Digestive
System
(Part 1)
By
Prutha Bhatt
Overview of Digestive System
Digestion begins when food is taken in
through the mouth, mixed with saliva,
and chewed.
Structures in the oral cavity work together
to break food down into a small mass,
called a bolus.
During the process of swallowing, the
tongue rises to the roof of the mouth,
directing the bolus out of the oral cavity.
The bolus then passes from the
oropharynx, to the pharynx, and into the
esophagus.
Involuntary muscular contractions, called
peristaltic waves, move the bolus down
the esophagus and into the stomach.
Peristaltic waves continue the
mechanical breakdown of food in
the stomach. Digested food, mixed
with digestive enzymes and acids
secreted by the stomach, is called
‘chyme’.
A small amount of absorption occurs
in the stomach but most absorption
occurs as chyme travels through
sections of the small intestine.
Enzymes in the small intestine further
the chemical process.
The walls of the small intestine are
lined with structures that absorb
nutrients from chyme and then pass
these into the bloodstream. Some
absorption continues in intestine.
As indigestible waste moves through
the structures of the large intestine it
is compacted as water is absorbed.
The elimination of indigestible Waste
from rectum and anus completes the
digestive process.
Digestive System
Gastrointestinal tract. Accessory organs.
Oral cavity, Pharynx, Salivary glands, Liver,
Esophagus, Stomach, Small
intestine, Large intestine, Gall bladder, Pancreas.
Rectum, Anus.
The mouth is where ingestion happens.
Oral Cavity
Food and drink enter the GI tract through the oral cavity.
The teeth break solids into smaller pieces (through the
process of mastication) and the salivary glands secret
enzymes that begin breaking down the food. There are
three pairs of salivary glands: parotid, sublingual, and
submandibular.
The Tongue Creates a Bolus so It Can Travel Down the
Pharynx and Esophagus. Epiglottis prevent this bolus from
entering into the wind pipe.
• Pharynx is a common path for food and air.
Pharynx and • The esophagus is a muscular tube connecting the throat
Esophagus: (pharynx) with the stomach. The esophagus is about 10 inches
long, and is lined by moist pink tissue called mucosa. The
esophagus runs behind the windpipe (trachea) and heart, and in
front of the spine.
Peristalsis .
• The walls of the alimentary canal include layers of smooth muscle
controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
• Alternating contraction and relaxation of these muscles is called
peristalsis.
• Peristaltic waves push the swallowed bolus down the esophagus.
• Movement from esophagus to stomach happens within 3-5
seconds.
• The esophagus meets the stomach at the Lower Esophageal sphincter also
known as Cardiac sphincter. (Sphincter = one way valve) STOMACH
• When a bolus reaches the sphincter, this ring of muscular fibers relaxes, allowing
the bolus to enter the stomach.
• The stomach is where the bolus is mixed with gastric juice to form chyme.
• Gastric juice comprises water, mucus, hydrochloric acid, pepsin, and intrinsic
factor. (Intrinsic factor is a protein that helps your intestines absorb vitamin B12.
It is made by cells in the stomach lining.)
• Of these five components, pepsin is the principal enzyme involved in protein
digestion.
• The stomach’s interior is extremely acidic.
• Ingested nutrients typically spend two to six hours in the stomach.
• Chyme passes from the stomach, through the pyloric sphincter, and into the
small intestine. This is the process of “gastric emptying.”
• Chyme moves from the stomach into the small intestine. SMALL INTESTINE
• The small intestine is 7 meters long and has three sections: the
duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum.
• In the small intestine, secretions from the accessory glands further the
breakdown of macromolecules. POSTERIOR
VIEW:
• The products of this breakdown are absorbed along with vitamins,
minerals, and water.
• The inner wall of the small intestine is covered with millions of
microscopic, finger-like projections called villi .The villi are the vehicles
through which nutrients can be absorbed into the body.
• Blood vessels in the walls of the small intestine carry absorbed
nutrients to the liver via the hepatic portal vein.
• Liver is the largest gland in the body situated in right
THE LIVER &
upper quadrant of the abdominal cavity.
GALLBLADDER
• It is a store house of glycogen. (Glycogen is a main
source of energy for the body. )
• Its an important center for detoxification. It processes
drugs, hormones, alcohol and other toxic substance.
• Many vitamins are stored in the liver. (vitamin
A,D,E,K,B12)
• The main digestive function of the liver is to produce
bile, which aids in the mechanical digestion of lipids in
the small intestine.
• The gallbladder stores, concentrates, and releases bile
that the liver produces.
• It lies behind and just below the stomach.
• The pancreas has exocrine and endocrine cells. PANCREAS
• The endocrine cells produce and secrete
hormones such as insulin, which helps regulate
blood glucose levels, and glucagon, which helps
the liver convert glycogen to glucose.
• The pancreas produces pancreatic juice, an
important digestive fluid made of enzymes, water,
and electrolytes .
• Pancreatic juice drains through the main
pancreatic duct into the common bile duct and
then into the small intestine.
• The large intestine, which is the terminal part of
LARGE INTESTINE
gastrointestinal (GI) tract, is so called because its
lumen (diameter) is larger, not because its length is
greater, than that of the small intestine. In fact, small
intestine is longer than the large intestine.
• The large intestine is about 6 feet long (almost 2
meters) and is positioned anatomically like a “frame”
around the small intestine.
• The colon consists of six sections: the cecum, the
ascending colon, the transverse colon, the descending
colon, the sigmoid colon, and the rectum.
• Beyond the cecum, the large intestine moves upward
as the ascending colon, across as the transverse colon,
and downward as the descending colon and finally
into the sigmoid colon.
• The small intestine empties into the large intestine
(colon), where the remainder of absorption of water,
electrolytes, and vitamins occurs.
• The remaining undigested food is converted into a
solid called feces, which moves through the large
intestine and the rectum and is ultimately eliminated
(leaves the body) through the anus.
• Rectum: The rectum is the most distal segment of the
large intestine, and has an important role as a
temporary store of faeces.
• Anus: The anus is the opening at the lower end of the
intestines. It's where the end of the intestines
connect to the outside of the body.
Functions of Digestive System: