Digestive System

Functions
1. Ingestion of food
2. Mechanical digestion
3. Chemical and enzymatic digestion
4. Extraction of nutrients and energy
5. Absorption of nutrients
6. Elimination of wastes
7. Production of hormones and nutritional “factors”
Mechanical and Chemical Digestion begins in the mouth
1. Mechanical – chewing, mixing, propulsion – results in
the formation of a Bolus:
a. chewed food, saliva, enzymes, water, mucus
2. Chemical – amylases and lipases
a. Amylases – enzymes that break down starch:
i. starch = storage forms of glucose; mixture of
1. amylose
2. amylopectin
ii. amylases are secreted by salivary glands in the
mouth, so chemical and mechanical digestion
begins in the mouth
1. salivary amylases
2. pancreatic amylases – secreted by exocrine
glands of the pancreas
b. Lipases – breakdown lipids
 i. lingual ones – secreted in the mouth
ii. pancreatic ones – pancreas
3. Anatomy of the Digestive system
a. Digestive tract
i. Alimentary (nutrition) canal – mouth to anus
ii. G.I. tract – technically:
1. gastro – stomach
2. intestinal – small and large intestines
iii. primary organs of the digestive tract include
those making up the tract itself from mouth to
anus
1. Primary glands and organs
2. Digestive tract from mouth to anus
b. Accessory organs and glands
i. consists mostly of exocrine glands that secrete
fluids into the tract
1. liver
2. gallbladder
3. pancreas
a. spleen
4. Regions of the Digestive Tract
a. Mouth – oral cavity / buccal cavity (buccal refers,
usually to then Inner Cheek and the cells associated
with that surface
i. salivary glands
ii. parotid glands (par – near; otid – ear)
 iii. Lingual tonsils (posterior and lateral tongue)
b. Pharynx – “throat”; tubular, mucous membrane
containing multicellular mucus glands rather than
goblet cells
c. Esophagus (Oesophagus) – tubular, mucus glands;
smooth muscles – contract and relax via peristalsis
to propel food to the stomach, not gravity!
d. Stomach (“stoma – mouth”) – lots of gastric pits
and glands (LAB) – histology
e. Small intestine – main area of chemical digestion
and absorption; 3 regions, from proximal to the
stomach to distal – far away from the stomach, not
as the crow flies.
i. duodenum – shortest, first region of the stomach
1. first 25 cm beyond the pyloric sphincter of
the stomach (approx. 10 inches) – 9.843
inches
2. liver, gallbladder, pancreas are near here
and lots of digestive enzymes, mostly from
the pancreas, are found here to complete
digestion of partially digested contents of
the stomach chyme
ii. Jejunum (Jejune = empty / shallow / hollow)
1. 2.5 m (approx. 8 feet) – lots of surface area
due to
 a. brush border cells – enterocytes that
have lots of microvilli
b. also larger villi and circular folds lining
the lumen of the jejunum
i. villi are made up of lots of
enterocytes
c. primary site of nutrient absorption
d. highly peristaltic
iii. Ileum – “intestine”; 3.5 m (approx. 11.5 feet) –
longest region of the small intestine
1. lined with lymphatic nodules called Peyer’s
patches that contain protective WBC’s
called T-helper cells – makes up approx.
70% of our immune system
2. vitamin B-12 absorption occurs here as well
as some later stages of nutrient absorption
and water uptake
f. Large intestine (colon / “colons”) + cecum, rectum
(straight region) + anal canal
g. Anus – opening of the anal canal due to internal and
external anal sphincter muscles
5. Physiology of the Digestive system
a. Ingestion – introduction of food into the stomach
b. Mastication and Maceration – tearing, cutting,
mashing, grinding of food into smaller particles
making the bolus (“chewing”)
 i. chewing increase surface area of the food
particles to make chemical digestion and
absorption easier
ii. also mixes food with saliva, enzymes, water and
mucus
1. mostly mechanical digestion
2. some chemical / enzymatic digestion
c. Propulsion – stages of movement of bolus, chyme,
feces through the digestive system
i. deglutition – swallowing
ii. Peristalsis – sequential contractions / relaxations
of adjacent smooth muscles to propel food
distally, forward, through the digestive tract.
1. e.g. in the esophagus
2. also, in the jejunum
iii. Segmentation – “segmental movement” –
contractions and relaxations among non-
adjacent smooth muscles
1. mixing
2. slows movement of chyme to allow for
digestion and absorption
3. stomach, while “churning” and then
a. peristaltic movement to propel chyme
into the small intestine
iv. approx. 15 – 20 hours, on average for food to
move completely through the digestive system
 1. the most lengthy duration of time is in the
large intestine (can take up to 17 hours to
move through the colon)
d. Secretions and lubrication
i. mucosa of the GI lining secretes mucus,
enzymes, hormones, and digestive factors
1. The mucosa is the innermost tunic of the GI
tract
ii. Types of secretions and functions:
1. lubrication – mucus
2. liquefaction – saliva and digestive juices;
liquefication of the bolus, thus producing
chyme
3. Digestion – digestive juices, acids, factors,
etc.
a. proton pumps in the stomach rugae
(gastric rugae) - rough lining of the
mucosa of the stomach
i. lowers pH to approx. 2.0
1. Stomach acid - HCl
2. Denatures proteins so they can
be enzymatically digested by
pepsin
3. Low pH also
a. activates pepsinogen
produced by chief cells
 b. protects from microbial
invaders
4. Mucus not only lubricates the
GI tract, but also helps
neutralize stomach acid in the
regions beyond the stomach
4. Secretion of water in the GI tract also
provides lubrication and liquefication of
food to
a. increase digestive processes
b. increases absorption
c. However, lipids are not well absorbed
because they are non-polar and do not
dissolve well in water. So…..