Digestive System

A series of hollow organs joined

in a long, twisting tube from the
mouth to the anus. Inside this
tube is a lining called the
mucosa.
Series of connected organs whose
purpose is to break down, or
digest, the food we eat.
 Types of Enzymes
1.Metabolic Enzymes
– These reside in your body,
they are also a large part of our
immune systems. Metabolic
enzymes carry out the body’s
work.
Function : To build and repair cells
and tissues.
2.Food Enzymes – These
enzymes reside in raw food
(not cooked or processed).
Heat of over 118 degrees
fahrenheit will destroy live
enzymes.
Function : Aid in the digestion
and assimilation of the
food’s nutrients.
 3. Digestive Enzymes – These enzymes
assist in the breakdown of cooked (or
dead) food. Digestive enzymes are
limited in the body and if pushed
beyond their reserves will borrow
from the metabolic enzymes which
sets the cycle for degenerative
disease.
 Function : Cooked food has no live
enzymes to assist in the breakdown of
the dead food so the body must
supply the enzymes.
 Digestive Enzymes and
What They Aid
1.Protease (digests proteins)
Aids : anxiety, low blood sugar,
kidney problems, water retention;
depressed immunity, bacterial and
viral infections, cancer,
appendicitis, bone problems such
as: osteoporosis, arthritis.
2. Amylase (digests carbohydrates)
Aids : skin problems (rashes, hives,
herpes, canker sores), liver and
gallbladder disease.
3. Lipase (digests fats)
Aids : high cholesterol, obesity,
diabetes, cardiovascular problems,
high blood pressure, chronic
fatigue, spastic colon, and
dizziness.
4. Cellulase (digests fiber)
Aids : gas, bloating, acute food
allergies, facial pain or paralysis,
candidiasis (yeast infections).
5. Sucrase (digests sugars)
Aids : lung problems, asthma,
bronchitis, seizures, hyperactivity,
mood swings, insomnia, depression,
chronic diarrhea, and dizziness.
6. Lactase (digests dairy products)
Aids : Relieve discomfort caused
by lactose intolerance
7. Invertase (breaks down sugars)
Aids : Splits sucrose into glucose
and fructose – an acidic
environment occurs without the
action of Invertase
MOUTH
A very important organ of
communication and respiration.
Cavity forming the entrance to
the digestive tract.
Also called as the oral cavity.
Function : Break down of food in
small bits or pieces
SALIVARY GLANDS
Glands that secrete saliva, a
somewhat alkaline fluid that
moistens the mouth, softens food,
and aids in digestion.
Types of salivary Glands:
1. Submaxillary glands - are located
around the mouth under the
lower jaw
2. Sublingual glands - are located
beneath the tongue,
3. Buccal glands - in the cheeks
near the front of the mouth
4. Parotid glands - are found in
front of each ear. Contains
enzymes called amylases
known as ptyalin - aids in the
digestion of carbohydrates.
 PHARYNX
 Muscular tube located in the neck, lined
with mucous membrane, that connects
the nose and mouth with the trachea
(windpipe) and esophagus and serves as
a passageway for both air and food.
 About 13 cm (5 in) long in humans, it lies
in the front of the spinal column.
 The pharynx contains the tonsils and, in
children, the adenoids.
The upper part of the pharynx is
called the nasopharynx.
The lower part is called
oropharynx.
The pharynx ends at the
epiglottis - a flap of cartilage
that prevents food from entering
the trachea but allows it to enter
the esophagus.
Esophagus or Oesophagus
25 to 30 cm long muscular tube
that connects the mouth and the
stomach.
Commonly known as the food
pipe
It is located in the throat between
the stomach and the mouth.
Function : to carry the bolus,
other liquids and saliva from
the mouth to the stomach,
where the actual process of
digestion begins. This
transportation process that
takes the solid food and
liquids from the mouth to the
stomach is automatic.
 Stomach
 30.5 cm in length and 15.2 cm wide
and hollow.
 lies between the esophagus and the
small intestine.
 A saclike structure with strong,
muscular walls.
 Function : To store all the food from a
meal for both mechanical and
chemical processing.
4 parts of Stomach
 Cardia - where the bolus enters first
 Fundus - which is the top curve of
the stomach
 Corpus - that is the central part of
the stomach
 Pylorus - the lowermost part of the
stomach from where food enters
the small intestine.
 About four hours or less after a meal,
food processed by the stomach, called
chyme, begins passing a little at a time
through the pyloric sphincter into the
duodenum, the first portion of the small
intestine.
 The stomach contracts about three times
per minute, churning the food and mixing
it with gastric juice. This fluid, secreted by
thousands of gastric glands in the lining
of the stomach, consists of water,
hydrochloric acid.
LIVER
Liver weighs around 1.5 kg or
more and about 15 cm (6 in) thick.
Located at the right side of the
abdominal cavity behind the
lower ribs.
Reddish-brown in color and the
largest gland in the human body,
with a soft, spongy texture.
 Consists of two main lobes, left and
right , which overlap slightly.
 The right lobe has two smaller lobes
attached to it, called the quadrate
and caudate lobes.
 Each lobe contains many thousands
of units called lobules that are the
building blocks of the liver.
 Lobules are six-sided structures each
about 1 mm across.
Hundreds of cubed-shaped
liver cells, called hepatocytes ,
are arranged around the
lobule's central vein in a
radiating pattern. On the
outside surface of each lobule
are small veins , ducts, and
arteries that carry fluids to
and from the lobules.
 Functions :
It is very difficult to survive without
a liver, as this is one of the
important parts of the body,
without which the body cannot
function.
It has many functions, among them
the synthesis of proteins, immune
and clotting factors, and oxygen
and fat-carrying substances.
 Functions :
The liver plays an important
role in detoxification.
The liver helps in the digestion
and absorption of fats.
It plays a pivotal role in the
process of metabolism.
Performs more than 500
different functions
 Functions :
Its chief digestive function is the
secretion of BILE, a solution critical
to fat emulsion and absorption.
It converts excess amino acids into
useful forms and filters drugs and
poisons from the bloodstream,
neutralizing them and excreting
them in bile.
Functions :
The liver also removes excess
glucose from circulation and stores
it until it is needed.
The liver is unique among the
body’s vital organs in that it can
regenerate, or grow back, cells that
have been destroyed by some short-
term injury or disease.
FACTS :
 The hepatic artery delivers oxygen-
rich blood from the heart, supplying
about 25 percent of the liver's blood.
The liver also receives oxygen-
depleted blood from the hepatic
portal vein. This vein, which is the
source of 75 percent of the liver's
blood supply.
FACTS :
A network of blood vessels is
responsible for the vast amount
of blood that flows through the
liver — about 1.4 liters every
minute. Blood exits the liver
through the hepatic vein, which
eventually drains into the
heart.
GALLBLADDER
A pear-shaped membranous sac on
the undersurface of the right lobe of
the liver just below the lower ribs.
 It is generally about 7.5 cm (about 3
in) long and 2.5 cm (1 in) in
diameter at its thickest part
 It has a capacity varying from 1 to
1.5 fluid ounces.
Gallbladder consist of :
 Tunica Serosa - an outer
peritoneal coat
 Tunica muscularis - a middle coat
of fibrous tissue and unstriped
muscle
 Tunica Mucosa - an inner mucous
membrane coat
 FUNCTIONS :
 The gallbladder is to store bile, secreted
by the liver and transmitted from that
organ via the cystic and hepatic ducts,
until it is needed in the digestive process.
 The gallbladder, when functioning
normally, empties through the biliary
ducts into the duodenum to aid digestion
by promoting peristalsis and absorption,
preventing putrefaction, and
emulsifying fat.
 Pancreas
 Conglomerate gland lying transversely
across the posterior wall of the abdomen.
 It varies in length from 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8
in) and has a breadth of about 3.8 cm
(about 1.5 in) and a thickness of from 1.3 to
2.5 cm (0.5 to 1 in).
 Its usual weight is about 85 gm (about 3
oz).
 Its head lies in the concavity of the
duodenum.
 The pancreas has both an exocrine
and an endocrine secretion.
 The exocrine secretion is made up
of a number of enzymes that are
discharged into the intestine to aid
in digestion.
 The endocrine secretion, insulin, is
important in the metabolism of
sugar in the body.
Function:
Itrelease enzymes into the
duodenum that digest
starches, proteins, and fats.
Produce digestive juices
that reach the intestine
through small tubes.
Insulin is produced in small
groups of especially modified
glandular cells in the pancreas;
these cell groups are known as
the islets of Langerhans.
The failure of these cells to
secrete sufficient amounts of
insulin causes diabetes.
INSULIN
LARGE INTESTINE
The length of large intestine
stretches up to 1.5 m long.
Portion of the digestive tract
between the stomach and
anus.
Some disorders of the large
intestine are constipation,
diverticulitis, diarrhea etc.
Function :
Itabsorbs water and salts,
and helps in the excretion of
solid waste material.The large
intestine absorbs the water
from the food. The large
intestine maintains the fluid
balance in our body.
 The large intestine is divided into the
cecum, ascending colon, transverse colon,
descending colon, sigmoid colon, and
rectum.
 1. Cecum - is a swollen sac located in the
lower right-hand portion of the abdominal
cavity; it is very large in herbivorous
animals. The two important parts of the
cecum in humans are the vestigal
vermiform appendix, which often becomes
diseased; and the ileocecal valve, a
membranous structure between the cecum.
 2. Ascending colon - rises along the
right side of the abdominal cavity
 3. Transverse colon - runs across the
body to the left side.
 4. Descending colon -travels
downward.
 5. Sigmoid colon - is the S-shaped
portion of the large intestine as it
enters the pelvic cavity.
 6. Rectum - terminal portion of the
large intestine.
Small Intestine
 The small intestine measures
between 6 to 7 m in length and 2.5
to 3 cm in diameter.
 Lies between the stomach and the
large intestine.
 The coiled in the center of the
abdominal cavity.
 Chemical digestion takes place.
Functions :
 Itprotects the body against any
infections, and secretes intestinal
juices too.
 Regulates the passage of food
material from the small intestine to
the large intestine.
 Prevents the passage of toxic waste
products from the large intestine
back into the small intestine.
 The small intestine is divided into
three parts, namely, duodenum,
jejunum and ileum.
 1. Duodenum -The first section. It
is a horseshoe-shaped section
surrounding part of the pancreas
and the pancreatic duct, as well
as ducts from the liver and gall
bladder that open into it.
 2. Jejunum - extending from
the duodenum to the ileum.
The mid part.
3. ileum - the terminal
portion. Leads into the side
of the first part of the large
intestine.
Appendix
 Worm-shaped tube branching off
the cecum, the first part of the
large intestine.
 It is located on the lower right
side of the abdomen
 It is usually about 9 cm long, with
a thick wall.
FACTS :
 Only humans and apes have an
appendix.
 It has no known function in human
biology, but it does contain a large
amount of lymphoid tissue, which may
provide a defense against local infection.
 Many scientists believe that the human
appendix at one time served a useful
purpose that has gradually been lost
through evolution.
FACTS :
 For reasons not fully understood,
the appendix can become infected
and filled with pus—particularly in
children, teenagers, and young
adults—resulting in appendicitis.
 Symptoms of appendicitis include
pain and cramps in the area
between the right hip bone and the
navel, fever, nausea and vomiting,
constipation, and diarrhea.
 The treatment is surgical removal
of the appendix, known as
appendectomy. If the appendix
wall ruptures, infection may
spread to the abdominal cavity,
causing peritonitis, an
inflammation of the abdominal
lining. Acute peritonitis is often
fatal if untreated.
 Rectum
 Lowest part of the large intestine
joining the colon and the anus.
 Which makes up the final 15 to 20 cm
(6 to 8 in) of the alimentary canal.
 Function : Stores the feces—waste
material that consists largely of
undigested food, digestive juices,
bacteria, and mucus—until
elimination.
 Anus
 Also called Anal Canal
 About 4 cm or 1.5 inches
 The opening at the end of the
alimentary canal that allows
undigested foods and waste materials
to pass out of the body, in form of
Feces.
 Function : It secretes waste materials,
like our feces.