8.4.

The Digestive System

The digestive system is
made up of a group of
organs working together
&give rise to the muscular
alimentary canal-Mouth-
Pharynx-Esophagus-Stomach-
Small intestine-Large intestine-
Anus
• The accessory digestive
organs
Supply secretions contributing to
the breakdown of food
– Teeth & tongue
– Salivary glands
– Gallbladder
– Liver, Pancreas
 The Digestive Process
• Ingestion-Taking in food through the
mouth
• Propulsion (movement of food)
– Swallowing
– Peristalsis – propulsion by
alternate contraction &relaxation
• Mechanical digestion
– Chewing
– Churning in stomach
– Mixing by segmentation
• Chemical digestion
– By secreted enzymes:
• Absorption-Transport of digested end
products into blood and lymph in wall
of canal
• Defecation-Elimination of indigestible
substances from body as feces
2
 Cont…
• Mouth-the entry point of food.

• The smell and sight of food, stimulates your salivary

glands to secrete fluid called saliva, consisting of
water and enzymes(Amylase).
• The purpose of the saliva is to:

• lubricate the food,

• dissolve water soluble food particles, and

• start chemical digestion of carbohydrates (starch).

 Digestive System…
• Salivary glands – are glands in the mouth that produces
saliva to begin the chemical digestion of food.
• Saliva – is a watery secretion in the mouth that begins the
digestive process.
• Mechanical digestion also begins here. The teeth and
tongue are responsible for the breaking of large food
particles into smaller food particles, while increasing
surface area for faster chemical digestion.
 The Esophagus
• is a tube connecting mouth to the stomach.
teeth and tongue move food turning the food into a
mushy bolus. The tongue moves the bolus to the back of
the throat for swallowing.
The bolus enters the esophagus, lies behind(Trachea).
epiglottis prevents food from entering the windpipe,
moving the food to the esophagus while swallowing.
Food travels down the esophagus, through a series of
rhythmic contractions (wave-like) called peristalsis.
The lining of the esophagus secretes mucus, lubricating
to support the movement of food.
 …
When the bolus reaches the stomach, it must pass
through a muscular ringed valve called the esophageal
sphincter (Cardiac Sphincter).
• The role of the sphincter is to prevent stomach acids
from back flowing into the esophagus creating a
burning feeling known as heart burn.
• The Stomach -muscular J-shaped organ where,food
is temporarily stored.
• three layers of muscle fibers perform mechanical
digestion by churning the bolus and mixing it with the
gastric juices (HCl, salts, enzymes, water and mucus)
secreted by the lining of the stomach.
• The bolus is now called Chyme.
 Stomach…
• Gastric Juices – are a mixture of HCl,salts,enzymes,
water and mucus that is produced by glands in the
stomach to help digest food.
• The environment of the stomach is very acidic.
• HCl is secreted to kill any microbes that are found in
the bolus, creating a pH of 2.
• Mucus prevents the stomach from digesting itself.
• Pepsin is also secreted, responsible for initiating the
breakdown of proteins found in the food.
• Pepsin hydrolyzes proteins to yield polypeptides.
Since the pH is 2, the enzyme from the salivary glands
stops breaking down carbohydrates.
 Stomach …
stomach doesn’t digest itself b/s of three protective
mechanism.
 secretes small amounts of gastric juices until food is
present
 mucus coats the lining of the stomach.
 pepsin is secreted in an inactive protein (pepsinogen)
Pepsinogen is converted to pepsin in the prese of HCl.
The chyme moves from the stomach to small int.
• It passes through a muscular ringed sphincter called
the pyloric sphincter.
Chyme-thick liquid made of digested food combined
with g.juice.
Pepsin-helps break down proteins into polypeptides.
 The Small Intestine
• is responsible for the complete digestion of all
macromolecules and the absorption of their
component molecules.
• The process of absorption allows the component
molecules to be diffused into the surrounding intestinal
cells and then into the circulatory system for transport
to all the cells in the body.
• The small intestine is made up of three parts,
duodenum, jejunum, and the ileum.
• duodenum, first u-shaped part, completes most of the
digestion processes.
• Enzymes are secreted into the duodenum form the
pancreas and the gall bladder.
 Small Intestine
• The duodenum is lined by folds of tissue called villi.
The villi are covered by fine brush-like microvilli.
These folds increase the surface area to increase the
rate of absorption.
• jejunum-some digestion is completed here, it has
more villi and microvilli; its role is absorption of
nutrients.
• ileum-has fewer villi and microvilli than the other two
parts.
• Although absorption also occurs here, it is responsible
for pushing the waste materials into the large intestine.
 Accessory Organs
support the digestive sy. but are not part of the digestive tract
are; liver, gall bladder and the pancreas,& connected by
ducts.
• liver produces bile, a greenish yellow pigment made up bile
pigments and bile salts, as it breaks down old red blood
cells.
• The bile is secreted into a storage sac called the gall
bladder.
• bile salts are secreted into the small intestine to digest fats,
causes the emulsification of fat
• The pancreas secretes a number of d/t enzymes into the
small intest. to digest carbohydrates, lipids & proteins
• pancreas secretes bicarbonate ions which neutralize the
HCl from the stomach and,
 Chemical Digestion and Absorption

• Enzymatic digestion (chemical digestion) of

macromolecules are performed by
carbohydrases (carbohydrates digestion),
lipases (lipid digestion), proteases (protein
digestion), and nucleases (nucleic acid
digestion).
Selected Enzymes of the Digestive System
 Absorption in the Small Intestine
• Carbohydrates in simplest form are monosaccharides
• Monosaccharides are absorbed from the small intestine
into the circulatory system,they are transported to the
liver.
• Any monosaccharides other than glucose are
converted into glucose.
• The excess glucose is converted to glycogen, which
can be stored in the liver and in smaller amounts in the
muscles.
• glycogen is converted into glucose and is used by the
cells in cellular respiration when body requires energy.
• Amino acids are also absorbed into the circulatory
system and transported to the liver. Some are
converted into sugar and used as an energy source.
 Absorption in the Small Intestine…
Other amino acids are converted to a waste product
called urea.
• Urea is removed from the body through the
excretory system.
• Lipids are broken down into glycerol groups and
fatty acid chains. The sub units enter the cells of the
small intestine and converted to triglycerides and
coated with protein to make it water soluble. The
triglyceride enters the lymphatic system and
eventually to the circulatory system.
• The triglycerides are then broken down again and
used as an energy source by the body.
 The Large Intestine
• The waste materials move from the small intestine and
moves into the large intestine (colon – ascending,
transverse and descending).
• The large intestine is where the 90% of water is
reabsorbed back into the blood stream.
• Anaerobic bacteria in the colon breaks down the
waste material producing vitamins, folic acid, B
vitamins, and vitamin K, which is transported to the
blood stream.
• The rectum stores the fecal matter until eliminated by
the anus