DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

(Alimentary tract)

Digestive system includes the alimentary tract or canal and all other glands associated with
digestion and assimilation of food in animals.

The digestive system varies from one animal to another.

The alimentary tract or canal of animals could be complete or incomplete digestive tract.

 Complete digestive tract has two openings to the outside i.e. the mouth for ingestion and the
anus for ejestion. Digestion is extra-cellular i.e. outside of the body or within the alimentary
canal e.g. earthworm, bird.
 Incomplete digestive tract has only one opening known as the mouth which serves for
ingestion and egestion. Digestion is intracellular i.e inside or within the cell e.g Planeria,
hydra, e.t.c.

Complete digestive Incomplete digestive

system system

1. openings:mouth 1. One opening for both

for Ingestion and ingestion and egestion
anus for egestion 2. Intracelluar digestion i.e
2. Extracellular digection is inside or
cellular digestion witthin the cell
i.e digestion is
outside the body
cell or within the
alimentary canal
Alimentary Tracts of different Animals.

The main parts of the alimentary canal are:

 Mouth or buccal cavity

 Pharynx
 Oesophagus
 Stomach
 Intestine

Planaria

Diagram Of The Digestive System Or The Alimentary Tract Of Planaria

The alimentary tract of planaria consists of:

 A mouth
 Pharynx
 A structure called gastrovascular cavity.

 The mouth is located in the center of the underside (ventrally) of the body. Digestive
enzymes are secreted from the mouth to begin external digestion.
  The pharynx connects the mouth to the gastrovascular cavity. The gastrovascular branches
throughout the body allowing nutrients from food to reach all extreme.

 Planarians feed on small, live aquatic animals and dead remains of large animals.

 They capture their prey by entangling them in mucus gland, then wrapped with their body

 Using the pharynx as a sucking tube to suck the prey by protruding it through the muscular
mouth.

 The food moves into the intestine where it is digested by the phagocytic cells lining the
intestines.

 The nutrients then diffuse to the rest of the body.

 The extensive branch of the gastrovascular cavity all over the body gives it a large absorp-
tive surface area

 Undigested food is egested throught the mouth

Alimentary tract of earthworm

The digestive system of an earthworm is made up of the following:

 Mouth
 Pharynx
 Oesophagus
 Crop
 Gizzard
 Intestine
Diagram Showing the Digestive System Of Earthworm

 The alimentary system is a tube that runs through the length of the body with two openings
serving as mouth and anus.
 Food is ingested into the buccal cavity where it passes into the pharynx (a muscular thick
wall) which secrets mucus to lubricate the food particles.
 The contraction and relaxation of the pharynx force food through the oesophagus (a
narrow tubular thin-walled organ) then into the crop (a temporary store) from there into
the muscular gizzard where food is grind against small stones to break it up.
 The intestine is a long tube where digestion is completed and digested food is absorbed.
 The unabsorbed material is passed out through the anus as worm cast.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ALIMENTARY CANAL OF PLANARIA AND EARTHWORM

PLANARIA EARTHWORM
Single opening (mouth) Two openings (mouth and anus)
Oesophagus and crop absent Oesophagus and crop present
Has intestinal branches i.e diffused diverticular Has a long straight single intestine
intestines
Absorption is by blood and not by diffusion Absorption of food is by diffusion and not by
blood
Gizzard absent Thick walled gizzard for grinding
ALIMENTARY CANAL OF INSECT (COCKROACH)

 Cockroach is an omnivore feeding on different kinds of organic matter such as books, sugar,
food, etc..

 It takes a piece of food and grind it before digesting

Diagram Showing The Alimentary Canal Of Cockroach

The digestive system includes the

 Mouthparts (modified for feeding and chewing)
 A pair of salivary glands (secrete saliva which digests starch and lubricates the food)

The Alimentary Canal

The alimentary canal is divided into three main parts:

i. The foregut
 ii. The midgut
iii. The hindgut
i. Foregut: Consists of mouth, oesophagus, crop (posterior end of the oesophagus
modified) and gizzard
ii. Midgut: ACTS AS THE STOMACH, hepatic caeca (found between the foregut and
midgut, made up of six fingerlike projection).
 The hepatic caeca or digestive caeca secrets digestive juice which completes the
digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats and oil.
 Digestion and absorption takes place in the midgut.
iii. Hindgut: Consist of ileum (small intestine), colon (large intestine), rectum and anus.
 The colon absorbs the water and prepares the faeces which are stored in the
rectum.
 The rectum also reabsorbs water and shape the faeces.
 Egestion of the dry faeces take place through the anus

Note: Between the hindgut and the midgut are mainly fine structures called the malphigian tubules.
They excrete nitrogenous waste.

MOUTHPARTS OF THE COCKROACH

(MANDIBLATE MOUTH PARTS)

The mouthparts of the cockroach are mainly appendages of the head modified to deal with a
particular food type

Diagram Of The Mouth Parts Of Cockroach

The mouthpart of cockroach consists mainly of upper lip and three pairs of jaws

Labrum (upper lip): Sensitive to chemical and acts as tastebud.

Hypopharynx:

 Tongue-like structure located at the back of the mouth.

 It helps in the swallowing of food.

Mandibles: The first pair of jaw, strong and toothed for biting and chewing

1st maxillae:

 Each bears a little side branch called maxillary palp which are sense organs used to touch
and taste food.
 Also toothed to break up the food already chewed by the mandibles into smaller particles.
2nd maxillae:

 The last pair of jaw.

 The bases of the labrum and the jaws fuse to form the lower lip or labium.
 They also assist in food cutting and directing of food into the mouth

Salivary gland: Secrets enzyme amylase.

Alimentary Canal Of Bird

 The mouth is modified into a BEAK for picking of food substances e.g grains
 Tongue is present in the mouth to facilitate swallowing of food
 Teeth is absent

The alimentary tract of the bird includes:

 Mouth
 Pharynx
 Oesophagus
 Crop
 Stomach (proventriculus)
 Gizzard
 Intestine
 Rectum,
 Blind caeca
 Caeca
 Cloaca
 Anus

Diagram Of The Alimentary Canal Of Bird

Functions of Parts of Alimentary Canal Of Birds

Mouth: There is a horny covered tongue to facilitate swallowing of food substances to the
oesophagus.

Beak: It is the modification of the lower and upper lips for picking of food substances such as fruit,
worms, grains, etc.

Pharynx and Oesophagus:

 The short pharynx which is connected to the long and narrow oesophagus directs food and
water to the crop.
 It allows passage of food from mouth to crop/swallowing of food.

Crop:

 A strong muscular chamber

 Allows temporal storage of ingested food
 It moistens the food by secretion from its walls.
Stomach (proventriculus):

 The stomach consists of proventriculus (true stomach) and strong muscular gizzard
 The proventriculus secretes digestive enzymes
 The food moves to the stomach where gastric juice and dilute chloric acid (digestive
enzymes) are secreted on the food.

Muscular gizzard: contains small stones which assists in mastication or grinding of food when the
gizzard contracts.

Duodenum (upper part of the small intestine):

 Duodenum is the upper part of the small intestine connecting the gizzard posteriorily.
 The liver and the pancreas empty their contents throughout their respective ducts into the
duodenum.
 The bile emulsifies fats and oil while the pancreatic juice contains amylase, trypsin and
lipase which digest carbohydrates, proteins, fats, etc.

Lower intestine:

is connected to the upper intestine, slender and curled muscular ring-like structure called the
pyloric sphincter is by the entrance from the duodenum to the small intestine and it regulates the
quantity of food that goes into the small intestine.

Digestion is completed in the small intestine by intestinal enzymes.

Absorption of food also takes place in the small intestine.

Rectum:

 For storage and dehydration of the faeces before elimination

 Shapens the faeces into pillets

Blind caeca:

Branches off the intestine and rectum leading to the cloaca

Cloaca (anus)
  Kidney and reproductive dots open into the cloaca through which urine and faeces are
discharged.
 Allows elimination of waste from the system
Birds swallow their food whole and store it in the crop. It is softened by secretion from the
wall of the crop.
It then passes to the muscular gizzard, the action of the muscle of the gizzard and gastric
juice churn and break the food up into smaller pieces. The small stones which the bird
swallow from, time to time helps to grind the food. Digestion begins and ends in the small
intestine. Absorption also take place in the small intestine, the rectum reabsorb most of the
water. Solid waste is egested through the anus into the cloaca and out of the body

Differences Between Elementary Canals Of Bird And Cockroach

BIRD COCKROACH/GRASSHOPPER
1. Mouth is modified into a beak Mouth is modified into labrum, hypopharynx
mandibles, first maxillae, labium and second
maxillae.
2. Tongue is present in the mouth Tongue is absent in the mouth
3. Duodenum is present Duodenum is absent
4. Alimentary canal is long Alimentary canal is relatively short
5. Hindgut terminates in cloaca Hindgut terminates in anus
Malphigian tubes are not attached to the Malphigian tubes are attached to the
alimentary canal alimentary canal
Liver and pancreas are connected to the No liver and [pancreas are connected to the
alimentary canal alimentary canal.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN ALIMENTARY CANAL OF BIRDS AND COCKROACH

1. Both have narrow oesophagus

2. Crop is present in both organisms
3. Muscular gizzard is present in both
4. There is the presence of caecum in both
5. Midgut is present in both organisms.
DIGESTION IN MAMMALS

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF HERBIVORES

Herbivores are animals that feed on plant materials. They include goat, sheep, rabbit, guinea
pigs, etc.

They have

i. Teeth or mouthparts for cutting and grinding plant materials

ii. Long alimentary canals for digesting vegetable matter
iii. In some cases, symbiotic bacteria are found in a part of the alimentary canal such as
caecum for digesting cellulose e.g in rabbit
iv. Some herbivores called luminides e.g cow have stomachs with four compartments
known as rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasums.
a. ALIMENTARY CANAL OF RABBIT

The digestive tract of rabbit consists of the following

Mouth or buccal cavity

Oesophagus (gullet)

Stomach

Small intestine

Rectum

Anus

NB: Salivary gland, liver and pancreas are associated glands with the alimentary system.

 A rabbit feeds on grass.

 Its alimentary canal is long.
 The mouth has teeth for cutting and chewing grass.
 Salivary glands secrete saliva into the mouth for the digestion of food
 Chewed food passes through the oesophagus into the stomach
 The stomach is a muscular bag from where food is passed into the duodenum
 In the duodenum, the food mixes with bile and pancreatic juice.
  Digestion is completed in the small intestine and absorption of food also takes place in
the small intestine.
 Water is reabsorbed into the large intestine
 The caecum contains symbiotic bacteria which secretes an enzyme that digests
cellulose
 The caecum ends in the appendix
 The undigested food passes into the rectum where it is moulded into faecal pillets
 Egestion of waste takes place through the anus

Diagram Of The Alimentary Canal Of Rabbit

b. THE ALIMENTARY CANAL OF A SHEEP

 The alimentary canal of a sheep differs from that of a rabbit or the mammal in that it has a
complicated stomach made up of four compartments. This type of stomach is found in animals such
as sheep, cow, etc (ruminant) that chew the CUD (i.e food that the animal brings back from the
stomach into the mouth for further chewing)

The four chambered stomach of a typical RUMINANT such as sheep and cow are

1. Rumen or Pouch
2. Reticulum or honey comb bag
3. Omasum or Psatterium
4. Abomasum or true stomach.

In sheep or cow, when it eats grass, it does not chew it immediately but gathers the grass
rapidly, mixes it with saliva, swallows it and passes it from the oesophagus to the first
compartments of the stomach (RUMEN)

RUMEN OR POUCH: where the unchewed food is temporarily stored and contains protozoans
and bacteria which digest cellulose. Some absorption of digested food also takes place in the
rumen as well as synthesis of Vitamin B by bacteria in it. The rumen passes the food into the
second compartment known as reticulum or honey comb bag.

RETICULUM or HONEY COMB BAG: This is where food is moistened and formed into ball-like
masses called boluses or cuds. When the animal is at rest, the food REGURGITATES (i.e. pass
back) up the oesophagus to the mouth for proper chewing and swallowed a second time. The
swallowed properly chewed food passes into the third compartment i.e. the OMASUM or
PSALTERIUM

OMASUM OR PSALTERIUM: The properly chewed food passes into this chamber then to the 4 th
compartment known as the ABOMASUM or TRUE STOMACH

ABOMASUM OR TRUE STOMACH: This compartment secretes gastric juice from the gastric
glands for complete digestion in the stomach. The sheep or cow as a herbivore has a large
caecum which contain bacteria that produce enzyme cellulase that digest cellulose in its diet.
The caecum provides an additional space for bulky food while undergoing digestion

Diagram Showing the Digestive System Four Chambered Stomach Of Sheep Or Cow
Diagram Showing The Stomach Of Ruminant Animals
THE HUMAN ALIMENTARY CANAL
Diagram Of Human Digestive System

Mouth:

 Contains teeth, tongue, salivary glands.

 The teeth masticate (chew) the food into paste.
 The tongue rolls the food into bolus
 The salivary gland secrets saliva which contains ptyalin that breaks down starch into
maltose
Gullet/Oesophagus:

The food moves down the gullet in a peristatic manner (i.e. alternative contraction and relaxation of
the muscle).

Stomach:

The stomach carries out the following functions:

a. Storage: Food is stored between 2 to 4 hours and released at regular intervals by the
opening of the pyloric sphincter.
b. Mechanical digestion: Food is churned by muscular contraction of the stomach wall and
converted into semi-liquid state called chyme by mixing with gastric juice.
c. Chemical digestion:
 The gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid in addition to pepsin and rennin.
Hydrochloric acid destroys harmful bacteria in the stomach.
 Rennin solidifies liquid protein

 Pepsin acts on proteins breaking it to peptones

pepsin
i.e. protein peptones

SUMMARY OF FUNCTIONS OF THE STOMACH IN HUMANS

1. The stomach temporarily stores food

2. Stomach secretes gastric juice containing hydrochloric acid, pepsin and rennin
3. Hydrochloric acid provides acidic medium for protein digestion
4. Hydrochloric destroys harmful bacteria in the stomach
5. Renin solidifies or curdles milk
6. Pepsin digest protein into peptides in the stomach
7. Large particles of food are turned or broken down to smaller particles by the contraction of
the stomach muscles (churning).

Duodenum

 Chyme flows through the pyloric sphincter then into the duodenum
 Bile duct carries bile from the gall bladder into the duodenum
 The duodenum receives pancreatic juice whih contains digestive enzymes,

a. Amylase
b. Trypsin
c. Lipase

from the pancreas through the pancreatic duct

 The salt i.e. sodium, bilirubin and water from the bile mixes with the chyme from the
stomach and emulsifies the fats and oils present in it into an emulsion (smooth liquid in
which particles of oil and fat are evenly distributed).
 Bile neutralizes the hydrochloric acid and creates an alkaline medium for the enzymes
to work
 Enzyme lipase, amylase, tripsinogen (a precussor) are from pancreatic juice.
 Lipase acts on emulsified fats and oil converting them into fatty acid and glycerol i.e.

Lipase
Emulsified fats fatty acid + glycerol

 Amylase breaks down cooked starch into maltose

Amylase

Cooked starch maltose

 Trypsinogen is an inactive enzyme and activated in the presence of a co-enzyme known

as enterokinase i.e inactive trypsinogen. It is activated in the presence of a co-enzyme
known as enterokinase i.e

enterokinase

inactive trypsinogen active trypsin

 Trypsin acts on peptones breaking them into polypeptides

 Further churning of food continues in the duodenum making the food more watery and
it is called chyle

Note:

BILE

 Bile is an alkaline greenish fluid with a PH of 7-8

 Secreted by the cells of the liver and stored in the gall bladder
 It has no digestive enzyme

Functions of bile

a. Neutralizes the acid chyme from the stomach and gives the pancreatic enzymes the alkaline
medium to work
b. It emulsifies fats and oils breaking them into small droplets enabling lipase to act on the fat
and oil droplets
 c. It prevents putrification i.e. decay of food in the small intestine.

Ileum:

Chyme passes into the ileum by paristaltic movement

The walls of the ileum secrete a digestive juice called succus entericus (intestinal juice)
releasing:

a. Erepsin: which acts on polypeptides breaking them into amino acid

b. Maltase: breaks down maltose into glucose
c. Lipase: converts droplets of fats and oils into fatty acids
d. Sucrase: converts sucrose into glucose and fructose
e. Lactase: breaks lactose (milk sugar) into glucose and galactose

N.B: Digestion is completed in the ileum and digested food is also absorbed in the ileum due to its
long coil gives it large surface area for absorption.

Large Intestine (Colon):

  is connected to the ileum, the lower end is the caecum which has a finger-like outgrowth
called appendix
 Receives undigested food material from the small intestine
 The watery undigested food materials pass through the large intestine by slow churning
and peristaltic movements
 Water is absorbed into the body and the semi-solid undigested materials are passed to the
rectum as faeces where they are stored temporarily before passing to the anus for egestion.

SUMMARY OF DIGESTIVE ENZYMES AND ACTIONS

Name of enzyme Location Juice PH Site of Food product
action acted
upon
(substrat
e)
Ptyalin Salivary Saliva Alkali Mouth Cooked maltose
gland starch
Pepsin Gland on Gastric Acidic Stomach protein peptones
the juice
stomach
wall
renin(in children Gland in the Gastric Acidic Stomach Milk Solid milk
mainly) wall of the juice protein(li protein
stomach quid)
Amylase Pancreas Pancreatic alkalin duodenu starch maltose
juice e m
Trypsin pancreas Pancreatic alkalin duodenu protein peptones
juice e m
Lipase pancreas Pancreatic alkalin duodenu Fat and oil Fatty acid
juice e m and
glycerol
Erepsin Small Succus alkalin Ileum, peptous Amino
intestine entericus e small acids
(intestinal intestine
juice)
Maltose Small Succus alkalin ileum maltose Glucose +
intestine entericus e glucose
Sucrose Small Succus alkalin ileum sucrose Glucose +
intestine entericus e fructose
Lipase Small Succus Alkalin Ileum Fat and oil Fatty acid
intestine enericus e and
glycerol
Lactase Small Succus Alkalin Ileum Lactose Glucose
intestine entericus e and
galactose
ABSORPTION OF DIGESTED FOOD

Absorption of digested food occurs in the ileum by diffusion.

structure of the vilus

 The internal surface of the ileum contains few thousands of finger-like projections known as
villi
 Each villi is made up of a thin epithelium
 At the centre of each villus is a blind ending known as the lacteal which opens into the
lymphatic vessels
 Each villus is surrounded by a network of blood capillaries
 Thin epithelium helps the absorption of digested food
 Glucose and amino acids diffuse into the blood capillaries where they dissolve in the plasma
and transported into the liver through the hepatic portal vein.
 Fatty acids and glycerol are absorbed into the lacteals where they combine to form fat
droplets which flow into lymphatic vessels and later join the blood stream.

Assimilation:
using/utilization of the absorbed food materials of the body cells/tissues

Ejestion
Elimination of undigested food materials through the anus

Effects of indigestion in humans

Causes constipation/inability to defecate
Bloated stomach
Stomach ache
Heartburn/burning sensation
General weakness
Flatulence/release of gas/belching
Gastritis
Ulcer
Gall stone
Lactose intolerance
Gingivitis

COMPARISM OF THE ALIMENTARY CANALS OF ANIMALS

Animal Mou Phary gull Cro stoma Small Large caecu rectu An
th nx et p ch intesti intesti m m us
ne ne

Planaria P P A A A P P A A A

Earthwo P P P P A P A P P P
rm

Cockroa P P P P A P A P P P
ch

Fish P P P a P P A A P P
(tilapia)

Frog P P P P A P A A P P
(toad)

Lizard P P P A P P A P P P
 Bird P P P P P P A P P P

Rabbit P P P A P P P P P P

Cow P P P A P P P P P P

Man P P P A P P P P P P
(Human
)

Note: P stands for present While A Stands for Absent