Explain ingestion, absorption, assimilation,

and excretion.
(S8LT-IV-13)
 The digestive system is a continuous
tube that begins at the mouth and ends
at the anus. Measuring about 30 feet long
in the average adult, it is known as the
alimentary canal or gastrointestinal tract.
It has 3 functions:
the digestion of food into nutrients,
the absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream,
and the elimination of solid wastes.
Food is taken into the mouth
where it is physically broken
down by the teeth into
smaller pieces.
The presence of food in the
mouth triggers a nervous
reflex that causes the salivary
glands to deliver a watery
fluid called saliva to the
mouth.
Digestion is a form of
catabolism that is often divided
into two processes based on
how food is broken down:
mechanical and chemical
digestion. The term mechanical
digestion refers to the physical
breakdown of large pieces of
food into smaller pieces which
can subsequently be accessed
by digestive enzymes.
• Three pairs of glands open into
the oral cavity, producing
saliva:
• the parotid (pah RŎD ed),
sublingual(sub LIN GWUL), and
submandibular (sub man DIB
you ler) glands.
• The sensory organs such as
the nose and eyes send a
message to the brain, the
brain sends the message to
the salivary glands, and
they secrete the chemicals
to begin the digestive
process.
• The tongue is a muscle
covered with a mucous
membrane. It has a rear
portion called the root, the tip,
and the central body. It is
covered with taste buds and
raised elevations called
papillae (pah PILL ah).
• The teeth are used
for chewing the
food…mastication.
The food is broken
apart and mixed
with saliva to form
a bolus, ready to
be swallowed.
• Muscular constrictions
move the bolus through
the pharynx (soft palate
at the back of the
mouth) and into the
esophagus while
blocking the opening to
the larynx and
preventing the food
from entering the
airway.
• The food is moved
down the esophagus
toward the stomach
by wavelike muscular
contractions called
peristalsis.
• At the opening of the
stomach is the lower
esophageal
sphincter. This is a
muscle valve that
permits the passage
of food, but not the
backup of stomach
contents under
normal conditions.
The muscles of the small
intestine mix food with digestive
juices from the pancreas, liver,
and intestine and push the
mixture forward to help with
further digestion. The walls of the
small intestine absorb the
digested nutrients into the
bloodstream. The blood delivers
the nutrients to the rest of the
body.
• The stomach is a
muscular, expandable
organ, the upper portion
called the fundus and
the lower portion called
the antrum.
• Hydrochloric acid and
other gastric juices
convert the food to a
semiliquid state called
chyme.
• Chyme passes
through the pyloric
sphincter valve at the
bottom of the
stomach, into the
small intestine.
The small intestine is about
21 feet long and 1”
diameter, extending from
the pyloric sphincter valve to
the large intestine. The
duodenum is the foot-long
section just beyond the
stomach; the jejunum is the
next 8 feet, and the ileum is
the remaining 12 feet.
• The liver’s primary
contribution to digestion is
the production of bile or
gall which drains into the
duodenum, and some is
stored in the gallbladder. It
travels through the hepatic
ducts, which merge
together. Bile helps digest
fats. The liver also stores
iron and the fat-soluble
vitamins A, D, E, and K.
• Bile stored in the gallbladder
becomes more
concentrated, increasing its
potency and intensifying its
effect. When chyme
containing fat leaves the
stomach, the gallbladder
contracts and discharges
bile through the cystic duct
and common bile duct and
into the duodenum of the
small intestine.
• The pancreas secretes
pancreatic juice into the
duodenum via the
pancreatic duct which
merges with the
common bile duct. This
pancreatic juice
contains digestive
enzymes and
bicarbonate ions.
• It’s role is so vital to
digestion, that a
person would starve
without it, even if they
were consuming an
adequate amount of
food.
• The jejunum and ilium
are lined with hair-like
protrusions calIed villi.
They slow the passage
of food, and allow
food particles to be
captured in among
these finger-like villi --
so that the blood inside
the villi can absorb the
nutrients in the food.
Villus capillaries collect
amino acids (proteins)
and glucose (simple
sugars). Villus lacteals
collect absorbed fatty
acids.
The matter, such as urine or
sweat, that is so excreted.
Excretion is defined as the
process of expelling waste
matter, or the waste matter
expelled by this process.
When a person goes to the
bathroom to urinate, this is an
example of excretion. Urine is
an example of excretion.
• The function of the
large intestine, or
bowel, is to absorb the
remaining water and
nutrients from
indigestible food
matter, store unusable
food matter (wastes),
and then eliminate the
wastes from the body.
• The large intestine is
subdivided into the
cecum and the
ascending/transverse/
descending/and
sigmoid colon sections.
• The large intestine is
only about 4-5 feet in
length, and 2 ½ inches
in diameter.
• The rectum is where
feces are stored until
they leave the
digestive system,
through the anus as a
bowel movement.
As the rectal walls expand
with waste material,
receptors from the nervous
system stimulate the desire
to defecate. For
defecation or egestion,
we consciously relax the
external anal sphincter
muscle to expel the waste
through the anus.
Water is most important nutrient
Every cell in the human body
needs water
Many body processes and chemical reactions
take place in water
Makes up bulk of blood, lymph and
other bodily fluids
Drink at least 1-2 liters of water
each day (6-8 cups)
Not enough = dehydration → causes
problems in circulatory, respiratory,
and nervous systems
Function of the digestive
system is to help convert
large food molecules into
simpler molecules
(monomers) that can be
absorbed and used by
the cells of the body