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CHP 7 - Digestive System

This document summarizes key aspects of the human digestive system. It discusses the importance of a balanced diet, types of malnutrition that can result from imbalanced diets, and the processes of mechanical and chemical digestion. It also describes absorption of digested nutrients and how the small intestine is adapted for maximum absorption. Key digestive enzymes and their roles in breaking down carbohydrates, proteins and lipids are outlined.

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Aliha Abbas
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24 views9 pages

CHP 7 - Digestive System

This document summarizes key aspects of the human digestive system. It discusses the importance of a balanced diet, types of malnutrition that can result from imbalanced diets, and the processes of mechanical and chemical digestion. It also describes absorption of digested nutrients and how the small intestine is adapted for maximum absorption. Key digestive enzymes and their roles in breaking down carbohydrates, proteins and lipids are outlined.

Uploaded by

Aliha Abbas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chp 7 : Digestive System

A balanced diet consists of all of the food groups in the correct proportions
Malnutrition is caused by not eating a balanced diet
Protein energy malnutrition’ (PEM)and they are:

• Kwashiorkor – caused by a lack of protein in the diet .


• Children suffering from kwashiorkor are always underweight for their age but they
often have a swollen abdomen as their diet may contain a lot of carbohydrate

• Marasmus – the most severe form of PEM, where there is a lack of both protein
and energy in the diet.
• People will have a much lower body weight than normal and look emaciated

• Mechanical digestion - breakdown of food into smaller pieces without chemical


change to the food molecules
• It is mainly carried out by the chewing action of the teeth, the churning action of the
stomach and the emulsification of fats by bile in the duodenum
• Ingestion – taking of substances, e.g. food into the body through the mouth

• Mechanical digestion –
breakdown of food into smaller pieces without chemical change to food molecules

• Chemical digestion –
breakdown of large, insoluble molecules into small, soluble molecules

• Absorption – movement of small food molecules and ions through the wall of the
intestine into the blood

• Assimilation – movement of digested food molecules into the cells of the body
where they are used, becoming part of the cells

Egestion – passing out of food that has not been digested or absorbed, as faeces,
through the anus
Diarrhoea Causes
• Diarrhoea is the loss of watery faeces from the anus
• If it is severe and continues for a long time, it can lead to death
• Severe diarrhoea can cause the loss of of water & ions from the body, causing the
tissues and organs to stop working properly

How Does Vibrio Cholerae Cause Diarrhoea


• Ingested via infected water or food, if it enters the small intestine it can cause
illness in the following way:

1.Bacteria attach to the wall of the small intestine & They produce a toxin

3.The toxin stimulates the cells lining the intestine to release chloride ions from
inside the cells into the lumen of the intestine

4.The chloride ions accumulate in the lumen of the small intestine and lower the
water potential thereOnce the water potential is lower than that of the cells lining the
intestine, water starts to move out of the cells into the intestine (by osmosis)

6.Large quantities of water are lost from the body in watery faeces & The blood
contains too little chloride ions and water
Types of Teeth
• Teeth are used for chewing to increase the surface area of the food & break down.

• Incisors – chisel shaped for biting and cutting


• Canines – pointed for tearing, holding and biting
• Premolars and molars – larger, flat surfaces with ridges at the edges for chewing
and grinding up food

Enzyme Action in the Alimentary Canal

• Digestion - break down large, insoluble molecules into small, soluble molecules that
can be absorbed into the bloodstream

• Food is partially digested mechanically in order to break large pieces of food into
smaller pieces of food which increases the surface area for enzymes to work on

• Digestion mainly takes place chemically, where bonds holding the large molecules
together are broken to make smaller and smaller molecules

• Chemical digestion is controlled by enzymes which are produced in different areas


of the digestive system
• 3 main types of digestive enzymes – carbohydrases, proteases and lipases
Carbohydrates
• Amylases are produced in mouth & pancreas and digest starch into smaller sugars

• Amylase is secreted into the alimentary canal in the mouth and the duodenum
and digests starch to maltose

• Maltose is digested by the enzyme maltase into glucose on the membranes of the
epithelium lining the small intestine

Proteases
• Proteases break down proteins into amino acids in the stomach and small intestine

Protein digestion takes place in the stomach and duodenum with two main
enzymes produced:
• Pepsin is produced in the stomach
• Trypsin is produced in the pancreas and secreted into the duodenum

Lipases
• Lipase enzymes are produced in the pancreas and secreted into the duodenum
• They digest lipids into fatty acids and glycerol

The Role of Hydrochloric Acid


The stomach produces hydrochloric acid fluids which together are known as gastric
juice This kills bacteria in food and gives an acid pH for enzymes to work in stomach

How is a Low pH Helpful in the Stomach

• The low pH kills bacteria in food that we have ingested as it denatures


the enzymes in their cells.
• The hydrochloric acid ensures that conditions in the stomach remain within the
optimum range for pepsin to work at its fastest rate
The Role of Bile
Cells in the liver produce bile which is then stored in the gallbladder

• It is alkaline to neutralise the hydrochloric acid which comes from the stomach.
Enzymes in small intestine have a higher optimum pH than those in the stomach

• Emulsification breaks down large drops of fat into smaller ones.


The larger surface area allows lipase to chemically break down the lipid into glycerol
and fatty acids faster

Absorption of Food & Water


• Absorption takes place in ileum & its movement of digested food molecules from
the digestive system into the blood and lymph.

• Water is absorbed in small intestine and the colon, but most absorption of
water also happens in the small intestine

How is the Ileum Adapted for Absorption


• The ileum has very long and has a highly folded surface with millions of villi.
• These adaptations increase the surface area of the ileum, allowing absorption to
take place faster.
Structure & Adaptations of a Villus
• Microvilli on the surface of the villus further increase surface area for faster
absorption of nutrients

• Wall of villus is one cell thick meaning that there is only a short distance for
absorption to happen by diffusion and active transport

• Well supplied with a network of blood capillaries that transport glucose and amino
acids away from the small intestine in the blood

• Lacteal runs through the centre of the villus to transport fatty acids and glycerol
away from the small intestine in the lymph

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