxifies the blood from
harmful agents to the body, it is also involved in the process of
digestion by secretion of bile, a liquid that acts with predilection in fat
degradation. Between meals the bile accumulates in the gallbladder
or cholecyst.
• It consists of two lobes, and the dark red color is due to its rich
vascularization.
• Blood enters the liver through two vessels: the artery that brings
oxygenated blood and the vein that brings blood laden with
substances absorbed into the intestinal villosities.
Pancreas

• It's a mixed, retroperineal gland, located back of the stomach. The

exocrine function of the pancreas is involved in digestion, being
responsible for the elaboration and secretion of pancreatic juice, a
liquid that contains enzymatic equipment capable of degrading all
types of food substances.
• Is about 6 inches long and sits across the back of the
abdomen,behind the stomach.
• The pancreas secretes digestive enzymes break down protein,fats and
carbohydrates.The pancreas also makes insulin,secreting it directly
into the bloodsteam.Insulin is the chief hormone for metabolizing
sugar.
Gallbladder
• The gallbladder is a hollow organ that sits in a shallow depression below the right lobe of the liver,
that is grey-blue in life.[2] In adults, the gallbladder measures approximately 7 to 10 centimetres
(2.8 to 3.9 inches) in length and 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in diameter when fully distended.[3] The
gallbladder has a capacity of about 50 millilitres (1.8 imperial fluid ounces).[2]

• The gallbladder is shaped like a pear, with its tip opening into the cystic duct.[4] The gallbladder is
divided into three sections: the fundus, body, and neck. The fundus is the rounded base, angled
so that it faces the abdominal wall. The body lies in a depression in the surface of the lower liver.
The neck tapers and is continuous with the cystic duct, part of the biliary tree.[2] The gallbladder
fossa, against which the fundus and body of the gallbladder lie, is found beneath the junction of
hepatic segments IVB and V.[5] The cystic duct unites with the common hepatic duct to become
the common bile duct. At the junction of the neck of the gallbladder and the cystic duct, there is
an out-pouching of the gallbladder wall forming a mucosal fold known as "Hartmann's pouch".[2]

• Lymphatic drainage of the gallbladder follows the cystic node which is located between cystic
duct and common hepatic ducts. Lymphatics from the lower part of the drain into lower hepatic
lymph nodes. All the lymph finally drains into celiac lymph nodes.
Adjustment of digestion
Control of hormonal digestion
• Most hormones that control the functions involved in the digestive system are produced
and secreted by the cells of the gastric mucosa and small intestine. These hormones are
released into the circulating blood of the digestive tract, initially travel to the heart and
return through the arterial system, stimulating or inhibiting the motility and secretion of
digestive juices.
The main hormones that control digestion are:
- Gastrine influences the stomach to produce the acidity necessary to dissolve and digest
food, by stimulating the activity of the gastric glands to secrete pepsinogen and
hydrochloric acid. Gastrine also intervenes in the normal development of cells in the
lining of the stomach, small intestine and colon.
- Secretin influences pancreatic secretion, rich in bicarbonates that help neutralize the
acidity of the gastric contents when it enters the duodenum. Secretin also stimulates the
liver to draw bile.
- Colectochinin influences the pancreas to produce the enzyme equipment contained in
pancreatic juice. It is also involved in the normal development of pancreatic cells and
stimulates the discharge of the cholecyst.
- The inhibitory gastric peptide is influenced by the presence of food mass in the
duodenum, intervenes in the process of gastric discharge and induces insulin secretion.
- Motilin influences gastrointestinal motility and stimulates the production of pepsin.
Control of nervous digestion
• Nervous control of the oral cavity and pharynx is carried out by sensory and
motor branches of the cranial nerves. Otherwise, organ activity is controlled by
intrinsic and extrinsic nerves.
Intrinsic nerves are usually represented by the vegetative nerve plexuses
Meissner and Auerbach arranged in the form of a dense network in the walls of
the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. Intrinsic nerves respond by
local reflexes when pressure is exerted on the walls in which the food mass is
present. Thus, intrinsic nerves become responsible both for the movement of
food and for the signaling of the secretory glands of digestive juices by the
existence of food masses at certain levels of the digestive tract.
Extrinsic nerves come from the parasympathetic vegetative nervous system, with
fibers from the vagus and vegetative sympathetic nerve with fibers from the
celiac plexus, upper and lower mesenteric. The neurotransmitters through which
extrinsic nerves function are acetylcholine and adrenaline. Acetylcholine
promotes the compression of the muscle layer of the walls of the digestive tract,
intensifying the displacement of food mass and digestive juices, thus stimulating
their secretion. Contrary to acetylcholine, adrenaline prints a relaxing effect of
the muscle layer in the gastrointestinal tract, lowering the speed of blood
circulation at this level, while decreasing or stopping digestion.
Adjusting appetite

• The appetite is regulated by the nervous centers of hunger located in

the hypothalamus. One is the center of appetite, and the other is the
center of satiety.
Hormones in the digestive system responsible for regulating appetite
are:
- Greline produced by the stomach and small intestine in the absence
of food in the digestive system, thus stimulating appetite.
- YY peptides are secreted by the ileum and colon in response to the
presence of food in the digestive tract, thus inhibiting appetite.