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Digestive System

This document summarizes the key components and functions of the digestive system. It describes the process of digestion from ingestion to defecation. It outlines the major organs that make up the gastrointestinal tract, including the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and accessory organs such as the liver, gallbladder and pancreas. It explains the roles of these organs in digesting, absorbing and eliminating food.

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JULIANNE ANACTA
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© © All Rights Reserved
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26 views

Digestive System

This document summarizes the key components and functions of the digestive system. It describes the process of digestion from ingestion to defecation. It outlines the major organs that make up the gastrointestinal tract, including the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and accessory organs such as the liver, gallbladder and pancreas. It explains the roles of these organs in digesting, absorbing and eliminating food.

Uploaded by

JULIANNE ANACTA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1

Chapter 16

Nutrition and the Digestive


System

2
Introduction

• Digestion: breakdown of food into smaller,


usable form
– Ingestion
– Peristalsis
– Digestion
– Absorption
– Defecation

3
General Organization

4
General Organization (cont’d.)

• Gastrointestinal tract (Alimentary canal)


– Mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small
intestine, large intestine
• Accessory organs
– Teeth, tongue, salivary glands, liver,
gallbladder, pancreas

5
General Organization (cont’d.)

6
The Mouth or Oral Cavity

• Functions
– Taste
– Mechanical breakdown of food
– Chemical digestion of carbohydrates
• Amylase

7
The Mouth or Oral Cavity (cont’d.)

• Structure
– Cavity lined with mucous membrane
– Cavity floor formed by tongue
– Cavity roof formed by hard and soft palate
– Cavity sides formed by cheeks
– Cavity opening guarded by lips

8
The Mouth or Oral Cavity (cont’d.)

• Functions of tongue
– Food manipulation, taste, speech
• Structure of tongue
– Skeletal muscle covered with mucous
membrane
– Lingual frenulum
– Papillae
• Taste buds

9
The Mouth or Oral Cavity (cont’d.)

10
The Salivary Glands

• Pairs of salivary glands


– Parotid, submandibular, sublingual
• Saliva
– Is 99.5% water
– Has amylase, which digests carbohydrates
– Is buffered by bicarbonates and phosphates
– Has mucin to lubricate food
– Has lysozyme to destroy bacteria

11
The Salivary Glands (cont’d.)

12
Teeth

• Structure: crown, neck, root


• Crown covered in enamel
• Dentin: bonelike substance enclosing pulp
cavity
• Cementum: covers root
• Periodontal ligament: anchors tooth

13
Teeth (cont’d.)

14
The Pharynx

• Common passageway for food and air


• Divisions
– Nasopharynx, oropharynx, laryngopharynx
• Function: begins swallowing (deglutition)
– Forms food bolus
– Air passageways close

15
The Esophagus

• Function
– Secrete mucus
– Transport food
• Peristalsis: smooth muscle contractions
push food
• Lower esophageal sphincter
– Controls passage of food into stomach

16
The Stomach

• Functions: chemical and mechanical


breakdown of food
• Parts
– Cardia, fundus, body, pylorus
• Gastric glands: secretory cells
– Zymogenic, parietal, mucous

17
The Stomach (cont’d.)

18
The Pancreas

• Functions
– Acini: digestive enzymes
– Islets of Langerhans: insulin and glucagon
• Divisions
– Head, body, tail

19
The Pancreas (cont’d.)

20
The Liver

21
The Liver

• Functions
– Produces heparin, prothrombin, thrombin
– Phagocytosis of bacteria and old blood cells
– Stores excess carbohydrates, minerals, and
vitamins
– Converts toxins into less harmful substances
– Produces bile salts

22
The Gallbladder

• Pear-shaped sac
• Located in depression on surface of liver
• Stores and concentrates bile until needed
• Enters duodenum through common bile
duct

23
The Small Intestine

• Function: absorption of digested food


• Divisions
– Duodenum: 10 inches
– Jejunum: 8 feet
– Ileum: 12 feet

24
The Small Intestine (cont’d.)

• Crypts of Lieberkuhn: secrete digestive


enzymes
• Brunner’s glands: secrete alkaline mucus
• Chyme: digested contents of small
intestine

25
The Small Intestine (cont’d.)

• Plicae: folds in the small intestine


• Villi: site of nutrient absorption
– Each villus is covered by microvilli
– Microvilli increase absorption area
– Villus contains arteriole, venule, capillary
network, and lacteal

26
The Small Intestine (cont’d.)

27
The Large Intestine

• Reabsorption of water
• Manufacture and absorption of vitamins
• Formation and expulsion of feces

28
The Large Intestine (cont’d.)

• Cecum: pouchlike area


• Colon: ascending, transverse, descending
– Pouches called haustrae
• Rectum: terminates at the anus
• Anus: controlled by internal and external
sphincter

29
The Large Intestine (cont’d.)

30
The Large Intestine (cont’d.)

• Mechanical movements
– Haustral churning
– Peristalsis: 3 to 12 contractions per minute
– Mass peristalsis

31
The Formation of the Feces

• Feces: semisolid mass originating from


chyme
– Contain water, inorganic salts, epithelial cells,
Escherichia coli
• Rectal distention initiates defecation reflex

32
Summary

• Described the major activities of the


digestive system
• Discussed the major organs that are part
of the digestive system
• Explained the functions of the liver
• Discussed the absorption of nutrients in
the small intestine and the formation of
feces in the large intestine

33

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