The DIGESTIVE

SYSTEM
(Ch6)
 The Main Purpose
To help process food and liquids that
are used for energy.

this is how our bodies start to break

down food into its essential nutrients,
such as carbohydrates, lipids,
proteins, and nucleic acids.
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 The Importance of Digestion
● We obtain nutrients from
the foods we eat
● Our digestive system
breaks down our foods
into usable units for our
body
● Alimentary Canal: A long
convoluted tube that
carries food and liquid
starting at the mouth and
ending at the anus. Also
called the “gut”.
● Accessory Glands:
structures attached along
the way of the alimentary
canal.
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 Major Functions of the Digestive System

INGESTION DIGESTION ABSORPTION

The taking in of food. The breaking down of The moving of nutrients
food into nutrients and as a result of digestion
wastes both using from the gut to the
chemical and physical tissues through the
digestion. bloodstream.
ASSIMILATION EGESTION
The storage of nutrients The elimination of
or their incorporation undigested food from the
into tissues. gut.

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Chemical and Physical Digestion Locations

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Important Secretions of the Digestive Tract

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STARTING POINT: THE MOUTH (BUCCAL
CAVITY)
Food is chewed (masticated) in the mouth (physical
digestion = PD), mixed with salivary secretions
(chemical digestion = CD), and formed into a ball
called a bolus
● Saliva contains mucus, which helps the food to
form the bolus AND an enzyme (amylase)
which begins breaking down starches,
● Monosaccharides are absorbed here,
● For a short period of time, food is held at the
back of the buccal cavity at the pharynx, where
the bolus is re-shaped to fit the esophagus.
 DOWN THE “WRONG WAY”! *COUGH*
● 2 flaps are responsible for keeping
the food in the gut passage (and out
of the respiratory system):
○ Uvula: A flap of skin at the back
of the buccal cavity which
prevents food particles from
entering the nasal cavity
○ Epiglottis: A flap that closes off
the the opening to the trachea,
preventing food from entering
the lungs.

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 THE ALIMENTARY JOURNEY: ESOPHAGUS
● The esophagus is a tube of smooth
muscle which helps to transport
the bolus from the buccal cavity to
the stomach.
● It uses a series of contractions-
peristalsis-to move the bolus.
● Peristalsis can be both voluntary
(when you’re drinking water) or
involuntary (when you’re IB: Voluntary Peristalsis? Swallowing
food. Controlled by the Central Nervous
swallowing saliva) System.
IB: Involuntary Peristalsis? Once food is
swallowed, the contraction of the
esophagus to move the bolus along.
Controlled by the Enteric Nervous
System.
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 IB Content

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Video link 13
 THE ALIMENTARY JOURNEY: STOMACH
The stomach serves as a food storage site, and the
initial site of protein digestion (CD).
● Can hold about 1.5 L of fluid and 500 mL of
corrosive gastric juices,
● Mucous lines the stomach walls (interior) to
protect the stomach from digesting itself
(called autolysis),
● Made of an elastic muscular wall with internal
folds called rugae, which can expand to
accommodate up to 4L of food!
● The stomach is very muscular: churning by
stomach muscles occurs every 20 seconds,
● Churning, mixing, and stomach acid converts
the bolus into a sludge called chyme. 14
 THE ALIMENTARY JOURNEY: STOMACH
The bolus enters the stomach through the
esophageal sphincter IB: Stomach Cells and their Secretions)
● Both PD and CD occur in the stomach
● Peristalsis facilitates mechanical
churning by the stomach muscles
● Gastric secretions are facilitated by
gland cells which line the stomach.
● Gastric juice is composed of:
○ HCl (Parietal Cells)
○ Pepsinogen enzyme (Chief Cells)
○ Mucous (Mucous Cells)
○ Gastrin hormone (G Cells)
○ Water

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 THE ALIMENTARY JOURNEY: STOMACH

● Gastric juice contains HCl, which creates an acidic

environment (pH 1-2) optimal for digesting protein (breaks
down bonds and activates enzymes) and killing bacteria
● Gastric glands release 2 protease enzymes in inactive form
(activated in low pH, thus HCL secretion).
● A typical meal may spend up to 4 hours in the stomach, or
longer if the meal is high in FATS.
● FEW substances are absorbed in the stomach: some salts, NOTE: Aspirin is
water, alcohol, and certain anti-inflammatory medicines a known
stomach
irritant, due to
its absorption
here
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THE ALIMENTARY JOURNEY: SMALL INTESTINE
The small intestine is broken into 3 MAIN
SEGMENTS: duodenum, jejunum, ileum.
● More digestion occurs in the duodenum
than in the stomach (both PD & CD).
● Lengths of segments:
○ Duodenum: 30 cm
○ Jejunum: 2.5 m
○ Ileum: 3.5 m
● Secretions into the lumen of the duodenum
come from accessory organs (the
pancreas and gallbladder) as well as from
the duodenum lining itself,
● Hormones play a huge role in regulating
digestive secretions. Let’s take a look….
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Video link
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THE ALIMENTARY JOURNEY - SMALL INTESTINE
The duodenum breaks down chyme into
absobable monomers via:
○ Physical Digestion:
■ Segmentation (muscular
movements) break down chyme
AND mix it with bile from the
Liver/gallbladder.
○ Chemical Digestion:
■ Pancreatic Enzymes (amylase,
proteases, lipases, nucleotidases)
● After digestion here, organic fragments
travel through the jejunum and ileum,
where the bulk of absorption takes place.
 ZOOMING IN- THE VILLI
The inner wall of small intestine is lined with ~6
million finger-like projections called villi.
● Each villi contains thousand of extensions
called microvilli:
○ Increase surface area, to maximize
nutrient absorption.
● One villus contains 3 main parts:
○ Epithelium
○ Microvilli
○ Transport systems
■ There are 2 transport systems:
Blood vessels and lymph tubes
(called lacteals)
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 ZOOMING IN- THE VILLI

The 2 transport systems in the

villi work at the same time:

● Blood vessels- absorb simple

sugars, amino acids, vitamins
and minerals

● Lacteals- contain lymph; Fats are different:

helps absorb fats and Require bile to break
fat-soluble substances. them down AND are
absorbed via lacteals,
not blood vessels.
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ACCESSORY ORGANS- Pancreas & Liver
The Pancreas is a long flat gland, positioned behind the stomach;
the liver is located above and connects to the gallbladder. Both
connect to the duodenum via the common bile duct.
● Pancreas: Alkaline, enzyme rich, secretions (pH 7.5-8.0), which
counteracts HCL from the stomach AND digests food:
○ Produces digestive enzymes (~1L of digestive juices to
the duodenum each day).
■ proteases (proteins),
■ peptidases (peptides),
■ lipases (lipids),
■ pancreatic amylase (carbs),
■ nucleases (nucleotides).
● Liver: produces bile, which emulsifies fats & aids absorption
● Digestion here starts once bile arrives from the gallbladder
and mixes with pancreatic juice from the pancreas
 SUMMARY:
The DUODENUM, along
with the PANCREAS, LIVER
AND GALLBLADDER work
together to perform the
BULK OF FOOD DIGESTION
in the UPPER part of the
SMALL INTESTINE.

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Accessory Digestive ORGANS- THE LIVER

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 Accessory Digestive ORGANS- GALLBLADDER
● Digestion is greatly aided by bile
emulsification.
● Emulsification: The breaking up of fat
globules into much small emulsion droplets
○ Considered to be MD, as it does not use
enzymatic action
○ Emulsification increases the surface
area exposed to lipases, which
chemically breakdown lipids.
● The pigments in bile is what gives poop its
brown color!

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 THE ALIMENTARY JOURNEY - LARGE INTESTINE
Certain things cannot be absorbed by the body:
cellulose, dead cells, bacteria, undigested food.
● The colon stores food and reabsorbs water; its main
roles are: water and vitamin absorption

● The colon (large intestine) consists of the:

○ Caecum
○ Appendix: A worm-like extension, no definitive
role in digestion BUT may play a role in
immunity and gut microbiome (houses
bacteria).
○ Colon (ascending, transverse, descending)
○ Rectum 27
 Key Gastrointestinal (Digestive System) hormones
Hormone Source Organ Stimulu Target Response
s Organ
Gastrin Stomach Food Stomach & Activate stomach: Release HCL &
Presence small intestine pepsinogen,increase movement

Secretin Small Intestine Acidic Pancreas pH balance, inhibit stomach: inhibit

Chyme gastrin and stomach motility, activate
intestinal enzymes

GIP (Gastric Small Intestine Fat Stomach & Inhibit stomach, insulin release
Inhibitory presence pancreas
Peptide)

CCK Small Intestine Food Pancreas & Activate pancreas and gallbladder:
(Cholecystokinin) presence gallbladder intestinal enzymes & bile

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Summary: Chemical Digestion

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Summary: Chemical Digestion

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Visual Summary: Carbohydrate Digestion

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Visual Summary: Protein Digestion

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Visual Summary: Lipid Digestion

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Research Activity: DIGESTIVE SYSTEM Pathology
(diseases & Disorders)
DISORDER TYPE DESCRIPTION

IBS (IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME)

- Crohn's Disease

GALLSTONES

LIVER CIRRHOSIS

APPENDICITIS

HEPATITIS

ULCERS

Once Complete: Finish WB and/or Study