Introduction

 The digestive system is

used for breaking down
food into nutrients
which then pass into the
circulatory system and
are taken to where they
are needed in the body.
 Introduction
 There are four stages to
food processing:
1. Ingestion: taking in food
2. Digestion: breaking
down food into nutrients
3. Absorption: taking in
nutrients by cells
4. Egestion: removing any
leftover wastes
 The Human Digestive System
 Begins when food enters
the mouth.
 It is physically broken
down by the teeth.
 It is begun to be
chemically broken down
by amylase, an enzyme
in saliva that breaks
down carbohydrates.
 The Human Digestive System
 The tongue moves the
food around until it
forms a ball called a
bolus.
 The bolus is passed to
the pharynx (throat) and
the epiglottis makes sure
the bolus passes into the
esophagus and not down
the windpipe!
 The Human Digestive System
 The bolus passes down
the esophagus by
peristalsis.
 Peristalsis is a wave of
muscular contractions
that push the bolus
down towards the
stomach.
 The Human Digestive System
 To enter the stomach,
the bolus must pass
through the lower
esophageal or cardiac
sphincter, a tight muscle
that keeps stomach acid
out of the esophagus.
 The Human Digestive System
 The stomach has folds
called rugae and is a big
muscular pouch which
churns the bolus
(Physical Digestion) and
mixes it with gastric
juice, a mixture of
stomach acid, mucus
and enzymes.
 The Human Digestive System
 The acid kills off any
invading bacteria or
viruses.
 The enzymes help break
down proteins and
lipids. Chemical
Digestion.
 The mucus protects the
lining of the stomach
from being eaten away
by the acid.
 The Human Digestive System
 The stomach do some
absorption too.
 Some medicines (i.e.
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.
 The Human Digestive System
 Chyme is now in the
small intestine.
 The majority of
absorption occurs here.
 The liver and pancreas
help the small intestine
to maximize absorption.
 The small intestine is
broken down into three
parts:
 The Human Digestive System
1. Duodenum
 Bile, produced in the
liver but stored in the
gall bladder, enters
through the bile duct.
It breaks down fats.
 The pancreas secretes
pancreatic juice to
reduce the acidity of
the chyme.
 The Human Digestive System
2. Jejunum
 The jejunum is where
the majority of
absorption takes place.
 It has tiny fingerlike
projections called villi
lining it, which
increase the surface
area for absorbing
nutrients.
 The Human Digestive System
 Each villi itself has tiny fingerlike projections called
microvilli, which further increase the surface area for
absorption.
 The Human Digestive System
3. 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.
 The Human Digestive System
 The large intestine (or
colon) is used to absorb
water from the waste
material leftover and to
produce vitamin K and
some B vitamins using
the helpful bacteria that
live here.
 The Human Digestive System
 Bacteria that live in the
colon are important for
the synthesis of Vit. B12
and K. Other bacteria
are responsible for
destroying the “bad”
bacteria.
E. coli is an example
 The Human Digestive System
 All leftover waste is
compacted and stored at
the end of the large
intestine called the
rectum.
 When full, the anal
sphincter loosens and
the waste, called feces,
passes out of the body
through the anus.
Accessory organs - Liver
 liver
Liver is the largest gland in the human body. It secretes bile
juice, which is stored in the gall bladder before it is poured into
duodenum through a common bile duct .Bile is alkaline due to
the presence of bile salts and bile pigments. Bile helps in :

 Emulsification of fat (emulsification means breaking of fat into

small globules ).
 Activates the pancreatic and intestinal enzymes by making the
food alkaline.
 Stores glucose in the form of glycogen.
 Forms urea.
 Destroys dead and worn out red blood corpuscles.
The bile secreted by the liver cells is normally stored in the gall
bladder until needed in the duodenum.
Accessory
5 functions:
Organ - Liver
1. Detoxification of blood
2. Carbohydrate metabolism
a. glycogenesis – formation of glycogen from excess glucose in
circulation.
b. glycogenolysis – breakdown of glycogen in times of fasting.
c. gluconeogenesis-formation of glucose in hepatocytes from
raw materials.
3. Lipid metabolism
synthesizes large quantities of cholesterol and
phospholipids.
oxidizing triglycerides to produce energy.
4. Protein synthesis
5. Secretion of bile
Bile
 Bile contains bile salts, water, pigments, cholesterol,
and lecithin (a phospholipid)
 Bile salts act like detergents and EMULSIFY fats.
Makes fat form into small droplets that are more
soluble. Greater surface area makes it more digestible.
 Bile is stored in the GALL BLADDER where it is
concentrated. When fat is detected in the duodenum, the
gall bladder contracts and bile is discharged into it.
 The COMMON BILE DUCT comes into the first inch of the
duodenum. Its opening is called the AMPULLA OF
VATER. This opening is controlled by the SPHINCTER OF
ODDI. This sphincter relaxes when the gall bladder
contracts.
Pancreas – Accessory organ
 Produces approx. 10 enzymes which are
responsible for digestion.
 The PANCREATIC DUCT carries these enzymes
directly into the common bile duct. Sometimes it
empties directly into the duodenum (anatomic
variance).
 Also secretes BICARBONATE which neutralizes
the duodenal contents.
 The ISLETS OF LANGERHANS produce INSULIN
and GLUCAGON.
 Digestion and Homeostasis
 The endocrine, nervous,
digestive and circulatory
systems all work together
to control digestion.
 Before we eat, smelling
food releases saliva in
our mouths and gastrin
in our stomachs which
prepares the body for a
snack. The Hormone Gastrin
 Digestion and Homeostasis
 A large meal activates
receptors that churn the
stomach and empty it
faster.
 If the meal was high in
fat, digestion is slowed,
allowing time for the fat
to be broken down.
 Hence why we feel fuller
after eating a high fat
meal.
Chemical Phases of Digestion
Action of Digestive enzymes
proteases
Protein amino acid

lipase
Fats Fatty acid and glycerol
carbohydrase
Carbohydrates simple sugar
Chemical digestion- mouth
salivary amylase or ptyalin
I. Starch (Amylum or Amylose)
maltose
maltase
II. Maltose glucose
Chemical digestion - stomach
I. Pepsinogen(inactive form) HCl pepsin (active form)
Pepsinogen pepsin pepsin

II. Proteins(polypeptides) pepsin smaller

polypeptides
Chemical digestion – small intestine
Carbohydrates:

I. Starch Pancreatic Amylase maltose

II. Maltose maltase glucose

Sucrose sucrase glucose & fructose

Lactose lactase glucose & galactose

Chemical Digestion – small intestine
Proteins
I. Trypsinogen (inactive form) - enterokinase - trypsin(active
form)
II. Protein(polypeptide) -trypsin and chymotrypsin- smaller
polypeptide
III. Smaller polypeptides and dipeptides - carboxypeptidase,
aminopeptidase and dipeptidase - amino acid
Fats
I. Fats bile salts small fat droplets (emulsion)
II. Fat droplets lipase - fatty acid and glycerol
Substances that help in the
digestion of food
Region of the Digestive Enzyme Substance Acted Product
food tube juice On
Mouth Cavity saliva Salyvary starch maltose
amylase or
ptayalin
Stomach Gastric juice pepsin protein Polypeptide
Small Bile (from none Bile makes the
intestine liver) food mixture in
the intestine
alkaline.
Enzymes in the
intestine work
best in an
alkaline medium.
 The most important thing to remember is to fill
one-half of your plate with fruits and vegetables.