ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY LECTURE

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM o Thus the breakdown of food begins

before the food has even left the
 The digestive system takes in food (ingestion),
mouth
breaks it down physically and chemically into
 Pharynx
nutrient molecules (digestion), and absorbs
o From the mouth, food passes
the nutrients in the bloodstream. Then it rids
posteriorly into the oropharynx and
the body of the indigestible remains
laryngopharynx, both of which are
(defecation),
common passageways for food, fluids
 The organs of the digestive system can be
and air
separated into two groups: those forming the
o The walls of the pharynx contain two
alimentary canal and the accessory digestive
skeletal muscle layers
organs
o Alternating contractions of these two
 The alimentary canal -digestive functions
muscle layers propel food through the
(ingestion, digestion, absorption, and
pharynx into the esophagus below.
defecation)
This propelling mechanism is called
 The accessory organs assist the process of
peristalsis.
digestive breakdown in various ways
 Esophagus
ORGANS OF THE ALIMENTARY CANAL o The esophagus, or gullet, runs from
the pharynx through the diaphragm to
 The alimentary canal, also called the
the stomach
gastrointestinal tract, is a continuous, coiled,
o It is a passageway that conducts food
hollow muscular tube that winds through the
(by peristalsis) to the stomach
ventral body cavity and is open at both ends.
 Stomach
o Mouth
o The C -shaped stomach is on the left
o Pharynx
side of the abdominal cavity, nearly
o Esophagus
hidden by the liver and diaphragm
o Stomach
o The cardiac region surrounds the
o Small intestine
cardio esophageal sphincter, through
o Large intestine
which food enters the stomach from
o Anus the esophagus
 Mouth o The fundus is the expanded part of
o The lips (labia) protect its anterior the stomach lateral to the cardiac
opening, the cheeks form its lateral region
walls, the hard palate forms its o The body is the midportion, and as it
anterior roof, and the soft palate narrows inferiorly, it becomes the
forms its posterior roof pyloric antrum, and then the funnel
o The uvula is a fleshy fingerlike shaped pylorus, the terminal part of
projection of the soft palate, which the stomach.
extends downward from its posterior o The pylorus is continuous with the
edge. small intestine through the pyloric
o As the food enters the mouth, it is sphincter or valve
mixed with saliva and masticated o When the stomach is empty, it
(chewed) collapses inward on itself, and its
o The cheeks and closed lips hold the mucosa is thrown into large folds
food between the teeth during called rugae
chewing
o The tongue continually mixes food
with saliva during chewing and
initiates swallowing
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY LECTURE

 Small Intestine o Hanging from the cecum is the

o Within its twisted passageways, wormlike appendix
usable food is finally prepared for its o The colon is divided into several
journey into the cells of the body distinct regions: the ascending colon
o The small intestine is a muscular tube travels up the right side of the
extending from the pyloric sphincter abdominal cavity and makes a turn,
to the ileocecal valve the right colic (hepatic) flexure to
o The small intestine has three travel across the abdominal cavity as
subdivisions: the duodenum, jejunum the transverse colon. It then turns
and ileum (which joins the large again at the left colic (splenic) flexure,
intestine at the ileocecal valve) and continues down the left side as
o Chemical digestion of foods begins in the descending colon
earnest in the small intestine
ACCESSORY DIGESTIVE ORGANS
o The small intestine is able to process
only a small amount of food at one  Salivary Glands
time o PAROTID GLAND
o The pyloric sphincter controls the o SUBMANDIBULAR GLAND
food movement into the small o SUBLINGUAL GLAND
intestine from the stomach o Three pairs of salivary glands empty
o Bile (formed by the liver) also enters their secretions into the mouth
the duodenum through the bile duct o The mucus moistens and helps to bind
in the same area food together into a mass called bolus
o The main pancreatic duct and bile o Saliva also contains substances such
ducts join at the duodenum to form as lysozyme and antibodies that
the flask-like hepatopancreatic inhibit bacteria
ampulla o Saliva is a mixture of mucus and
o From there, the bile and pancreatic serous fluid
juice travel through the duodenal o The clear serous portion contains an
papilla and enter the duodenum enzyme called salivary amylase that
together begins the process of starch digestion
o Nearly all food absorption occurs in in the mouth
the small intestine o Saliva also dissolves food chemicals so
o Its walls has three structures that they can be tasted
increase the absorptive surface  Teeth
tremendously: the microvilli, villi and o We masticate, or chew, by opening
circular folds and closing the jaws
 Large Intestine o In the process, the teeth tear and
o The large intestine is much larger in grind the food, breaking it down into
diameter than the small intestine but smaller fragments
shorter in length o Two set of teeth: deciduous, baby or
o Its major functions are to dry out the milk teeth and permanent teeth
indigestible food residue by absorbing
water and to eliminate these residues
from the body as feces
o The large intestine is subdivided into:
cecum, appendix, colon, rectum and
anal canal
o The cecum is the first part of the large
intestine
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY LECTURE

 Pancreas FUNCTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

o The pancreas is a soft, pink, triangular
 Ingestion - Food must be placed into the
gland that extends across the
mouth before it can be acted on
abdomen from the spleen to the
 Propulsion
duodenum
o Food must be propelled from one
o The pancreas produces enzymes that
organ to the next
breakdown all categories of digestible
o Peristalsis is involuntary and involves
foods
alternating waves of contraction and
o The pancreatic enzymes are secreted
relaxation of the muscles in the organ
into the duodenum in an alkaline
wall. The net effect is to squeeze the
fluid, which neutralizes the acidic
food along the tract
chyme coming from the stomach
o Segmentation only moves food back
 Liver
and forth across the internal wall of
o The liver is the largest organ in the
the organ, serving to mix it with the
body
digestive juices
o It produces bile that leaves the liver
through the common hepatic duct FOOD BREAKDOWN
and enters the duodenum through the
 Mechanical Digestion
bile duct
o Mechanical digestion prepares food
o Bile is a yellow -to -green watery
for further degradation by enzymes by
solution containing bile salts, bile
physically fragmenting the foods into
pigments, cholesterol, phospholipids
smaller particles
and a variety of electrolytes
o Bile does not contain enzymes, but its  Chemical Digestion
o Large food molecules are broken
bile salts emulsify fats by physically
breaking large fat globules into down to their building blocks by
smaller ones enzymes
 Gallbladder  Absorption
o The gallbladder is a small, thin-walled o TRANSPORT OF DIGESTED END
green sac PRODUCTS FROM THE LUMEN OF THE
o When food digestion is not occurring, GI TRACT TO THE BLOOD OR LYMPH IS
ABSORPTION
bile backs up the cystic duct and
o THE DIGESTED FOODS MUST FIRST
enters the gallbladder to be stored
o While being stored in the gallbladder, ENTER THE MUCOSAL CELLS BY
ACTIVE OR PASSIVE TRANSPORT
bile is concentrated by the removal of
PROCESSES
water
o THE SMALL INTESTINE IS THE MAJOR
o When fatty foods enters the
ABSORPTIVE SITE
duodenum, a hormonal stimulus
 Defecation
prompts the gallbladder to contract
o Defecation is the elimination of
and spurt out stored bile
indigestible residues from the GI tract
via the anus in the form of feces