Digestive and Excretory

Functions of the Digestive system

● Breaks down food into nutrients which will be absorbed to convert into energy
● Associated with the repair of the cells
● Manages the solid waste and stool for disposal when there is bowel movement
● Ingestion
● Absorption
○ Food that you will be eating will eventually be absorbed into the cells, to turn into
energy which is used for everyday activities, cell repair
● Elimination
○ What is left is to eliminate the unwanted wastes

Mouth
● Responsible for the entering of food
Stomach
● Squeezes food
Liver
● Produces vile, responsible for the breakdown

Intestine
● Recovery of water

Types of digestion

Mechanical digestion
● tear/chew food
● Physical breakdown of food to small particles

Chemical digestion
● When enzymes are involved

Process
● Digestion actually starts with the brain
 ○ When you see a food, your brain processes the stimulus and it would have
process certain cravings
○ As a result of the reception of stimuli

First Stop
1. The mouth
○ The initial stop of the food is at the mouth
○ associated / adapted to receive food by ingestion chewing (mastication)
○ Acts as digestion because it has the teeth/tongue (taste and speech production)
and performs mechanical digestion
■ Teeth - chewing (mastication
■ Tongue - sense organ, taste the food
■ Both for - speech production
○ Mixture of salive that contains amylase that performs chemical digestion
■ Enzyme that digests starch/sugar
○ Protein are not digested at the mouth (mouth does not contain the necessary
enzyme, hence the need to swallow)
○ The food will now become a bolus
○ Epiglottis a flap that is connected to the larynx (windpipe)
■ Prevents food and drink from entering your windpipe
● Passed along the connecting tube
2. Esophagus
○ Narrow tube that is about 8 inches long that connects mouth to stomach
○ Involved with peristaltic action
■ Whenever you swallow there is a series of wave-like action in the
esophagus (series of contraction and relaxation allowing the bolus into
your stomach
■ Doesn’t only happen in the esophagus (smooth intestine and large
intestine)
■ Propels bolus, but also aid in absorption of certain nutrients (as your
cbhyme moves along the small intestine some goes to the blood stream
which is absorbed in the body
○ Chyme is a result of the digestion in the stomach
3. Stomach
○ A j-shaped organ/ pouchlike, acts as a temporary storage of the food, performs
both mechanical (churning) and chemical (gastic juices)
○ How it accommodates large volumes of food and water
○ Rugae
■ Allows the expansion of stomach
○ Sphincters
■ Prevents food from coming back into the mouth
■ Cardiac (between esophagus and stomach) /
■ Prevents the backflow, and if its weakened, there will be a reflux (burning
sensation
 ● Vomit is not always the result of sphincters being weakened
■ pyloric sphincter
● Initial section
○ Gastric juice
■ Pepsin - digest protein
■ Hydrochloric acid - creates an acidic environment that aids digestion
4. Small intestine
○ Tube with smooth muscles that lengths 6 meters long (called short intestine
because of the diameter)
○ Small ducts that is connected to the small intestine, allows the passage of certain
enzyme that would chemically digest food
○ Acessory glands -Each of this segment is all for absorption
■ Duodenum
● First part and the shortest segment (23-28 cm)
■ Ileum
■ Jejunum
● Connected to the large intestine
○ Finger-like projections called villi, sweeps the nutrients towards the cells of the
body
5. LGP accessory glands
○ LIVER - largest internal organ that produces bile
■ Coordinated function with the gallbladder (transport of bile)
○ Gall bladder - small organ located under the liver
■ Temporary storage of bile, before going into the small intestine
(duodenum)
○ Pancreas
■ Pancreatic juices are enzymes/hormones (insulin - regulation of blood
sugar)
6. Large intestine
○ Once all nutrients are absorbed, it goes to large intestine
○ Reabsorption of water
■ With it, there are certain wastes and it must be released
7. Rectum
○ Terminal segment, before the brain would signal to eliminate the feces
○ There are certain voluntary muscles / sphincters that would control bowel
movement
8. Anus
○ Opening where fecal material is excreted

How is the nervous system related to the fecal elimination

Excretory system
● Consists of organ that are part of other body systems but related
○ Skin - integumentary system
○ Lungs - respiratory system
○ Kidneys/bladder - urinary
○ Liver/intestine - digestive
Functions
● Elimination of wastes
● Regulation of amount of fluid and salts
● Maintenance of the pH of the blood

Excretory Organ

1. Kidney
○ After all the events in the kidney happen (Filtration, reabsorption) wastes are
excreted
■ Nitrogen compounds, toxins, water, electrolytes
○ Where nutrients are concentrated, but there are some that ar considered waste,
otherwise it might cause severe infection in the body
■ Filter blood to remove unwanted substaces
■ Eliminate the liquid waste (urea) - derivative of protein (product of protein
breakdown but urea is not of use to the body, can cause excessive
swelling etc.)
■ Serve in keeping the balance of certain substance, Sodium-potassium
balance, acid-base balance
■ Production of erethro protein - red blood cell production (related tot he
circulatory system
○ Parts:
■ Renal cortex - outer portion
■ Renal medulla - inner portion
○ Filtering unit - nephron
■ Nephron are made up of small structures ( ball of capillaries called
glomerulus)
■ Series of ascending and descending tubes, where substances are
distributed
○ Process:
■ From diff blood vessel to the glomerulus
■ Begin filtering the solutes (protein derivatives, salt, potassium)
■ Proximal convoluted tubule - reabsorption of substances (removes toxins
and adjusts filtrate pH for the balance ((hormones, bodily function such as
enzymatic function requires an environment with a specific pH)
■ Tubes are for the reabsorption of nutrients
○
 2. Skin
○ When perspiring substances are released
○ Nitrogen compounds, water, electrolytes
3. Lungs
○ Excretion of harmful substances
○ Carbon dioxide
4. Large intestine
○ Excretes digestive wastes in the form of fecal matter
○ Bile pigments, sale

Ureter
● Each kidney is connected to a ureter, long thin tubes made of smooth muscle that
contracts to push urine into the bladder
● Continually tighten and relax, and every 10-15 minutes small amounts of urine goes into
the bladder

Urinary bladder
● Reservoir for urine
● Women : front of the vagina, below the uterus
● Men: in front of the rectum, above the prostate gland
● It can also expand and once brain signals it reached its full capacity, sphincter would
contract and flatten to eliminate the urine
○ There are 2 sphincters, near the urethra and near the ureter
○ Keeping the urine to leak
● A typical healthy bladder can store 2 cups of urine for 2-5 hours

Urethra
● The urine will be discharged toward the outside of the body
● Women: narrow and about 4cm long
● Men: about 17 cm - 20 cm long
○ Aside from the passage of urine, sperm cells are also discharged here

Urine
● Fuid containing wastes product that are diluted in water
● Components
○ Urea, uric acid, ammonia, creatinine, water, etc.
● Urea: derived from breakdown proteins
● Can also determine how hydrated
● Urochrome: yellow pigment
○ Clear - over hydrated
○ Bright yellow - likely dehydrated
○ Yellow - formal
 ○ Cloudy - dehydration, uti, kidney stones
○ Dark brown - extreme exercise, some liver and kidney disorder
○ Red - from beefs or rhubarb or if blood sign of UTI, enlarged prostate and others
●

Respiratory and circulatory

Circulatory
● One of the most needed to be circulated in the body is oxygen
○ How is it transported and why is it important

Oxygen
● 21% of the air around us (odorless tasteless gas)
● Helps perform cellular respiration via aerobic respiration (always require oxygen to
produce energy or ATP production)

Deeper into the tunnels

● From bronchi it becomes narrower then to the bronchioles, and the bronchioles is
encapsulated in the lungs.

Reaching the end

● Alveoli is the tiny little sacs where oxygen meets the blood cells in the blood stream
● Oxygen moves the other way, and the carbon dioxide moves the opposite way
● Carbon dioxide is excreted

Riding a taxi to work

● Capillary network
● Red blood cell is responsible for the transport of oxygen, because of hemoglobin and the
chemically bind with the oxygen

I changed completely

● Oxygen used in the muscle cell

● The combination of carbon hydrogen and oxygen, makes up the glucose
○ As glucose is being absorbed, glucose is associated with oxygen
○ It would lead to another process
Back into the air

● Carbon dioxide would be released out to the atmosphere

● Oxygen will be formed into water with the association of oxygen to hydrogen
Respiratory system
● Divided into 2, upper and lower respiratory system
○
● Upper - filter, warming up, moistening of the air
○ Nose and the nasal cavity
○ Air would be transported to the throat or pharynx (still upper
● Lower respiratory (respiratory tree)
○ Series of pipes from the pharynx
○ Bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, trachea
○ The structures containing these are enclosed in a pair of lungs
● Pathway of oxygen in the respiratory
○ Nasal cavity
○ Pharynx
○ Trachea
○ Lungs
○ Bronchi
○ Bronchioles
○ Alveoli (surrounded by capillaries, co2 is released, oxygen is delivered)

Breathing
● Is just a portion of the respiration process
● What happens when you breath?
● Diaphragm (main) and intercostal muscles
○ Latter - ribcage (contracts to expand the lungs )
Inhale breathing
● Ribcage would move upwards and outwards
● Diaphragm - contracts, moves down
● Bigger thoracic cavity
● Decrease air pressure
● Air enters into the lungs
○ Opposite happens when exhalation

Nervous system

Facts
● The cranium protects the brain
● The pituitary gland controls growth
● There are only 3 major divisions of the brain, (brain stem - involuntary, cerebrum -
movement, and cerebellum- balance)
 ● Cerebrum is the largest part of the brain
● Brain weighs about 3 pounds
● Endocrine hormones travel in the bloodstream
● The brain is the major organ of the nervous system and acts as the command of the
body system
● The glands secreted by chemical messengers are hormones
● The automatic nervous system perform involuntary actions, which is part of the
peripheral nervous system, are made up of neurons that can be in charge of the
involuntary actions

● There is coordination and control that is necessary

The nervous system works together
● Keeps us informed
○ Messages from the external environment, would be perceived by the sense
organs, eyes - vision for light, nose- chemicals, tongue (receptors) - food,
skin(receptors pain)
○ Transmitted into different neurons and received by the brain, and it would pass
down the correct response
■ Fingers pricked by a needle - response -
● It enables us to remember, think and to reason out
○ Allow humans to remember, store short term and long term memory
○ Ability to justify or reason out
● It regulates several involuntary activities
○ Whenever your heart pumps, stomach digests, this is regulated by the nervous
system
● Controls voluntary muscular movements
○ When moving fingers or musculoskeletal activities are controlled by the brain
● All of our activites are controlled by the nervous system

Nervous system divisions

● 2 major regions
○ Central and peripheral nervous

Central
● Made up of brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

● Made up of neurons
● Motor neurons (further divided)
○ Connects muscles and glands to cns
○ autonomic nervous system(further divided into 2)
■ Controls involuntary responses
■ sympathetic nervous
● Fight or flight response
 ■ Parasympathetic
● Rest or digest
○ Somatic nervous system
■ Involves voluntary movement
● Sensory neurons
○ Connects sensory to cns

Neurons
● Foundational unit of the basic nervous system
● Works for receiving, sending stimulus and delivering the response
● Has 3 basic structure (analogous to tree)
○ Dendrites
■ Branches
■ Extensions that receive impulses and carry
○ Axon
■ Roots
■ Extension of neuron that carries impulses away
○ Cell body / soma
■ Trunk
■ Middleground between dendrite and axon
■ All chemicals or impulses will be transported to the body
● Additional
○ Node of Ranvier
■ In between the myelin sheath
○ Myelin Sheath
■ These are electrical signals
■ What allows these to keep its integrity is particular coating
■ And speed up the impuses
● Types of neurons (basic parts of peripheral )
○ Sensory (afferent)
■ Send impulses from receptors (structures found in the sensory organ) in
the form of sound, light, taste, smell, and all of the stimuli that are
perceived by the sense organs are sent into the receptors
○ Interneuron
■ Once the stimuli are received, the sensory neuron will transfer into
interneuron
■ Acts as the bridge between other neurons
■ Found within the brain and spinal cord, process incoming impulses and
pass response impulses on to motor neurons
○ Motor neuron (efferent)
■ Attach to effect parts
■ Once received the command to get a piece of paper, brain thinks about
where, and eventually when located and picked up, the motor neuron
allows the particular action to be performed
How are impulses conducted between neurons
● Inside your body there are billions of neurons
● Once your dendrites are stimulated, the electrical impulse will be sent to the neuron and
travel to the length of axom, and the terminal point of the axon is the synapse
○ In the synapse there are chemical messengers called neurotransmitters
■ It would exit the synapse of the 1st neuron and eventually the
neurotransmitters will be released
■ Neurotransmitters bind to receptors

Central nervous system

● Made up of brain and spinal cord

Brain
● Cerebrum
○ Divided into 2 halves/hemispheres, that are connected by bundles of nerves
○ corpus callosum connects both
○ Controls all conscious activities, intelligence, memory, language, skeletal muscle
movements and senses
○ Cognitive ability of the brain is more advanced pag kulubot
● Cerebellum
○ Control of balance posture and coordination
● Brainstem
○ Medulla oblangata and pons
○ Controls involuntary activities such as breathing and heart rate
● Hypothalamus
○ Regulating body temperature, thirst, appetite, and water balance

Spinal cord
● Messages of the brain will be conducted into other parts of the body, and spinal cord
allows it
○ Vertebral bone protects it
● Consists of nerves that carry incoming and outgoing messages
● Controls reflex (kind of instinctive)
○ Rapid involuntary movement
○ Do not need brain
○ Boiling water is touched, and finger receptors travel to the spinal cord, and spinal
cord does not carry it to the brain since it would take longer if processed
○ Motor neuron in the hand will allow it to withdraw

What allows for voluntary and involuntary

● Peripheral nervous system

PERIPHERAL
 ● Sensory vs motor
○ Sensory transmit action potential or nervous impulse to brain
○ Motor transmit action potential to body
● Somatic vs autonomic nervous
○ Somatic relay information, conscious movements
○ autonomic , breathing digestion respiration, unconsciously
● Autonomic
○ Sympathetic - controls all internal function happening in a stressful situation
■ Poisonous snake incoming, sympathetic acts to make energy levels high
to be able to run fast
■ Some instances
○ Parasympathetic
■ After the stressful situation (heartbeat is high parasympathetic would
lower)
■ All levels that are higher would be lowered by parasympathetic, and to go
in a state of rest
○ Homeostasis is a dynamic balance between autonomic branches

Nervous system is all about communication

Endocrine system
● Sends message to control and coordinate the body’s environment
○ Sends chemical messages through hormones that are secreted by the glanural

Glands
● Exocrine gland
○ Sweat glands
○ Maintain contact with body
● endocrine system
○ Does not need contact
○ Hormones released is sent into the bloodstream

Major glands
● pituitary gland
○ Master gland
○ Most glands
● Pineal gland
○ When feeling sleepy
● Thyroid gland

Aside from controlling metabolic

 ● Necessary for reproduction
○ Includes the overy and testis
○ Estrogen and progesterone
● Pancreas for the other hand is regulating th elevel of sugar in blood

How do hormones travel

● Travel via the bloodstream and attach to binding sites on their target cells
● Feedback mechanism
● Whenever there is an imbalance /Whenever blood glucose level rises
○ Pancreas would produce or release insulin (hormone) and eventually act on the
liver, and it would trigger another hormone that would allow to take the glucose
○ Glucose level will decline
● Opposite would happen when low level
○ Glucagon is to help increase sugar level

Additional info
● Gut feelings/ butterflies in stomach are part of cognitive function