Digestive System

• The digestive system is made up of the digestive tract and other organs that help the body
break down and absorb food.

• The digestive system breaks down the food you eat into nutrients needed for metabolic
processes, such as making ATP, and rids the body of materials that cannot be used, such as
fiber

Major Functions of the Digestive System

•Ingestion
•Mechanical processing
•Digestion
•Secretion
•Absorption
•Excretion

Phases of Digestion
• Ingestion
• Movement
• Mechanical and chemical digestion
• Absorption
• Elimination

Types of Digestion
• Mechanical Digestion – (physical) chew, tear,
grind, mash, and mix
• Chemical Digestion – enzymatic reactions to
improve digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and
lipids

Organs of the Alimentary Canal

• The alimentary canal, also called the gastrointestinal
(GI) tract or gut, is a continuous, coiled, hollow
muscular tube that winds through the ventral body
cavity from mouth to anus
Mouth
• Teeth – mechanically break down food into small
pieces.
• Tongue – mixes food with saliva (contains amylase,
which helps break down starch).
• Epiglottis – flap-like structure at the back of the
throat. Closes over the trachea preventing food from
entering it. It is in the Pharynx

Esophagus
The esophagus is a
tubular, elongated organ of the digestive system which
connects the pharynx to the stomach. The esophagus is the
organ that food travels through to reach the stomach for
fu
Structurally, the esophageal wall is composed of four layers:
innermost mucosa, submucosa, muscularis propria, and
adventitia.

Layers of Esophagus
• Mucosa—surface epithelium, lamina
propria, and glands.
• Submucosa—connective tissue, blood vessels,
and glands.
• Muscularis (middle layer) upper third,
striated muscle.
• Adventitia—connective tissue that merges
with connective tissue of surrounding structures

Stomach
• The stomach serves as a temporary receptacle for
storage and mechanical distribution of food
before it is passed into the intestine.

• It is on the left side of the abdominal cavity,

nearly hidden by the liver and diaphragm.

Regions of the Stomach

• Cardia – the top part of your stomach. It contains the cardiac sphincter, which prevents
food from traveling back up your esophagus.

• Fundus – is a rounded section next to the cardia. It's below your diaphragm (the dome-
shaped muscle that helps you breathe).
• Body – largest region of the stomach
• Pyloric area – divided into the pyloric antrum and pyloric canal and is the distal end of the
stomach

Small Intestine
• The small intestine is the body’s major digestive
organ. Within its twisted passageways, usable
nutrients are finally prepared for their journey
into the cells of the body.

• The small intestine is subdivided into three:

• Duodenum
• Jejunum
• Ileum

Regions of Small Intestine

• Duodenum – begin the digestive process of breaking
down and absorbing nutrients needed by the body. The
duodenum begins this process by preparing the chyme
so that nutrients can then be absorbed easily.

• Chyme is the semifluid mass of partly digested food

expelled by the stomach into the duodenum.

• Jejunum – the middle section of the small intestine

carries food through rapidly, with wave-like muscle
contractions, towards the ileum.
• Ileum – is the last section is the longest part of your small intestine. The ileum is where
most of the nutrients from your food are absorbed before emptying into the large intestine.

Large Intestine
• The large intestine is much larger in diameter than the small intestine (thus its name) but
shorter in length. About 1.5 m (5 feet) long, it extends from the ileocecal valve to the anus.
• Its major functions are to dry out the indigestible food residue by absorbing water and to
eliminate these residues from the body as feces.

Parts of the Large Intestine

• Cecum – sack like structure

• Appendix – The trouble spot. Twisted and

ideal location for bacteria.

• Colon – The rest of the structure of the

large intestine is composed by the parts of
the colon:
• Ascending colon
• Transverse colon
• Descending colon
• Sigmoid colon
• Anus – the end of the anal canal.

Accessory Organs: Glands

• Not part of the path of ingested food but play a critical role in digestion.
• Includes: Liver, gall bladder, and pancreas

Liver
• Directly affects digestion by producing bile
• Bile aids in the digestion of fat
• Filters out toxins and waste including drugs, alcohol and
poisons

Gall Bladder
• Stores bile from the liver, releases it into the small intestine.
• Fatty diets can cause the formation of gallstones

Pancreas
• Produces digestive enzymes to digest fats, carbohydrates and
proteins
• Regulates blood sugar by producing insulin

The Process of Digestion

• Sugar form carbohydrates – Glucose, also known as blood sugar, is the major breakdown
product of carbohydrate digestion.

• Protein metabolism – Once a protein source reaches your stomach, hydrochloric acid and
enzymes called proteases break it down into smaller chains of amino acids.

• Once the liver has finished processing the blood draining the digestive tract and has taken
its “fill” of amino acids, the remaining amino acids circulate to the body cells.

• Cholesterol Metabolism – Fatty acids, fats, and cholesterol are insoluble in water, so they
cannot circulate freely in the bloodstream. Dietary cholesterol and fatty acids are absorbed.

• Nucleotides form nucleic acids - Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) in foods are digested in the
small intestine with the help of both pancreatic enzymes and enzymes produced by the small
intestine