Digestive System

2 main groups

- Alimentary Canal

- Accessory digestive organs

Alimentary canal

-It performs digestive functions (ingests, digests, absorbs, and defecates)

- 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

-Its organs are the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small Intestine, large intestine, and anus

-In a cadaver, approximately 9 m (About 30 feet) long, but shorter in a living person due to muscle tone

MOUTH

- Food enters the digestive tract by swallowing through the mouth, or oral cavity, a mucous membrane–
lined cavity

Once food has been placed in the mouth, both mechanical and digestive (chemical) processing begins.
First the food is physically broken down into smaller particles by chewing. Then, as the food is mixed
with saliva, salivary amylase begins the digestion of starch, chemically breaking it down into maltose.

Once the food has been chewed and well mixed with saliva, the bolus (food mass) is forced into the
pharynx by the tongue

Oral Cavity Anatomy

• Lips (labia) – protect the anterior opening

• Cheeks – form the lateral walls

• Hard palate – forms the anterior roof

• Soft palate – forms the posterior roof

• Vestibule – space between lips externally and teeth and gums internally

• Oral cavity – area contained by the teeth

• Tongue – attached at hyoid and styloid processes of the skull, and by the lingual frenulum,

• Tonsils

• Palatine tonsils- At the posterior end of the oral cavity are paired masses of lymphatic
tissue

• Lingual tonsil- covers the base of the tongue just beyond. The tonsils, along with other
lymphatic tissues, are part of the body’s defense system

Pharynx

From the mouth, food passes posteriorly into the oropharynx and laryngopharynx, both of which

are common passageways for food, fluids, and air. The walls of the pharynx contain two skeletal muscle
layers, alternating contractions of these two muscle layers propel food through the pharynx inferiorly
into the esophagus, called peristalsis.

Pharynx is subdivided in to 3

Nasopharynx -part of the respiratory passageway;

Oropharynx- posterior to the oral cavity

Laryngopharynx- which is continuous with the esophagus inferiorly

Food is moved through the pharynx and then into the esophagus inferiorly by wavelike peristaltic
contractions of their muscular walls—first the longitudinal muscles contract, and then the circular
muscles contract.

Esophagus

- runs from the pharynx through the diaphragm to the stomach. it is essentially a passageway that
conducts food (by peristalsis) to the stomach.

- About 25 cm (10 inches) long

4 Tissue Layers that Walls from Esophagus to Large Intestine (alimentary canal)

1. mucosa

is the innermost layer, a moist mucous membrane that lines the hollow cavity, or lumen, of the organ.

2. sub mucosa

-found just beneath the mucosa. a. It is soft connective tissue contain ing blood vessels, nerve endings,
mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), and lymphatic vessels

3. muscularis externa

-is a muscle layer typically made up of an inner circular layer and an outer longitudinal layer of smooth
muscle cells.

4. serosa

-the outermost layer of the wall, which consists of a single layer of flat, serous fluid–producing cells.

Two important intrinsic nerve plexuses, the submucosal nerve plexus and the myenteric (intestinal
muscle) nerve plexus. These networks of nerve fibers are actually part of the autonomic nervous system.
They help in regulating the mobility and secretory activity of GI tract organs.

Stomach

-The C-shaped organ is located on the left side of the abdominal cavity, nearly hidden by the liver and
diaphragm.

-varies from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) in length

1. cardial region, or cardia

named for its position near the heart, surrounds the cardioesophageal sphincter, through which food
enters the stomach from the esophagus. The stomach acts as a temporary “storage tank” for food as
well as a site for food breakdown.

2. fundus

is the expanded part of the stomach lateral to the cardial region

3. body

the midportion of the stomach; in the body, the convex lateral surface is the greater curvature, and its
concave medial surface is the lesser curvature.

4. pylorus

the terminal part of the stomach. The pylorus is continuous with the small intestine through the pyloric
sphincter (gatekeeper) which controls the movement of chyme into the small intestine from the
stomach and prevents the small intestine from being overwhelmed.

The stomach varies from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) in length, but its diameter and volume depend on
how much food it contains. When it is full, it can hold about 4 liters (1 gallon) of food. When it is empty,
it collapses inward on itself, and its mucosa is thrown into large folds called rugae.

Besides the usual longitudinal and circular muscle layers, its wall contains a third, obliquely arranged
layer in the muscularis externa. This arrangement allows the stomach not only to move food along the
tract, but also to churn, mix, and pummel the food, physically breaking it down into smaller fragments.

The mucosa of the stomach is a simple columnar epithelium composed entirely of mucous cells. They
produce a protective layer of bicarbonate-rich alkaline mucus that clings to the stomach mucosa and
protects the stomach wall from being damaged by acid and digested by enzymes. This otherwise smooth
lining is dotted with millions of deep gastric pits, which lead into gastric glands, which secretes gastric
juice

chief cells produce inactive protein-digesting enzymes, mostly pepsinogens.

parietal cells produce corrosive hydrochloric acid (HCl), which makes the stomach contents acidic and
activates the enzymes, as in the conversion of pepsinogen to pepsin.

mucous neck cells produce a thin acidic mucus with an unknown function that is quite different from
that secreted by the mucous cells of the mucosa.
enteroendocrine cells produce local hormones, such as gastrin, that are important in regulating the
digestive activities of the stomach

Most digestive activity occurs in the pyloric region of the stomach. After food has been pro cessed in
the stomach, it is thick like heavy cream and is called chyme. The chyme enters the small intestine
through the pyloric sphincter.

Small intestine

the body’s major digestive organ.

A muscular tube that extends from the pyloric sphincter to the large intestine, longest section of GI
tract. The large intestine encircles and frames it in the abdominal cavity.

average length of 2 to 4 m (7 to 13 feet)

3 Subdivisions of Small intestine

1. duodenum

After food was mix with stomach acids, it will then move to duodenum where they mix with bile from
the gallbladder and digestive juices from the pancreas. 5% of the small intestine. (next slide)

In the C-shaped duodenum, some enzymes are produced by the intestinal cells. (Proceed to the ppt for
the related organs)

pancreatic ducts- delivers more important enzymes used for chemical breakdown to the duodenum
produced by the pancreas

Bile duct- bile enters through this to enter the duodenum

Hepatopancreatic ampulla- formed by the pancreatic and bile ducts

2. Jejenum

Most of the nutrients present in food are absorbed by the jejunum, 40% of small intestine

3. Ileum

main function of the ileum is to absorb vitamin B12, bile salts, and whatever products of digestion were
not absorbed by the jejunum. 60 % of the length of small intestine.
Chyme reaching the small intestine is only partially digested. Carbohydrate and protein digestion has
begun, but virtually no fats or nucleic acids have been digested up to this point.

Almost all nutrient absorption occurs in the small intestine. There are three structures of the small
intestine wall that increase its absorptive surface. By the time the food reaches the end of the small
intestine, digestion will be complete, and nearly all food absorption will have occurred.

Villi are fingerlike projections of the mucosa that give it a velvety appearance and feel, much like the
soft nap of a towel. Within each villus is a rich capillary bed and a modified lymphatic capillary called a
lacteal. The nutrients are absorbed through the mucosal cells into both the capillaries and the lacteal.

Microvilli are tiny projections of the plasma membrane of the mucosa cells that give the cell surface a
fuzzy appearance, sometimes referred to as the brush border. The plasma membranes bear enzymes
(brush border enzymes) that complete the digestion of proteins and carbohydrates in the small
intestine.

Circular folds, also called plicae circulares, are deep folds of both mucosa and submucosa layers. Unlike
the rugae of the stomach, the circular folds do not disappear when food fills the small intestine. Instead,
they form an internal “corkscrew slide” to increase surface area and force chyme to travel slowly
through the small intestine so nutrients can be absorbed efficiently

At the end of the ileum, all that remains is some water, indigestible food materials (plant fibers such as
cellulose), and large amounts of bacteria. This debris enters the large intestine through the ileocecal
valve.

Large intestine

Much larger in diameter but shorter in length than the Small intestine, about 1.5 m (5 feet) long, it
extends from the ileocecal valve to the anus.

Major functions are to dry out the indigestible food residue by absorbing water and to eliminate these
residues from the body as feces

Subdivisions of Large Intestine

cecum, appendix, colon, rectum, and anal canal.

cecum

-composed of a thick mucous membrane, through which water and salts are absorbed.

Appendix
-a potential trouble spot, because it is usually twisted, it is an ideal location for bacteria to accumulate
and multiply through blockage of the entrance of this structure, resulting to appendicitis.

Colon

ascending colon- travels up the right side of the abdominal cavity and makes a turn, the right colic
flexure

transverse colon- travel across the abdominal cavity, then turns again at the left colic (or splenic) flexure
and continues

descending colon- down the left side

sigmoid colon, rectum and anal canal lie in the pelvis and ends in anus.

Anal canal has two valves:

external anal sphincter

- composed of skeletal muscle, is voluntary

internal anal sphincter

-formed by smooth muscle, is involuntary

These sphincters, which act rather like purse strings to open and close the anus, are ordinarily closed
except during defecation, when feces are eliminated from the body.

The colon itself produces no digestive enzymes. However, the “resident” bacteria that live in its lumen
metabolize some of the remaining nutrients, releasing gases (methane and hydrogen sulfide) that
contribute to flatulence and the odor of feces. Bacteria residing in the large intestine also make some
vitamins (vitamin K and some B vitamins). Absorption by the large intestine is limited to the absorption
of these vitamins, some ions, and most of the remaining water. Feces, the more or less solid product
delivered to the rectum, contains undigested food residues, mucus, millions of bacteria, and just enough
water to allow its smooth passage.

When presented with food residue, the colon begins contractions, but they are sluggish or short-lived.
The movements most seen in the colon are haus tral contractions, slow segmenting movements lasting
about 1 minute that occur every 30 minutes or so. Mass movements are long, slow-moving but powerful
contractile waves that move over large areas of the colon three or four times daily and force the
contents toward the rectum.

The rectum is generally empty, but when feces are forced into it by mass movements and its wall is
stretched, the defecation reflex is initiated. The defecation reflex is a spinal (sacral region) reflex that
causes the walls of the sigmoid colon and the rectum to contract and the anal sphincters to relax. As the
feces are forced through the anal canal, messages reach the brain giving us time to decide whether the
external voluntary sphincter should remain open or be constricted to stop passage of feces.

Accessory digestive organs

Assists in digestion (composed of teeth, tongue, and several large digestive glands)

Teeth

We masticate, or chew, by opening and closing our jaws and moving them from side to side while
continuously using our tongue and cheek muscles to keep the food between our teeth. In the process,
the teeth tear and grind the food, breaking it down into smaller fragments.

by the age of 21, two sets of teeth have been formed.

1st Set: deciduous teeth, also called baby teeth or milk teeth. Happens from 6 months to 2 years old to
achieve a full set of 20 teeth

2nd set: Permanent teeth occurs during 6 to 12 years old. All the permanent teeth except the third
molars have erupted by the end adolescence. Third molars, also called wisdom teeth, emerge between
the ages of 17 and 25. Although there are 32 permanent teeth in a full set, the wisdom teeth often fail
to erupt; sometimes they are completely absent.

Salivary Glands

3 pairs of Salivary Glands

Parotid- The large parotid glands lie anterior to the ears.

submandibular and sublingual- empty their secretions into the floor of the mouth through tiny
ducts.
The product of salivary glands is saliva, is a mixture of mucus and serous fluids. The mucus moistens and
helps to bind food together into a mass called a bolus, which makes chewing and swallowing easier. The
clear serous portion contains an enzyme, salivary amylase, in a bicarbonate-rich (alkaline) juice that
begins the process of starch digestion in the mouth.

Pancreas

a soft, pink, triangular gland that extends across the abdomen from the spleen to the duodenum.

Only the pancreas produces enzymes (described later) that break down all categories of digestible foods.
pancreatic enzymes are secreted into the duodenum in an alkaline fluid that neutralizes the acidic
chyme coming in from the stomach. Function also in endocrine system (produces insulin and glucagon)

Liver

the largest gland in the body. Located under the diaphragm. Its digestive function is to produce bile. Bile
leaves the liver through the common hepatic duct and enters the duodenum through the bile duct.

Bile is a yellow-to-green, watery solution containing bile salts, bile pigments, cholesterol, phospholipids,
and a variety of electrolytes. Of these components, only the bile salts (derived from cholesterol) and
phospholipids help the digestive process. Bile does not contain enzymes, but its bile salts emulsify fats
by physically breaking large fat globules into smaller ones, thus providing more surface area for the fat-
digesting enzymes to work on.

Gallbladder

is a small, thin-walled green sac that snuggles in a shallow fossa in the inferior surface of the liver

Bile is concentrated here by the removal of water. When fatty food enters the duodenum, a hormonal
stimulus prompts the gallbladder to contract and spurt out stored bile, making it available to the
duodenum

FUNCTION OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The major functions of the digestive tract are usually summarized in two words—digestion and
absorption. However, many of its specific activities (such as smooth muscle activity) and certain
regulatory events are not really covered by either term. To describe digestive system processes a little
more accurately, we need to consider a few more functional terms. These are the essential activities of
the GI tract include the following six processes: Ingestion, Propulsion, Food breakdown, Digestion,
Absorption, and Defecation.
 1. Ingestion. Food must be placed into the mouth before it can be acted on. This is an active,
voluntary process called ingestion.

2. Propulsion. To be processed by more than one digestive organ, foods must be propelled from
one organ to the next. Swallowing is one example of food movement that depends largely on
the propulsive process called peristalsis.

Peristalsis is involuntary and involves alternating waves of contraction and relaxation of

3. Mechanical breakdown physically fragments food into smaller particles, increasing surface area
and preparing food for further degradation by enzymes. Chewing and mixing of food in the
mouth by the teeth and tongue and churning of food in the stomach are examples of processes
contributing to mechanical food breakdown.

segmentation in the small intestine moves food back and forth across the internal wall
of the organ, mixing it with the digestive juices. Although segmentation may also help to
pro pel foodstuffs through the small intestine, it is more an example of mechanical
digestion than of propulsion.

4. Digestion. The sequence of steps in which large food molecules are chemically broken down to
their building blocks by enzymes (protein molecules that act as catalysts) is called digestion.

5. Absorption. Absorption is the transport of digestive end products from the lumen of the GI tract
to the blood or lymph. For absorp tion to occur, the digested foods must first enter the mucosal
cells by active or passive transport processes. The small intestine is the major absorptive site.

6. Defecation. Defecation is the elimination of indigestible residues from the GI tract via the anus
in the form of feces.

Three most common monosaccharides in our diet: glucose (blood sugar level), fructose(fruits), and
galactose(milk).

Although we eat foods containing other polysaccharides, such as cellulose, we do not have enzymes
capable of breaking them down.