Explain the processes of digestion, absorption and excretion occurring in the

digestive tract, focusing particularly on fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins

and iron
I.
Mechanical Digestion
a. Initial mechanical digestion is done by mastication in the mouth. Food is ground by the
teeth and manipulated by the tongue, following which the bolus is swallowed
i. Saliva solubilizes the food particles, as digestive enzymes can only act in liquid media
b. Following the entry of food into the stomach, peristaltic movements pass over the
stomach every 15-25 seconds to soften the food and mix it with gastric juices to
produce chyme
c. Progressive gastric emptying releases about 3ml of chime into the duodenum at a time
d. Finally, peristaltic movements of the small intestine mix the chyme with digestive
enzymes and allow contact with the mucosal wall to facilitate absorption
II.
Carbohydrates
a. Digestion
i. Begins in the mouth with secretion
of salivary amylase, which breaks
down starches into maltose,
maltotriose, and dextrins
ii. Salivary amylase is denatured in
the acidic environment of the
stomach
iii. Further digestion in duodenum by
pancreatic amylase
iv. The resultant -dextrins are
digested by dextrinase, a brushborder enzyme which produces
single glucose molecules
v. Sucrose, lactose, and maltose are
digested in the duodenum by
sucrose, lactase, and maltase
respectively
vi. Cellulose is indigestible plant fibre
b. Absorption
i. Digestion
ends
once
monosaccharides
glucose,
fructose,
and
galactose
are
produced as these are absorbable
ii. Fructose is moved into the
absorptive cells of the small
intestine via facilitated diffusion
iii. Glucose and galactose undergo
secondary transport with sodium
iv. Once in the cell, facilitated diffusion moves all three molecules across the membrane
into the capillary network
III.
Lipids
a. Digestion
i. Lingual glands in the tongue secrete lingual lipase, which converts triglycerides into
fatty acids and monoglycerides
ii. Gastric juices contain gastric lipase, which further digests triglycerides
iii. The majority of lipid digestion is in the duodenum, carried out by pancreatic lipase
iv. Before digestion in the small intestine, the lipid globules need to be emulsified in order
to increase the reactive surface area, this is done by the bile salts (chenodeoxycholic
acid, and cholic acid, and their conjugated derivatives) which are amphipathic
b. Absorption
i. Short chain fatty acids (fewer than 12 carbons) easily diffuse into the absorptive cells
of the small intestine and into the lacteals of the villus leading to the lymph system
ii. Long-chain fatty acids combine with the bile salts to form micelles, which are ~2-10nm
in diameter
iii. Once the micelles come in contact with the brush border the monoglycerides and fatty
acids diffuse into the cells, leaving the bile salts behind to continue the process

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

iv. Micelles also solubilize vitamins A,D,E,K and cholesterol

v. Once long-chain FAs enter the cell they are recombined to form triglycerides,
aggregate with cholesterol and phospholipids, and become coated with proteins,
forming chylomicrons
1. Roughly 80nm diameter and enter the pores of the lacteals to the
thoracic duct
vi. Chylomicrons are broken down by lipoprotein lipase and the products absorbed by the
liver and adipocytes
vii. Bile salts are actively reabsorbed in the ileum and returned to the liver by the portal
vein
Proteins
a. Digestion
i. Digestion begins in the stomach , where a mixture of pepsin and hydrochloric acid
break down peptide bonds
ii. In the duodenum trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase, and carboxypeptidases continue to
break down proteins
iii. Brush enzymes aminopeptidase and dipeptidase finishes digestion, producing single
amino acids
b. Absorption
i. Single amino acids are absorbed by direct active transport or secondary active
transport (Na-dependant)
ii. Dipeptides and tripeptides are absorbed via secondary active transport (H-dependant)
iii. The amino acids diffuse into the blood supply
Vitamins, water and Electrolyte absorption
a. Most vitamins absorb by passive diffusion, either through micelles or dissolved in water
i. Exception being B12, which binds to intrinsic factor from the stomach
b. Electrolytes
i. Sodium is actively transported out of absorptive cells by basolateral Na-K pumps,
which causes passive diffusion of negatively charged molecules into the cells
ii. Calcium, iron, magnesium, and phosphate are actively transported into the absorptive
cells (see previous weeks for iron and calcium)
c. Water
i. Water is absorbed via osmosis in the small and large intestine. Roughly 8.3 liters is
absorbed by the small intestine daily, another 0.9 is done by the large intestine
Excretion
a. By the time chyme reaches the large intestine it is semisolid as most liquid has been
reabsorbed
b. Now called feces, it is composed of water, inorganic salts, epithelial cells, bacteria, and
indigestible foods
c. In the large intestine electrolytes and some vitamins are absorbed as well as water
Regulation of digestion
a. Cephalic
i. Smell, sight, thought and taste, of food activates neural centres in the cerebral cortex,
hypothalamus, and brain stem
ii. This causes secretion of saliva and vagal stimulation of the stomach to release gastric
juices
b. Gastric
i. Stretch receptors and chemoreceptors in the stomach are activated when the stomach
is distended with food and the pH increases due to buffering by proteins
ii. Nerve impulses cause parietal cells to secrete HCl and the stomach wall to contract
iii. Hormonal regulation by G-cells, which secrete gastrin
1. Stimulated by distention of stomach, pH rise, parasympathetic
activation, or caffeine
2. Gastrin enters bloodstream and reaches target organs of digestive
tract
3. Causes gastric glands to secrete gastric juice, strengthens
esophageal sphincter and relaxes pyloric
4. Gastrin secretion inhibited at pH 2.0, providing optimal pH for pepsin,
and denaturing of proteins
c. Intestinal
i. Neural Regulation

1. Duodenal distension causing enterogastric reflex which increases the

contractilitiy of the stomach by neural inhibition of the PSNS
ii. Hormonal Regulation
1. Cholecystokinin is secreted by CCK cells in the intestine in response
to partially digested proteins and FAs
2. CCK stimulates pancreatic juice secretion and contraction of the
gallbladder which causes bile release
a. Also causes relaxation of the sphincter of Oddi
b. Slows gastric emptying and induces satiety by acting on
hypothalamus
3. Acidic chyme in the duodenum stimulates secretin release from S
cells, which stimulates secretion of bicarbonate rich juices from the
pancreas