CHAPTER 48

Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Types of Digestive Systems

Heterotrophs are divided into three groups
based on their food sources
1. Herbivores are animals that eat plants
exclusively
2. Carnivores are animals that eat other
animals
3. Omnivores are animals that eat both plants
and other animals
2

Types of Digestive Systems

Single-celled organisms and
sponges digest their food
intracellularly
Other multicellular animals
digest their food extracellularly
Within a digestive cavity

Cnidarians and flatworms have

a gastrovascular cavity
Only one opening, and no
specialized regions
3

Types of Digestive Systems

Specialization occurs when the digestive
tract has a separate mouth and anus
Nematodes have the most primitive digestive
tract
Tubular gut lined by an epithelial membrane

More complex animals have a digestive tract

specialized in different regions

Types of Digestive Systems

Types of Digestive Systems

Ingested food may be stored or first
subjected to physical fragmentation
Chemical digestion occurs next
Hydrolysis reactions liberate the subunit
molecules

Products pass through guts epithelial

lining into the blood (absorption)
Wastes are excreted from the anus
6

Vertebrate Digestive Systems

Consists of a tubular gastrointestinal tract and
accessory organs
Mouth and pharynx entry
Esophagus delivers food to stomach
Stomach preliminary digestion
Small intestine digestion and absorption
Large intestine absorption of water and
minerals
Cloaca or rectum expel waste
7

Vertebrate Digestive Systems

Accessory organs
Liver
Produces bile

Gallbladder
Stores and concentrates bile

Pancreas
Produces pancreatic juice
Digestive enzymes and bicarbonate buffer
9

Vertebrate Digestive Systems

Gastrointestinal tract is layered
Mucosa innermost
Epithelium that lines the interior, or lumen, of the tract

Submucosa
Connective tissue

Muscularis
Circular and longitudinal smooth muscle layers

Serosa outermost
Epithelium covering external surface of tract
10

11

Mouth and Teeth

Many vertebrates have teeth
used for chewing or mastication
Birds
Lack teeth
Break up food in a twochambered stomach
Gizzard muscular chamber that
uses ingested pebbles to
pulverize food
12

 Carnivores pointed teeth that lack flat grinding

surfaces
Herbivores large flat teeth suited for grinding
cellulose cell walls of plant tissues
Humans have carnivore-like teeth in the front and
herbivore-like teeth in the back
13

Mouth and Teeth

Inside the mouth, the tongue mixes food
with saliva
Moistens and lubricates the food
Contains salivary amylase, which initiates the
breakdown of starch
Salivation is controlled by the nervous system
Tasting, smelling, and even thinking or talking
about food stimulate increased salivation

14

Mouth and Teeth

Swallowing
Starts as voluntary action
Continued under involuntary control

When food is ready to be swallowed, the

tongue moves it to the back of the mouth
Soft palate seals off nasal cavity
Elevation of the larynx (voice box) pushes the
glottis against the epiglottis
Keeps food out of respiratory tract
15

Mouth and Teeth

16

The Esophagus
Muscular tube connecting the esophagus to
the stomach
Actively moves a bolus through peristalsis
Swallowing center in brain stimulates
successive one-directional waves of
contraction
Sphincter opens to allow food to enter
stomach
Humans lack a true sphincter here
17

18

The Stomach
Saclike portion of tract
Convoluted surface allows expansion
Contains 3rd layer of smooth muscles for mixing food with
gastric juice
3 kinds of secretory cells
Mucus-secreting cells
Parietal cells
Secrete HCl and intrinsic factor (for vitamin B12
absorption)
Chief cells
Secrete pepsinogen (inactive form of pepsin)
19

The Stomach

20

The Stomach (Cont.)

21

The Stomach
Low pH in the stomach helps denature food proteins
Activates pepsin and keeps it functioning
No significant digestion of carbohydrates or fats occurs
Absorption of some water (aspirin and alcohol)
Mixture of partially digested food and gastric juice is
called chyme
Peptic ulcer commonly caused by bacteria
Leaves the stomach through the pyloric sphincter to
enter the small intestine

22

The Small Intestine

Consists of duodenum, jejunum, and
ileum
Receives
Chyme from stomach
Digestive enzymes and bicarbonate from
pancreas
Bile from liver and gallbladder

23

 Epithelial wall is covered with villi

Villi are covered by microvilli
Greatly increase surface area
Microvilli participate in digestion and absorption
Brush border enzymes
Many adults lack the enzyme lactase
Have lactose intolerance
24

Accessory Organs
Pancreas
Pancreatic fluid is secreted into the duodenum through
the pancreatic duct
Enzymes
Trypsin and chymotrypsin proteins into smaller
polypeptides
Pancreatic amylase polysaccharides into shorter
sugars
Lipase fats into free fatty acids and monoglycerides
Bicarbonate neutralizes acidic chyme
Exocrine and endocrine gland
25

Accessory Organs
Liver
Bodys largest internal organ
Secretes bile
Bile pigments (waste products) and bile salts (for
emulsification of fats)

Gallbladder
Stores and concentrates bile
Arrival of fatty food in the duodenum triggers a neural
and endocrine reflex that stimulates the gallbladder to
contract, causing bile to be transported through the
common bile duct and injected into the duodenum
26

27

The Large Intestine (colon)

Much shorter than small intestine, but has larger
diameter
Small intestine empties directly into the large
intestine at a junction where two vestigial
structures, cecum and appendix, remain
No digestion occurs
Function to reabsorb water, remaining
electrolytes, and vitamin K
Prepare waste for expulsion
28

29

The Large Intestine

Many bacteria live and reproduce within
the large intestine
Feces compacted and passed to rectum
Feces exit anus
Smooth muscle sphincter (involuntary)
Striated muscle sphincter (voluntary)

30

Variations in Digestive Systems

Digestive tracts of some animals contain
bacteria and protists that convert cellulose
into substances the host can absorb
Minor in humans
Essential to some animals

Herbivores have longer digestive tracts

Greater time for digestion of cellulose
Modifications to enhance digestion of plant
material
31

32

 Ruminants have a fourchambered stomach

Rumen, reticulum,
omasum
True stomach
abomasum
Rumen has cellulosedegrading microbes
Contents can be
regurgitated and rechewed
Rumination

Evolved only once

33

Variations in Digestive Systems

Rodents, horses, deer, and rabbits digest
cellulose in the cecum
Regurgitation of contents is not possible

However, some such animals practice

coprophagy
Eat their feces to absorb nutrients on the
second passage of food
Cannot remain healthy if prevented from
eating feces
34

Variations in Digestive Systems

All mammals rely on intestinal bacteria to
synthesize vitamin K, which is required for
blood clotting
Birds, which lack these bacteria, must
consume the required quantities of vitamin
K in their diet

35

Accessory Organ Function

Liver
Chemically modifies the substances absorbed
from the digestive tract before they reach the rest
of the body
Ingested alcohol and other drugs are taken into
liver cells and metabolized
Removes toxins, pesticides, and carcinogens,
converting them to less toxic forms
Regulates levels of steroid hormones
Produces most proteins found in plasma
36

Regulation of Food Intake

Control mechanism links food intake to
energy balance
Leptin peptide hormone

Key to appetite control

Produced by adipose tissue
Leptin receptor located in hypothalamus
Reduced leptin signals brain to intake food
Research on leptin in humans ongoing

37

Regulation of Food Intake

Other hormones involved in the control of
feeding and energy include
Insulin, GIP, and CCK, which signal satiety
Ghrelin which stimulates food intake
Efferent control of feeding
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) induces feeding activity

38