Digestion is the

great secret of life

Digestive System
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Digestion defined
• Digestion is defined as the mechanical and
chemical breaking down of food into smaller
components, to a form that can be absorbed and
utilized by the cells of the body.
Two phases of digestion

Mechanical Chemical or
Enzymatic
• Involves the movement of • Involves the actions of enzymes in
organs or parts. every process of digestion.
• Begins in the mouth as the food • Begins in the mouth when the food
mixes with the saliva.
is chewed.
 Mouth or Oral Cavity: Its role in the
digestion process
• Themouth houses the teeth and
tongue
• Saliva does not only lubricate the
food but enzymatically breaks down
every carbohydrate intake
• Enzymes are biological molecules
(proteins) that act as catalysts and
help complex reactions occur
everywhere in life. In digestion,
enzymes are secreted by the
salivary glands
 Digestive Activities in the Organs of
the Mouth
Organ Mechanical Chemical
Functions Functions
Teeth Responsible for tearing, none
biting and churning of food

Tongue Responsible for determining none

the taste of the food, mixing
them and pulling the bolus
down the esophagus in the
process of swallowing or
deglutition
Salivary glands Releases saliva that Contains the salivary
lubricates the food for easy amylase, responsible for
swallowing and passage to the initial breakdown of
the esophagus carbohydrates
The Esophagus
• It
is a muscular tube,
approximately 25 cm (10
inches) from top to bottom
• The top of the esophagus is
attached to the pharynx,
while the bottom attaches
to the stomach
The Esophageal Sphincters
• At the top and the bottom of
the esophagus are a pair of
sphincters
• Sphincters are valves found
throughout the body which
selectively block or allow
substances to pass through
• In the esophagus, these
sphincters are situated at the
top (upper esophageal
sphincter) and at the bottom
(lower esophageal sphincter)
Peristaltic wave
• Isa coordinated
series of muscle
contractions which
begin in the upper
esophagus and
slowly pushes the
food down in the
stomach
The Stomach
• Is a muscular, elastic, pear-
shaped bag, lying crosswise in
the abdominal cavity beneath
the diaphragm. It changes size
and shape according to the
position of the body and the
amount of food inside
• It is about 12 inches long and is
6 inches wide at its widest point
• The food inside the stomach is
referred to as chyme
 The Four Layers of the Stomach
• Mucosa – innermost
layer where stomach
acid and digestive
juices are made
• Submucosa – moves
and mixes the
stomach contents
• Muscularis –
surrounds the
submucosa
• Serosa – the covering
of the stomach
Stomach Secretions
• Thestomach walls particularly the mucosa
secretes gastric juices
• This
is a strong acidic liquid, pH 1 to 3 in
humans and is close to being colorless
• Themain component of a gastric juice is
pepsin which initiates the breakdown of
proteins and rennin, hydrochloric acid, and
mucus
The Digestive Regulators
• These said regulators are Gastrin Secretin Cholecystokinin
hormones that control the (CKK)
functions of the digestive system • Causes the • Causes the • Causes the
and that are produced and stomach to pancreas to pancreas to
produce an send out a grow and
released by the cells in the
acid for digestive juice produce the
mucosa of the entire digestive dissolving and that is rich in enzymes of
system digesting food bicarbonate pancreatic
• It is also • It stimulates juice, and it
• These hormones are released necessary for the stomach to causes the gall
into the blood of the digestive the normal produce bladder to
growth of the pepsin, an empty
tract, normally travel back to the lining of the enzyme that
heart and through the arteries, stomach, small digests protein,
and return to the digestive intestine and and it also
system, where they stimulate colon stimulates the
liver to produce
digestive juices and cause organ bile
movement
Small Intestine
• Isthe chamber of the
digestive tract where
virtually all nutrients are
absorbed into the
bloodstream
• Thesmall intestine is the
longest section of the
digestive tube, which is
about three and a half
times of your body length
 The Segments of the Small Intestine
• Duodenum – receives
secretions from the pancreas
and liver and where most
absorption occurs
• Jejunum – located between
the duodenum and the ileum
and helps propel food along
the digestive tract
• Ileum – absorbs digested
products and empties into the
large intestine
The picture
shows the
epithelial
tissues of the
small intestine
which are the
ones
responsible for
the absorption
of nutrients

The histological representation of the cross section of the intestinal wall

 Digestion of Food Molecules
The final digestion of all food molecules is possible through the
action of the following enzymes and enzyme-like substance:
• Proteases (from the pancreas): trypsin and chymotrypsin, which
finalize the breakdown of proteins into amino acids
• Lipase (from the pancreas): responsible for the breakdown of
lipids
• Bile (enzyme-like substance from the liver: emulsification of fat
molecules
• Pancreatic Amylases: sucrase, for the breakdown of sucrose into
glucose and fructose; maltase, for the breakdown of maltose into
glucose units; and lactase, for the breakdown of lactose into
galactose and glucose
 Large Intestine
• It
is also know as large bowel
and is the last part of the
gastrointestinal tract
• Itsmain function is to transport
waste out of the body as well as
to absorb water from the
undigested materials before it
leaves the body
• Its
average length is about 1.5
meters long
The Parts of the Large Intestine
• Caecum – the site where the
large intestine is connected
to the small intestine
• Ascending (right) colon
• Transverse colon
• Descending (left) colon
• Sigmoid colon
• Appendix – a small
projection attached to the
caecum
 The Accessory Organs of Digestion
• The
organs include the pancreas, liver,
and gallbladder
• During
the digestive process, these
organs produce secretions that assist the
organs of the alimentary canal
 Pancreas
•A large elongated
gland lying posteriorly
to the stomach
• It
has two functions;
serves both the
endocrine and
digestive system
 Enzyme Substrate Action Products of
Digestion
Proteolytic Trypsin Proteins and peptides Splits amino acid linkages Small peptides
in the interior of protein
and peptides

Carboxypeptidase Proteins and peptides Splits terminal amino Peptides and amino acids
Chymotrypsin acids with free carboxyl
groups from the ends of
protein and peptides

Amylolytic Amylase Polysaccharides Splits internal glucose Oligosaccharides

bonds of polysaccharides

Lipolytic Lipase Triacylglycerols Splits two fatty acids from Free fatty acids and
triacylglycerols monoglycerides

Phospholipase Lecithin Splits one fatty acid from Lysolecithin

lecithin
Cholesterol esterase Cholesterol esters Splits the ester bond in Cholesterol and fatty
cholesterol esters acids
Nucleolytic Ribonuclease, Nucleic Acids Splits nucleic acids Mononucleotides
deoxyribonuclease
Liver
• Largest gland in the body
• It metabolizes carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
preparatory to their use of excretion
• It forms and excretes bile salts and pigment from
bilirubin, a waste product of RBC destruction
• It stores blood, glycogen, vitamins (A, D and B12) and
iron
• It detoxifies the end products of protein digestion and
drugs
• It produces antibodies and essential elements of the
blood clotting mechanism
• Produces bile to emulsify fats in the digestion process
Gallbladder
• Is
a pear-shaped sac,
usually stained dark green
by the bile it contains
• Itreceives bile from the
liver and then concentrates
and stores it
• Itsecretes bile when the
small intestine is
stimulated by the entrance
of fats
 Comparative
Anatomy of the
Digestive System
 Fishes
• Mostfishes have teeth and
an immovable tongue
• The size difference of the
small and large intestine are
indistinguishable
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