Digestion
Breakdown of food
Physical breakdown
Incisors- chisel shaped, used for biting down into soft foods (fruits)
Canines- fang shaped, can tear into tougher foods (meat)
Premolars, Molars- raised parts called cusps with grooves, used to grind
and crush food at back of the mouth,
We have 20 sets of milk teeth that emerge at 6 months and are fully
formed by year 3 of life.
They are replaced by 32 permanent teeth from age 7 to 17.
Chemical breakdown
Carbohydrates, fats and protein are large molecules that are made of
chains of smaller molecules. They do not dissolve in water and cannot
pass through the lining of our digestive system and into the blood stream.
Digestive enzymes catalyse (speed up) the breakdown of larger molecules
into smaller ones.
Region of Type of Notes
productio enzyme
n
Salivary Carbohydrase Enzyme is
glands in called
mouth salivary
amylase
Gastric Protease Enzyme is
glands in called
mouth pepsin \n
Hydrochloric
acid is used
to make the
enzyme work
Pancreas Protease, Enzymes
Carbohydrase enter the
, Lipase duodenum
and mix with
food and bile.
Chewing and swallowing
Saliva is made up by 3 pairs of salivary glands which are made up by
groups of cells, and salivary ducts (tubes) deliver it to the mouth.
Saliva is 99% water and also contains a slimy substance called mucin and
an enzyme called amylase.
Mucin coats the food and makes it easy to swallow. Amylase begins the
breakdown of starch molecules in the food into sugar molecules.
Once you chew the food, it is made into a pellet called the bolus. It is
pushed to the back of the mouth by the tongue.
Swallowing causes the bolus to slide down your gullet (food pipe /
oesophagus)
The oesophagus has an outer longitudinal muscle layer and an inner
circular muscle layer.
Circular muscles on the top of the gullet contract and push food along the
tube.
Longitudinal muscles contract to stretch the circular muscles once again.
The wave of muscular contraction is called peristalsis, you can feel the
movement against your throat when you swallow.
Organs and their roles
Stomach
Glands lining the stomach wall produce hydrochloric acid
and pepsin (protein digesting enzyme)
HCl acid kills bacteria in the food and provides ideal acidic conditions for
the enzyme pepsin to function optimally.
Food is churned by the peristaltic waves created by the muscles at a rate
of 3 per minute.
Food is prevented from leaving the stomach by a valve - opens once food
is digested into chyme (creamy liquid) and allows it to pass into the
duodenum.
Duodenum, liver and pancreas
Duodenum is a part of the small intestine and is connected to the
stomach.
A green liquid called bile enters the duodenum via the bile duct from the
gall bladder.
Bile is made in the liver and contains chemicals that mechanically
breakdown fat into smaller droplets. Allows lipase to break down the lipids
faster, as there is higher surface area.
Pancreatic juices enter the duodenum via the pancreatic duct from the
pancreas.
The juices contain a mix of chemicals that digest fat, carbohydrates and
proteins.
Small Intestine
Cells lining the wall of the small intestine make enzymes that complete
the digestion of carbohydrates and proteins.
Small molecules are soluble and pass through the walls of the small
intestine and into the blood stream, where they are sent to all the cells in
the body.
Large insoluble Small soluble
molecule molecule
Protein Amino acid
Carbohydrates Sugar
Fats Fatty acids +
glycerol
Egestion
Indigestible parts of the food, such as cellulose pass on through the small
intestine to the large intestine and colon.
First part of the large intestine is known as the caecum, the rest is
the colon.
Water and dissolved vitamins are absorbed into the body.
Remaining semi-solid substance forms the faeces, which is stored in the
later part of the large intestine known as the rectum.
Faeces are removed from the body in a process
called egestion/defecation through the anus once a day.