6 Nutrition in humans
6.1 The human digestive system
1 Nutrition ĩ䆇梲Ī in humans consists of five main processes:
ingestionġġ digestion ĩ㴰⊾Ī absorption
egestion assimilationġġ
2 Nutrition in humans takes place in the digestive systemġġĩ㴰⊾䲣䴙Ī, which consists of the
alimentary canalġ and its associated digestive glands
.
tongue
mouth cavity tooth
( ⎋僼
)
pharynx ( ⑥)
#
salivary glands
ⓦ儢
( )
oesophagus ( )
)
liver (
#
gall bladder ( ) stomach ( )
bile duct (
) pancreas (
#
)
duodenum pancreatic duct (
)
( )
small intestine )
colon (
( ) caecum ()
ileum ( ) appendix ()
large intestine
( )
rectum ()
anus ()
#
Note: Structures with are digestive glands.
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6.2 Ingestion
1 Masticationġ is the process of chewing food into small pieces by the teeth.
2 The four types of teeth in humans:
Type of tooth Shape Function
Incisor - Chisel-shaped , with flat sharp edges - Biting and cutting
- Has one root food
Canineġ - Pointed and curved - Tearing flesh
- Has one root
Premolar - Broad top with cusps - Crushing and
- Has one or two roots grinding food
Molar - Similar to premolars but larger - Crushing and
- Has two or three roots grinding food
3 Dentition refers to the numbers and arrangement of different types of teeth in a mammal.
4 A dental formulaġġ shows the number of teeth on each side of the upper and lower jaws.
5 Milk teeth
and permanent teeth !Ļ
Milk teeth Permanent teeth
Dental formula 2102 / 2102 2123 / 2123
Total number of teeth (2 + 1 + 0 + 2)ġ ǘ 2 ǘġ 2 = 20 (2 + 1 + 2 + 3)ġ ǘ 2 ǘġ 2 = 32
6 General structure of a tooth:
enamel ( )
dentine ( )
pulp cavity (!)
crown ( "()
nerve fibre
neck ( "))
blood vessel
gum ("#)
jawbone ($%) root ( "*)
periodontal
membrane ( &')
cement ( % )
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7 Each tooth consists of three layers:
Layer Feature
Enamel - The hardest part of the crown
- Non-living and is made mainly of calcium salts
- Protects the tooth from wearing down
Dentine - A bone-like substance, but is not as hard as the enamel
- Strands of living cytoplasm run through the dentine
Pulp cavity - Contains living cells, blood vessels and nerve fibres
- The blood vessels supply oxygen and nutrients to the tooth, and remove wastes
from it
- The nerve fibres can detect temperature and pressure
6.3 Digestion
1 The digestion processes in our body can be classified into two types:
Physical digestion ĩ㨇㡘㴰⊾Ī
㨇㡘㴰⊾Ī Chemical digestion ĩ⊾⬠㴰⊾Ī
⊾⬠㴰⊾Ī
Meaning Breaking down of food into smaller Changing the chemical structure of food
pieces by physical actions by chemical reactions that are catalysed
by digestive enzymes "
Significance Increases the surface area of food in Breaks down food molecules into small,
contact with digestive juices simpler and soluble forms which are
ready for absorption
Example - Mastication, churningġ#$%&
in Digestion of food catalysed by:
the stomach and peristalsis - carbohydrasesġ)*+,"
- Emulsification
of lipids by bile - proteasesġ-."
salts '( in the small intestine - lipases /0"
2 Peristalsis is produced by the alternate contraction and relaxation of the longitudinal
muscles 12
and circular muscles 32 in the wall of the alimentary canal.
3 Importance of peristalsis:
- It pushes food along the oesophagus and other parts of the alimentary canal.
- It helps mix the food with the digestive juices.
- It increases the contact between the wall of the alimentary canal and digested food to
facilitate absorption.
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4 Actions of digestive juices in the digestive system:
Site of Digestive Site of Enzyme or other
Action of digestive juice
action juice production substance present
Mouth Saliva 45
Salivary - Salivary amylase - starch → maltose
cavity (generally glands - Water
neutral) - Mucusġ65
Stomach Gastric juice Gastric glands - Pepsinġ7-." - proteins → peptides
75
7
in - Hydrochloric acid
(acidic) stomach wall - Mucus
Small Bileġ'8
Liver - Bile salts - lipids → small droplets
intestine (alkaline) - Bile pigments (emulsification)
- Sodium
hydrogencarbonate
Pancreatic Pancreas - Pancreatic - starch → maltose
juiceġ95
amylase
(alkaline) - Proteases - proteins → peptides
peptides → amino acids
- Lipaseġ - lipids → fatty acids +
- Sodium glycerol
hydrogencarbonate
Intestinal Glands in the - Water 炼
juiceġ:5
wall of small - Mucus
(alkaline) intestine - Sodium
hydrogencarbonate
Specialized - Carbohydrases - disaccharides
cells on → monosaccharides
epithelium of - Proteases - peptides → amino acids
small intestine
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6.4 Absorption
1 Absorption of food molecules mainly takes place in the ileum.
2 Adaptation of the small intestine for absorption:
Adaptation Significance
- Being very long Increase the surface area for absorption
- Inner wall highly-folded and
numerous villi ;<
- Numerous microvilli =;<
on the epithelial cells of villi
Thin epithelium Reduces the distance for diffusion of food molecules into the
blood
Presence of lacteals >?
and Allow the absorbed food molecules to be carried away
a network of capillaries rapidly, thus keeping a steep concentration gradient of food
molecules across the wall of the small intestine to increase the
rate of diffusion of food molecules
Movement of the villi caused Keeps a steep concentration gradient of food molecules
by peristalsis across the wall of the small intestine to increase the rate of
diffusion of food molecules
3 The routes of absorption of digested food at the villus (L.S.):
Monosaccharides, amino acids,
minerals and water-soluble vitamins
are absorbed into the blood by
epithelium
diffusion and active transport.
Water is absorbed into the blood by
capillary osmosis.
lacteal
Fatty acids and glycerol enter the
epithelium of the villi by diffusion.
They recombine to form fine lipid
droplets which are absorbed into
the lymph ( +, ) in the lacteal.
Lipid-soluble vitamins are
absorbed into the lacteal.
blood vessel carrying lymph vessel ( +,
) carrying digested
digested food molecules
via the blood to the liver
lipid via the lymphatic system ( +,-. )
to the bloodstream
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4 The routes of absorption of digested food at the villus (T.S.):
amino acids
minerals,
water-soluble
monosaccharides
vitamins
epithelial cell
capillary
lacteal
fine lipid droplets
lipid-soluble glycerol
vitamins
fatty acids
6.5 Assimilation of the absorbed food
1 Assimilation is the uptake and use of absorbed food molecules by cells for metabolism.
2 The transport of absorbed food from the villus to other parts of the body:
Small intestine
Absorption
monosaccharides,
amino acids and other capillaries hepatic Liver hepatic vein
water-soluble food in villi portal vein Assimilation
molecules
vena cava
fatty acids and glycerol lacteals lymph main vein near
recombine to form in villi vessels the neck region
lipids
heart
lipid-soluble vitamins
Body cells aorta
Assimilation
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3 The fates of the absorbed food:
Absorbed food Fate
Glucose - Used by body cells for releasing energy
- Excess glucose is converted to glycogen or lipids in the liver
Amino acids - Used by body cells to make proteins for growth and repair
- Used to make enzymes, antibodies and some hormones
Lipids - Used to make cell membranes and some hormones
- As energy reserves for releasing energy when the body is short of
glycogen
- Excess lipids may be deposited around the internal organs or build up
in adipose tissue
4 The roles of the liver:
- Regulating blood glucose level
- Storing glycogen, iron and lipid-soluble vitamins
- Producing bile and vitamin A
- Deaminating excess amino acids
- Detoxifying certain mild toxic substances
6.6 Egestion
1 Faeces contain undigested and unabsorbed materials, including dietary fibre, bacteria,
secretions from the alimentary canal, dead cells from the intestinal wall and a small amount of
water.
2 Faeces are brown in colour because of the presence of bile pigments . Faeces are temporarily
stored in the rectum.
3 Egestion or defaecation @ is the process of expelling faeces from the body.
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