Chapter 14

Human Digestive System

• Why is the digestive system important to humans?

• How do parts of the human digestive system work
together to break down food that we eat?
• How do the end products of digestion affect the
body?
• What are some issues that affect the human
digestive system?
14.1 Why is the Digestive System needed in humans?

At the end of this section, you should be able to:

Explain the importance

of the digestive system

CONNECT THE
DOTS
Activity 14.1.1
Pages 35-36
 Why Do We Need Food?
•We need food to:
o provide us with energy for our daily activities
like walking,
o produce heat to maintain
our body temperature;
o maintain a healthy body;
o grow new cells and tissues;
o repair worn out tissues.
 What is in the Food We Eat?
• You need the essential
nutrients in the food
you eat.

• The types and content

of nutrients can be
found in the food label
on a food package.
Let’s watch: How the food you eat affects your brain
14.1 Why is the Digestive System needed in humans?

What is in the food we eat?

• The three main types of nutrients in food are:
• carbohydrates;
• proteins; and
• Fats / lipids
 Proteins
Carbohydrates

FATS!!
 Carbohydrates
▪ Carbohydrates can be simple sugars or long
chains of complex sugars.
▪ Simple sugars include:
▪ Glucose – immediate source of energy
▪ Lactose – found in milk
▪ Sucrose – found in sugar cane
▪ Maltose – found in malt / formed when starch breaks
down

▪ Complex carbohydrates include:

▪ Starch
▪ Cellulose – found in plant cell walls
FYI: the terms Mono-, Di- and Poly- saccharides are not required at Sec 2
 Carbohydrates

One Starch molecule is made up of

many glucose molecules.
 Proteins
o Proteins are very large molecules that are made up
of several small molecules called amino acids.

o Proteins are needed to:

• build new cells for body growth and for the repair of
worn-out tissues.
• make more complex proteins such as enzymes.

o Proteins can be found in meat, fish, milk, yogurt

and eggs.
 Fats
o Fats are large insoluble molecules made up of
glycerol and fatty acids.
o Fats provide us with twice as much energy as
carbohydrates.
o Fats stored under our skin to insulate our body
against too much heat loss.
o Fats can be found in food like butter and cheese.

Fatty acid
Glycerol Fatty acid
Fatty acid
 Recap !!!!

• A starch molecule is made up of many

glucose molecules.

• A protein molecule is made up of many

different amino acids.

• A fat molecule is made up of fatty acids and a

glycerol molecule.
 Why Must Food be Digested?
• Large food molecules cannot pass through partially
permeable cell membranes.
• Hence, must be broken down into small, soluble
molecules to pass through cell membranes.
• This process is called digestion.
• Digestion is the process of breaking down of large,
complex food molecules into smaller, simpler
molecules.
• Digested food molecules can be absorbed into blood
stream and be transported around body.
 Nutrients like glucose and
amino acids, are small,
soluble molecules. They
can pass through the cell
membrane.

Nutrients like starch,

proteins and fats,
are large, complex
molecules. They
cannot pass through
the cell membrane.
14.2 How do the parts of the human digestive system
work together?
At the end of this section, you should be able to:

investigate the effect of

enzymes in digestion
explain how the main parts of a human
digestive system (e.g., mouth,
oesophagus, stomach, small and large
intestine, rectum and anus) work
together to perform a function

describe how a human

digestive system helps in
digestion of food
Lesson trigger
• A blind ending oesophagus
occurs in 1 in about 3,000
births.
• Instead of connecting
normally to the stomach, the food
oesophagus has a blind end. oesophagus

• Hence, saliva and food

cannot enter the stomach.

lung blind end

What happens if the gullet is

not joined to the stomach?
stomach
 Digestion
The process by which large food molecules are
broken down into small, soluble and diffusible
molecules that can be absorbed by the body
cells.
 Digestion
• Digestion consists of TWO types:

• Physical digestion
o mechanical chewing of teeth in mouth to breakdown
food into smaller particles to increase surface area to
volume ratio for digestive enzymes to act on for chemical
digestion;
o contraction and relaxation of stomach and
o emulsification of fats into smaller fat molecules by bile in
the small intestine.

• Chemical digestion – digestion caused by enzyme

action of large complex food substances into small,
simpler molecules
The mammalian digestive system
(a 9m long journey!)

salivary gland
salivary mouth cavity
glands

oesophagus

liver
stomach
gall bladder pancreas

large
small intestine intestine

rectum
anus
 CONNECT THE
DOTS
Activity 14.2.1
Enzymes and digestion
Pages 37-39

• Enzymes are biological molecules which speed up the

CHEMICAL breakdown of large food molecules into smaller
molecules.
• Enzymes are specific to their task!
1) Carbohydrases digest carbohydrates into simple sugars
in the mouth and small intestine e.g., Starch digested into
maltose then glucose.
2) Protease digesting proteins into amino acids in the
stomach and small intestine
3) Lipases digests fats into fatty acids and glycerol in the
small intestine
 How the digestive system work
1. Mouth
Physical digestion:
Food is chewed in the
mouth with the teeth.
tongue Chewing helps to cut and
grind the food the smaller
food
pieces, increasing the
surface area to volume
ratio for digestion by
trachea oesophagus
digestive enzymes.
 How the digestive system work
1. Mouth
Chemical digestion:
• As food is chewed, salivary glands in the mouth
secrete saliva.
• Saliva serves two purposes:
o Wet the food, so that it is easier to swallow.
o Digests starch into maltose with the help of an
enzyme called amylase (a specific type of
carbohydrase).
• Tongue rolls food into small balls, pushes it to the back
of the mouth to pass into the oesophagus.
 2. Oesophagus

tongue

food

oesophagus

trachea
 The oesophagus
• The oesophagus is a long muscular tube
leading to the stomach.
• When muscles lining the oesophagus
contract and relax, food is pushed down
towards the stomach.
• The rhythmic muscular contraction is called
peristalsis.
• Peristalsis occurs throughout the whole gut.
• Peristalsis is a form of physical digestion.
 The oesophagus
Circular muscles
contract to push
down the food.

Circular muscles
relax, and the
oesophagus
widen for food to
move down.
 3. The stomach
• The stomach is a
muscular bag that lies in
the upper part of the
abdomen.

Physical digestion:
Churning of food when
stomach muscles contract
and relax, causing food to
break up into even smaller
pieces. stomach

Muscular rings at both ends

of the stomach control the
food entering and leaving the
stomach.
 3. The stomach
Chemical digestion:
• The churning action of the
stomach moves and mixes
the food well with gastric
juice for better digestion.

• Gastric juice is secreted by

glands in the stomach walls,
into the stomach cavity. It
contains:
stomach
o proteases which digest
proteins
o hydrochloric acid, which
helps proteases to work
optimally and kills any
bacteria in food.
Let’s watch! How the stomach functions.
 The stomach

Why doesn’t the strong

acid affect our stomach?

Stomach has a thick

layer of mucus to
protect its tissues from
damage caused by stomach
hydrochloric acid and
proteases in the gastric
juice.
4. small intestine, liver and pancreas

liver

gall bladder
small
intestine pancreas
11.2 The Human Digestive System
What happens to food in the digestive system?
The small intestine
● The liver and pancreas are
connected to the small intestine. liver
● The liver produces bile, the
pancreas produces pancreatic
juice and the small intestine
produces intestinal juice.
small
● Food is mixed with intestinal juice, intestine pancreas
pancreatic juice and bile to help
digestion.
● The final products of digestion are
absorbed into the bloodstream.
● Undigested food passes into the
large intestine.
11.2 The Human Digestive System
How do intestinal juice, pancreatic juice and bile work
in the small intestine?

Substance Organ that Enzyme

produces present
the
liver
substance
Bile Liver None
Intestinal Small Maltase
juice intestine Protease
gall bladder
Lipase
bile duct
Pancreatic Pancreas Amylase
juice
Protease small pancreas
Lipase intestine
 Bile Emulsification of Fats
• Liver produces bile (yellowish-green fluid).
• Bile is temporarily stored in the gall bladder.
• Bile is released into the small intestines.
• Bile emulsify large fat droplets into small oil droplets.
• This increases the surface area to volume ratio for faster
action of lipases in the pancreatic juice and intestinal juices
to digest the fats quickly.
 Bile Emulsification of Fats

Bile

Large oil drop

Small oil droplets

Bile emulsifies large oil droplet into small oil droplets

11.2 The Human Digestive System
How do intestinal juice, pancreatic juice and bile work
in the small intestine?
Enzymes in the intestinal juice and pancreatic juice act on
food molecules.

Digestion of fat

Lipase

in
intestinal
juice

Fat Fatty acids and glycerol

11.2 The Human Digestive System
Digestion of starch

Carbohydrase
(amylase)

in pancreatic
juice

Maltose

a se
Starch
y dr
b oh se) e
a r ta i c
C al l ju
(m a
s tin
e
int
in
Glucose
11.2 The Human Digestive System
How do intestinal juice, pancreatic juice and bile work
in the small intestine?

Digestion of a small protein molecule

Protease

in intestinal
juice and
pancreatic juice

Small protein molecule Amino acids

11.2 The Human Digestive System
Summary

Substance Organ that Enzyme present Function

secreted produces the
juice
Bile Liver None Emulsification of
fats (physical
digestion)
Intestinal Small intestine Maltase
juice Protease
Chemical
Lipase digestion of
Pancreatic Pancreas Amylase carbohydrates,
juice Protease proteins and fats

Lipase
11.2 The Human Digestive System
Absorption in the small intestine
Small intestine absorbs Small intestine Blood capillary
digested food molecules
and most of the water.

1. Only digested food

molecules pass through the
walls of the small intestine
and blood capillaries.

2. The digested food molecules

enter the bloodstream and
are transported throughout
the body.
wall of blood
wall of small intestine vessel
11.2 The Human Digestive System
Absorption in the small intestine

3. The digested food

molecules are absorbed
by body cells to be used
for respiration, cell repair
and other processes.

Click here to take an exciting

adventure through a human’s gut!
Warning: it is a little “gross”
• How does peristalsis aid in
digestion?
5. The large intestine

large intestine

rectum
anus
 The large intestine
• The large intestine is about 1.5 m long.
• The large intestine absorbs the
remaining water and mineral salts from
undigested food. What is left at the end of
the large intestine is a nearly solid waste
called faeces.
• This is temporarily stored in the rectum,
before being expelled through the anus
is a process called egestion.
 A Summary of Digestion
Part Enzymes involved Main function of organ
Mouth Amylase Chewing of food
Digestion of starch into maltose
Oesophagus None Pushing food into the stomach by
peristalsis
Stomach Proteases Kill harmful microorganisms (by
hydrochloric acid)
Digestion of proteins into amino acids.
Small Proteases Digestion of carbohydrates, proteins
intestine Lipases and fats.
Amylase and
maltase Absorption of digested food and water.
Bile (not an
enzyme)
Large None Absorption of remaining water and
intestine mineral salts.
45
14.3 How do the end products of digestion affect the
body?

At the end of this section, you should be able to:

state that the end

products of digestion
are used for cellular
processes like show an appreciation
respiration, growth and of the importance of
tissue repair sensible food and
lifestyle choices in the
fight against
diabetes
 Uses of nutrients
• Glucose is needed for cellular respiration to
release energy.
 Uses of nutrients
• Amino acids are needed for growth, tissue repair.
 Uses of nutrients
• Fatty acids and glycerol are needed for making fats
in the body.
What happens if we consume more carbohydrates
than what our body needs? Let us look at a common
disease and a growing health problem in Singapore
– diabetes.
14.4 What are some issues that affect the human
digestive system? (SLS)

At the end of this section, you should be able to:

show an awareness that

bacteria could have beneficial
or harmful effects (e.g.,
bacteria in the digestive tract
could help in digestion or
cause infections)
How the parts of the digestive system work together

• The process of digestion might be affected if an organ

of the digestive system is not working.
• For example, infection and swelling of the stomach
lining can cause indigestion. Food irritates the swollen
stomach lining and thus leads to vomiting.
common disorders of the digestive system
It is a myth that bacteria can only cause harm. In fact, because of them,
we can fight off certain diseases, absorb nutrients and mineral salts, and
produce certain enzymes, vitamins and amino acids. Bacteria also help to
digest certain food in our body. Some food items are produced using
bacteria.