Alimentary System

Introduction
► The Alimentary System/digestive system/
gastrointestinal system, is responsible for the physical
and chemical breakdown of food.
► Breakdown is necessary so food can be taken into
bloodstream and used by body cells and tissues
► System consists of alimentary canal and accessory
organs
► INGESTION
Taking of food into the body
► PERISTALSIS
Physical movement along the tract
► DIGESTION
Mechanical and chemical breakdown of food
► ABSORPTION
Passage of food from digestive tract into body
► DEFECATION
Elimination of indigestible substances from body
► ALIMENTARY CANAL /GI Tract
A long, muscular tube that begins at the mouth and
includes the mouth (oral cavity), pharynx,
esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large
intestine, and anus. The length of the GI tract is
about 5–7 meters.

► ACCESSORY ORGANS
Accessory organs are the salivary glands, tongue,
teeth, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
MOUTH & ORAL CAVITY
The mouth, also called the BUCCAL CAVITY, receives food as it enters body. While
food is in mouth, it is
❖ Tasted
❖ Broken down physically by teeth
❖ Lubricated and partially digested by saliva
❖ Swallowed
The TEETH are special structures in mouth that physically break down food by
chewing and grinding Process (MASTICATION).
The TONGUE is a muscular organ that contains special receptors, called TASTE
BUDS which allow person to senses taste. The tongue also aids in chewing and
swallowing foods.
The HARD PALATE is the bony structure that forms the roof of the mouth and
separates the mouth from the nasal cavities.
Behind the hard palate is the SOFT PALATE, which separates the mouth from the
nasopharynx.
The UVULA, a cone-shaped muscular structure, hangs from the middle of the soft
palate and prevents food from entering the nasopharynx during swallowing.
Three pairs of SALIVARY GLANDS
– Parotid (cheek/jaw)
– Sublingual (beneath tongue)
– Submandibular (chin/neck)
They produce a liquid called saliva. Saliva lubricates mouth during speech and
chewing and moistens food so it can be swallowed easily. Also contains enzyme
called salivary amylase. Salivary amylase begins chemical breakdown of complex
carbohydrates, or starches, into sugars that can be taken into the body.
PHARYNX

► After food is chewed and mixed with saliva, it is called a BOLUS.

► When bolus is swallowed, it enters the pharynx (throat).
► “PHARYNX IS A TUBE THAT CARRIES BOTH AIR (TO TRACHEA) AND FOOD (TO
ESOPHAGUS)”
► When a bolus is being swallowed, muscle action causes epiglottis to close over
larynx
Esophagus
► The esophagus is the muscular tube dorsal to the trachea.
► It receives bolus form pharynx and carries it to stomach.
► Esophagus, and remaining part of alimentary canal, relies on rhythmic,
wavelike, involuntary movement of its muscles called PERISTALSIS, it moves
food in forward direction.
Stomach
► “The stomach is an enlarged part of alimentary canal and receives food from
esophagus” The stomach has four parts:
❖ CARDIA – This is the area where the esophagus meets with the stomach –
esophagogastric junction (Z-line). – The passage of food through this area is
regulated by the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) or CARDIAC SPHINCTER.
❖ FUNDUS – This is the uppermost area of the stomach that lies just under the
diaphragm. – It ends in line with the cardia.
❖ BODY – This is the largest part of the stomach between the fundus and pylorus.
❖ PYLORUS – The region of the stomach that connects to the duodenum is the
pylorus; it has two parts, the pyloric antrum, which connects to the body of the
stomach, and the pyloric canal, which leads into the duodenum. This is the area
through which the gastric contents flow out of the stomach and into the duodenum.
THE PASSAGE OF FOOD FROM THE STOMACH INTO THE DUODENUM IS REGULATED BY THE
pyloric sphincter.
Gastric Glands:
► The gastric glands contain three types of exocrine gland cells that secrete their
products into the stomach lumen:
► ---Mucous neck cells
► ---Chief cells
► ---Parietal cells
• Mucous neck cells secrete mucus.
• Chief cells secrete pepsinogen and gastric lipase.
• Parietal cells produce intrinsic factor (needed for absorption of vitamin B12) and
hydrochloric acid.
• The secretions of the mucous, parietal, and chief cells form gastric juice, which
totals 2000–3000 mL per day.
A type of enteroendocrine cell, the G cell, which is located mainly in the pyloric
antrum and secretes the hormone gastrin into the bloodstream.
 Small Intestine
► When food, in form of CHYME (Chyme is a semi-fluid pulp formed in the stomach
made of partly digested food and the secretions of the gastrointestinal tract. It is
initially acidic in pH and also contains salivary enzymes and gastric enzymes), leaves
stomach, it enters the small intestine.
► Small intestine is a long tube where most digestion and absorption of nutrients
occur.
► Circular folds, villi, and microvilli increase surface area for digestion and
absorption.
► Small intestine begins at the pyloric sphincter of the stomach, coils through the
central and inferior part of the abdominal cavity, and eventually opens into the large
intestine.
► 2.5 cm diameter.
► Length about 3 m
► Divided into three regions.
• The duodenum the shortest region, is retroperitoneal. It starts at the pyloric
sphincter of the stomach and extends about 25 cm until it merges with the
jejunum.
• The jejunum is about 1 m long and extends to the ileum.
• The final and longest region of the small intestine, the ileum measures
about 2 m and joins the large intestine at a smooth muscle sphincter called
the ileocecal sphincter.
► The epithelial layer of the small intestinal mucosa consists of simple columnar
epithelium that contains many types of cells:
• Absorptive cells of the epithelium digest and absorb nutrients in small
intestinal chyme.
• Goblet cells secrete mucus.
• The small intestinal mucosa contains many deep crevices lined by the cells
that form the intestinal glands (crypts of Lieberkühn) and secrete intestinal
juice.
► Intestinal glands also contain:

----Paneth cells that secrete lysozyme, a bactericidal enzyme, and are capable
of phagocytosis.

----Enteroendocrine cells that are of three types i.e:

► S cells, CCK cells, and K cells, which secrete the hormones secretin,
cholecystokinin or CCK, and glucose dependent insulinotropic peptide or GIP,
respectively.
Large Intestine

► The large intestine is the final section of the alimentary canal.

► About 1.5 m long and 6.5 cm in diameter.
► Ileocecal sphincter (valve) guards the opening from the ileum into the large
intestine.
► FUNCTIONS include
– Absorption of H2O and any remaining nutrients
– Storage of indigestible materials before eliminated
– Synthesis (formation) and absorption of some B-complex vitamins and vitamin K
by bacteria present
– Transportation of waste products out of body.
► Four major regions of the large intestine:

► ---Cecum
► ---Colon
► ---Rectum
► ---Anal canal
CECUM:
• A small pouch (about 6 cm long) hanging inferior to ileocecal-valve.
• Attached to the cecum is a twisted, coiled tube, measuring about 8 cm in
length, called the appendix or vermiform appendix.
• The mesentery of the appendix, called the mesoappendix, attaches the
appendix to the inferior part of the mesentery of the ileum.
COLON:
• The open end of the cecum merges with a long tube called the colon; divided
into ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid portions.
• Both the ascending and descending colon are retroperitoneal; the transverse
and sigmoid colon are not.
Rectum: The rectum is the final six to eight inches of the large intestine and is a
storage area for indigestible and wastes.
Anal Canal and Anus:
► The terminal 2–3 cm of the rectum is called the anal canal.
► The opening of the anal canal to the exterior, called the anus, is guarded by
an internal anal sphincter of smooth muscle (involuntary) and an external
anal sphincter of skeletal muscle (voluntary).
► Fecal material, or stool, the final waste product of the digestive process, is
expelled through this opening.
Anatomy of the Pancreas:
• A retroperitoneal gland that is about 12–15 cm long and 2.5 cm thick.
• Lies posterior to the greater curvature of the stomach.
• Consists of a head, a body, and a tail.
• The head is the expanded portion of the organ near the curve of the
duodenum; superior to and to the left of the head are the central body and
the tapering tail.
• Pancreatic juices are secreted by exocrine cells into small ducts that
ultimately unite to form two larger ducts, the pancreatic duct and the
accessory duct.
• These in turn convey the secretions into the small intestine.

Secretions of Pancreas:
• The pancreas is made up of small clusters of glandular epithelial cells.
• About 99% of the clusters, called acini, constitute the exocrine portion of
the organ and secrete pancreatic juice.
• The remaining 1% of the clusters, called pancreatic islets (islets of
Langerhans), form the endocrine portion of the pancreas and secrete the
hormones glucagon, insulin, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide.
Composition and Functions of Pancreatic Juice:
• Pancreas produces 1200–1500 ml/day pancreatic juice, a
clear, colorless liquid consisting mostly of water, some salts,
sodium bicarbonate, and several enzymes.
• Pancreatic juice a slightly alkaline pH (7.1–8.2).

The enzymes in pancreatic juice include:

---- A starch digesting enzyme called pancreatic amylase.

----Several protein digesting enzymes called trypsin,
chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase and elastase.
----Triglyceride-digesting enzyme in adults, called pancreatic
lipase.
---Nucleic acid digesting enzymes called ribonuclease and
deoxyribonuclease.
LIVER AND GALLBLADDER:

LIVER:
• Heaviest gland of the body (1.4 kg).
• Lies inferior to the diaphragm and occupies most of the right
hypochondriac and part of the epigastric regions of the abdominopelvic
cavity.

GALL BLADDER:
• Pear-shaped sac that is located in a depression of the posterior surface of
the liver.
• 7–10 cm long.

Anatomy of the Liver and Gall bladder:

The liver is covered by a dense irregular connective tissue layer that is
covered by visceral peritoneum.
Lobes of liver: The liver is divided into two principal lobes—a large right
lobe and a smaller left lobe, by the falciform ligament.
• Hepatocytes are specialized epithelial cells that make up
about 80% of the volume of the liver.
• Hepatocytes secrete bile.
• The bile is transported to small intestine by common bile
duct where it helps in digestion.

Gall bladder parts:

The parts of the gallbladder include the broad fundus, the

body, the central portion; and the neck, the tapered portion.
Role and Composition of Bile:
• Hepatocytes secrete 800–1000 ml/day of bile, a yellow, brownish, or
olive-green liquid.
• Bile has a pH of 7.6–8.6.
• Consists mostly of water, bile salts, cholesterol, a phospholipid called
lecithin, bile pigments, and several ions.
• The principal bile pigment is bilirubin. (breakdown product of aged
RBCs).
• The phagocytosis of aged red blood cells liberates iron, globin, and
bilirubin (derived from heme).
• The iron and globin are recycled; the bilirubin is secreted into the bile
and is broken down in the intestine.
• One of its breakdown products i.e stercobilin gives feces their normal
brown color.
• Bile salts, which are sodium salts and potassium salts of bile acids
(mostly chenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid), play a role in
emulsification, the breakdown of large lipid globules into a suspension of
small lipid globules.