Digestive System Kaikiyi Sykay Pacheco BEED1

Digestive System

In the human digestive system, the process of digestion has many stages, the first of which starts in the mouth
(oral cavity). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components which can be
absorbed and assimilated into the body. The secretion of saliva helps to produce a bolus which can be swallowed
in the oesophagus to pass down into the stomach.

Saliva also contains a catalytic enzyme called amylase which starts to act on food in the mouth. Digestion is helped
by the mastication of food by the teeth and also by the muscular contractions of peristalsis. Gastric juice in the
stomach is essential for the continuation of digestion as is the production of mucus in the stomach.

Peristalsis is the rhythmic contraction of muscles that begins in the oesophagus and continues along the wall of the
stomach. This initially results in the production of chyme which when fully broken down in the small intestine is
absorbed into the blood. Most of the digestion of food takes place in the small intestine. Water and some minerals
are reabsorbed back into the blood, in the colon of the large intestine. The waste products of digestion are
defecated from the anus via the rectum.

Extracellular – is a process in which saprobionts feed by secreting enzymes through the cell membrane onto the
food. The enzymes catalyse the digestion of the food into molecules small enough to be taken up by passive
diffusion, transport or phagocyosis.

Intracellular – is the breakdown of substances within the cytoplasm of a cell

Digestion – the process

- food is transformed into absorbable form
- Nutrients are absorbable form
Peristalsis – a rhythmic contraction and relaxation of muscles

Division
1.Alimentary Canal – starts from the mouth and ends in the anus
- (9 m long)
- digestive tube
Mouth Pharynx Esophagus Stomach Small Intestine Large IntetineAnus

2. Accessory Organs – salivary gland, pancreas, liver and gall bladder

- alimentary canal becomes 18 m long in a Cadaver

 Mouth – the one who receives food

Mastication – the process of breaking the food into small pieces (Mouth)

Components of Mouth
1. Lips – highly mobile structure
- judge the texture and temperature of the food
2. Cheeks – serves as the wall of your mouth
3. Tongue – to taste, occupies the floor of your mouth
- Papillae – provide friction
4. Palate – roof
a. Soft – last part (closes the opening of the nose when swallowing)
b. Hard – first part (push the food to the pharynx)
5. Teeth
a. Milk Teeth/Deciduous Teeth (20)

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Digestive System Kaikiyi Sykay Pacheco BEED1

b. Permanent ( 32)
c. Wisdom tooth

 Pharynx – muscle pushes the food to the esophagus

- provides passage

 Esophagus – collapsible tube

- 25 cm long

 Stomach – is a J shaped organ

- 25 – 30 cm long
- release 2-3 liters of gastric juices to help during the digestion of food
- Gastric acid (hydrochloric acid and sodium chloride)
Rugae – wall of the stomach
Chyme – liquefied food
Stomach ulcer
Ulcer means samad

 Small Intestine – longest organ of the Digestive System

- 10 – 13 ft
- villi – absorption of chyme
Parts of The Small Intestine
1. Duodenum - 5 cm long
- balancing of the chyme which is very acidic; addition of the bile happens
2. Jejunum – midsection which contains circular folds enabling an increased absorption of digested sugar,
amino acids and
fatty acids in th bllod stream.
- circular fold also slow the passage of food giving more time for nutrients to be absorbed.
3. Ileum – remainder of the small intestine
- contains villi and vitamin B12; bile acids and any residue nutrients are absorbed here.

When the chyme is exhausted of its nutrients the remaining waste material changes into semi solids
called faeces, which passes to the large intestine, where bacteria in the gut flora further break down
residual proteins and starches

 Large Intestine – largest organ of the Digestive System

- 500 species of bacteria lives in the
- before Defecation the feces is stored in the large intestine (12 to 50 hours until it is removed)\
Parts of the Large Intestine
1. Caecum – connects to the small intestine
- the site of appendix attatchment
2. Colon – ascending, descending, transverse
3. Rectum
4. Anus – defecation

3 – 8 hours

Accessory Organ
1. Salivary Glands – secretes saliva
Saliva – slightly antiseptic
- secretes enzyme Ptyalin

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Digestive System Kaikiyi Sykay Pacheco BEED1

3 Major Types of Salivary Glands

a. Parotid gland (largest) - below each ear (2)
b. Submandibular gland – lower jaw (2)
c. Sublingual gland (smallest) – floor under your tongue (2)

2. Pancreas – contributes in the digestion of food

- 6 in long
- endocrine and exocrine gland
-endocrine part secretes insulin when the blood sugar becomes high; insulin moves glucose from
the blood into
the muscles and other tissues for use as energy.
- produces insulin (enzyme)
Insulin – control the amount of blood sugar or glucose
Diabetes –if the pancreas will not function
-exocrine part releases glucagon when the blood sugar is low; glucagon allows stored sugar to be
broken down
into glucose by the liver in order to re-balance the sugar level.
-the main source of enzymes for the digestion of fats and proteins

3. Gall Bladder (storage of bile)

Bile – helps in the conversion and breaking of fats
- bilirubin is its major pigment
- acts partly as surfactant which lowers the surface tension between either two liquids or a solid and
a liquid
- helps to emulsify the fats in the chime
- refer to Wikipedia copy
4. Liver – produces the bile
- 2nd largest organ (3 pounds in weight)
- process the nutrients absorbed from the small intestine

Spleen – breaks down red and white cells that are spent, and blood platelets.
“graveyard of red blood cells”
Products of the Spleen
Bilirubin – the pigment product of this digestion which is sent to the liver and secreted in the bile
Iron – used in the formation of new blood cells in the bone marrow

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