Digestive

system
The location of the organs of the digestive system:
They are located within a tube called gastrointestinal tract GI.
The purpose of digestion: the purpose is to hydrolyze macromolecules
which cant cross plasma membranes ( fats, carbohydrates, proteins)
to their subunit molecules( monosacsscharides , amino acids, fatty
acids and glycerol) which can cross plasma membranes.
Hydrolyze= break down using water
Other nutrients that help the normal functioning of the body include:
- Water salts vitamins -minerals
The nutrients are carried to cells by the blood.
The following processes are important for the digestive process:
Process

1- Ingestio
n

Beginning of process

Occurs when the mouth

takes in food

Consequences of
nutritional habits
-

Good
nutritional
habits
increase the
likelihood of a
longer, more
active and
productive
life.
Poor diet and
lack of
physical
activity rival (

compete
with) smoking
as major
causes of
preventable
death.
2- Digestion
Can be chemical or physical

Mechanical
digestion

Chemical
digestion

Beginning of the
process
Occurs when
large pieces of
food are divided
into smaller
pieces that can
be acted on by
digestive
enzymes.
Cutting up food
before digestion
aids in
mechanical
digestion.
Begins in the
mouth,
continues in the
stomach and is
completed in the
small intestine.

Location

Process

Primarily in the
mouth

-Chewing
food andperistalsis
which is
wavelike
contractions
of the smooth
muscles in
the stomach.

Begins in the
mouth,
continues in the
stomach and is
completed in
the small
intestine.

Digestive
enzymes
hydrolyze
macromolecul
es of food
into
absorbable
subunits
3- Movement of the GI tract contents along the digestive tract :
- The importance of this movements to the tract is to fulfill its other
functions ]
- Example: food moves from one organ to the other by peristalsis
while indigestible remains are expelled.

4- Absorption: subunit molecules resulting from chemical digestion

( nutrients) cross the wall of the GI and enter tract lining cells where
they enter the blood to be delivered to cells.
5- Elimination: indigestible molecules have to be removed from the body.
- Defecation: is the removal of indigestible wastes through the anus.

Wall of the digestive tract

The digestive tract has a beginning ( mouth) and an end ( anus).
- Lumen: is the open area of a hollow organ or vessel
- The lumen in GI tract: the central space that contains the digested
food.
The four layers of the GI tract wall:

layer

location

Functions

Mucosa

The inner layer of

the wall next to the
lumen

-cells :produce
and secrete
mucus to
protect all the
layers from
digestive
enzymes inside
the lumen.
-glands in the
mucosa of the
mouth,
stomach
( hydrochloric
acid) and small
intestine
release
digestive
enzymes

Associated
disorder
Diverticulosis :
portion of the
the mucosa
from any part of
the GI tract
primarily in the
large intestinehave pushed
through the
other layers and
formed pouches
where food can
collect.
Diverticulitis
occurs when
the pouches are
infected or
inflamed.
Incidicince : 1025% of people
with
diverticulosis
have

diverticulitis.

Submucosa

Location

Composition

Second layer
in the GI wall

Broad band of
loose
connective
tissue which
contains:
-Blood
vessels :carry
nutrient
absorbed by
the mucosa.
-lymphatic
vessels
-lymph
nodules=
peyers
patches:
protection from
disease
-nerves

Associated
disorder
Inflammatory
bowel disease
IBD
Reason: blood
vessels in the
submucosa are
site of
inflammatory
response that
causes IBD
Symptoms:
chronic
diarrhea,
abdominal pain,
fever and
weight loss.

Musculari
s

Location

Composition

Function

The third
layer

Two layers of
smooth
muscles:
1-inner circular
layer encircles
the tract.
2-outer
longitudinal
layer lies in the
same direction
as the tract.

The
contraction of
these muscles,
under nervous
and hormonal
control, is
responsible for
peristalsis and
subsequent
movement of
digested food
from the
esophagus to
the anus.

Serosa
= serous
membrane layer

Location
The fourth and outermost
layer . its a part of the
internal lining of the
abdominal
cavity( peritoneum).

Associated
disease
Irritable bowel
syndrome IBS:
Reason: not
known but
suggested
reason: stress
causes IBS
because this
area is under
nervous
system
control.
Result /
symptoms:
Contractions
of the wall
cause
abdominal
pain,
constipation
and or
diarrhea.

Function
Secretes a lubricating
fluid

Appendix: worm-shaped-blind tube that projects from the first part

of the large intestine on the lower right side of the abdomen.
Appendicitis: inflamed appendix which has to be removed
Peritonitis: life-threatening swelling and infection of the peritoneum.
Should the appendix burt

First parts of the digestive tract

1- The mouth = oral cavity
Function: receives food and begins the mechanical and physical
digestion
The external boundary of the mouth:
Lips and cheeks
- Lips extend from the base of the nose to the start of the chin
The red portion of the lip is poorly keratinized which allows blood to
show through.
-

The roof of the mouth

Separates the nasal cavity from the oral cavity.
The two parts of the roof of the mouth:
Anterior hard
palate
Toward the
front
Posterior soft
palate
Toward the
back

Composition
Contains
several bones

Entirely
composed of
muscles

-uvula: the end of the soft palate

which is a finger shaped
projection.
-tonsils:
Location: at the back of the
mouth on either side of the
tongue.
Function: protect from disease
because tonsils are lymphatic
tissue
-adenoids: a single pharyngeal
tonsil in the nasopharynx where
the nasal cavity opens above the
soft palate.

Three pairs of salivary glands

Function: send secretion called saliva by ducts to the mouth.
Location

Ducts

Disease

Prevention

One pair of Lies at the

salivary
side of the
glands
face
immediately
below and
in front of
the ears.

Another
pair of
salivary
glands

Lies
beneath the
tongue

Another
pair of
salivary
glands

Lies
beneath the
floor of the
oral cavity

Open in
the inner
surface of
the cheek
above the
second
upper
molar.
Open
under the
tongue.

Mumps ( a
viral
disease)result
s in swelling of
this pair of
glands

Prevention
of mumps
by measles,
mumps,
rubella
MMR
vaccination.

using the tongue Openings can be located by feeling the small flaps
on the inside of the cheek and under the tongue.
Saliva: content: a solution of water, mucus, salivary
amylase( an enzyme which begins the chemical digestion of
starch), bicarbonate and lysozyme (antimicrobial compound).
2- The tongue
Composition:
1- Covered by a mucus membrane which contains taste buds.
taste buds: are sensory receptors. in the presence of food , they are
activated and nerve impulses travel to the brain by nerves.
2- Its composed of skeletal muscle
Function:
1- assists the teeth in carrying out mechanical digestion by moving
food around in the mouth.
2- The tongue changes chewed food into a mass called bolus to
prepare swallowing and pushes it to the pharynx
3- The pharynx and esophagus:
The passages of the mouth and nose lead to the pharynx.
What is the pharynx?

A hollow space at the back of the throat which opens into the
food passage (esophagus) and air passage (trachea, windpipe) .
The orientation of these tubes: these tubes are parallel to each
other with the trachea anterior to (in front of) the esophagus.

Swallowing
Two phases
Voluntary phase
Swallowing has a
voluntary phase

Involuntary phase
Swallowing becomes a
reflex action done
automatically and
involuntary when the food
is pushes back far enough
into the pharynx.

Process:
1- The food enters the esophagus.
Esophagus: a muscular tube that moves food into the stomach
Why does not the food go into other passages? Because other
possible avenues are blocked.
2- The soft palate moves back to close off the nasal passages.
The trachea moves up under the epiglottis to close the glottis.
Thats why we dont breathe when swallowing.
Glottis: the opening to the larynx ( voice box) and therefore the air
passage.

Adams apple is the front part of the larynx and it moves up and down
when a person swallows. This can be observed.
What happens when the epiglottis does not cover the glottis
completely or fast enough?
The food or liquid enters the trachea instead of the esophagus.
Therefore the muscles around the lungs contract and force a cough
that will bring the food back up the trachea and into he pharynx.
Peristalses
The stomach and small intestine
The stomach
Shape

Thick-walled, J-shaped
organ

Locatio
n

On the left side of the

body beneath the
diaphragm continuous

with the esophagus

above and the
duodenum of the small
intestine below.
Functio
ns

1234-

Stores food+
Starts the digestion of protein
Controls the movement of food into the small intestine
Absorbs alcohol because its a fat soluble that cant
pass easily through the membranes. However. No
absorption of nutrients takes place in the stomach.

The stomach wall

Has the same four layers but with specific modifications in two of them to
accommodate its functions.

Composition
Has three smooth muscle layers instead of two; circular,
longitudinal and oblique layers. The oblique layer runs
obliquely ( diagonally) to the other two.
Function of the oblique layer:
1- Allows the stomach to stretch
2- Allows the stomach to break down food
mechanically into smaller fragments that are
mixed with gastric juice.
Mucosa
1- Has rugae which are deep folds that disappear
when the stomach is 1 liter filled.
2- Has millions of gastric pits that lead to gastric
glands.
Gastric glands:
Function: produces gastric juice.
Composition of the gastric juice:
1- Enzyme pepsin which digests protein
2- Hydrochloric acid HCl is responsible for the high acidity of the
stomach ( pH=2)which kills most bacteria in food. HCl breaks down
Muscula
ris

the connective tissue of meat and activates pepsin. HCl does not
digest food.
3- Mucus.
-

The stomach empties within two to six hours.

Chyme : is a thick, soupy, liquid of partially digested food
leaving the stomach.
Chymes entry into the small intestine:
Regulated in small amounts at interval. Why?
1- Peristaltic waves move the chyme to the pyloric sphincter.
2- The pyloric sphincter closes and squeezes most of the chime back
allowing only a small amount to enter the small intestine at once.
The small intestine
Diameter
Length

Small intestine
Smaller this accounts
for its name 2.5 cm
Very long about 6 m
( 18 ft) in length

Large intestine
Larger 6.5 cm
1.5 m ( 4.5 ft) in length

Digestion is completed in the small intestine

The small intestine contains enzymes that digest all types of food
particularly, fats, carbohydrates and proteins.
Enzymes in the small intestine:
Pancreas:
Most these enzymes are secreted by the pancreas and enter
the first 25 cm of the small intestine ( duodenum) through
ducts.
Pancreatic amylase starts carbohydrate digestion To glucose
which is completed by intestinal enzymes.
Pancreatic trypsin: begins the digestion of proteins to amino
acids which is competed by intestinal enzymes.

Liver and gallbladder

Bile is brought by another duct from the gallbladder and the
liver into the duodenum.
Function of bile: bile cause fat droplets to disperse ( dissolve) in
water. This process is called emulsification. ( mechanical
breakdown of fat to fat droplets ). After that, lipase in the
pancreatic juice hydrolyzes fat droplets to monoglycerides and
fatty acids.

The reason for the slight basic pH of the small intestine :

because pancreatic juice contains sodium bicarbonate
( NaHCO3) which neutralizes the chyme.

Nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine

The accessory organs and regulation of secretion:

The accessory organs:
1- The pancreas
Shape

location

Fish-shaped,
spongy,
grayish-pink
organ
Stretches
across the
back of the
abdomen
behind the
stomach.

Function of
pancreatic
cells
Composition of
the pancreatic
juice

Most of them produce

pancreatic juice that enters
the duodenum via the
pancreatic duct .
1- Sodium bicarbonate
NaHCO3 which
neutralizes the acidic
chyme from the
stomach.
2- Digestive enaymes
including:
Pancreatic
amylase:
digests starch
Trypsin: digests
protein
Pancreatic
lipase: digests
fat.

What is a hormone?
Hormone is a protein or steroid that is secreted by a cell to influence the
function of a another different cell (target cell).
The pancreas as an endocrine gland: (the pancreas is considered as an
endocrine gland)
Function: secretion of insulin in the blood.
- Rapid Increase in the blood glucose
Result: overproduction of insulin by the pancreas to bring blood glucose
under control and maintain homeostasis.

Cause

Diagnosis

Type 1 diabetes
Pancreas does not
manufacture sufficient
amount of insulin
Normally diagnosed in
childhood

Type 2 diabetes
Pancreas does not produce
enough insulin or the bodys
cells are resistant to insulin.
Normally occurs in adulthood
with risk factors:
- Obesity
- Inactivity
- Family history of
the disease

3- The liver: the largest gland in the body- major metabolic gland
Location: in the upper right section of the abdominal cavity below the
diaphragm
The hepatic portal vein:
Function: brings the blood from the GI tract capillary bed to the liver.
The structural and functional units of the liver- major metabolic glandare the lobules.
Has around 100,000 lobules
Capillaries of the lobules : function: filter blood brought by the hepatic
portal vein, so the (1) liver acts like sewage treatment plant ;
because it removes poisonous substances from the blood and
detoxifies them.
Other functions of the liver:
(2) it removes iron and vitamins A, D,E,K and B12 from the blood and stores
them ( storage organ).
(3) its involved in blood glucose homeostasis;
-when blood glucose is high, pancreas produces insulin whose presence
results in the storage of glucose as glycogen on the liver.
- when blood glucose is low, the liver releases glucose by breaking down
glycogen.
(4) it produces plasma proteins needed in the blood.
(5)it converts amino acids and glycerol from fats to glucose molecules.
urea:
It is the usual nitrogenous waste product in humans .
Formation: the liver combines their amino groups with carbon dioxide to form
urea
(6)it regulates blood cholesterol levels :]
- The liver converts some cholesterol to bile salts.
Composition of the bile: solution of water, bile salts, bicarbonate and
cholesterol.
Color: yellowish-green color.
Reason: because it contains bilirubin, a pigment protein formed during the
breakdown of hemoglobin. (Breakdown of hemoglobin also occurs in the
liver)
Storage: stored in the gallbladder
4- The gallbladder

Shape
Location

Pear-shaped
Below the liver until it is
sent through bile ducts to
the duodenum.

Formation of gallstones: gallstones:

They are formed when liquid stored in the gallbladder harden into pieces of
stonelike material.
Liver disorders:
Hepatitis and cirrhosis are two serious, life-threatening diseases that affect
the entire liver and hinder its ability to repair itself.
The liver is a vital organ whose failure leads to death.
1- Hepatitis = inflammation of the liver
There are several forms of for the viral hepatitis:
Hepatitis A
Acquired when
drinking water or
eating food that
is sewage(dirt)contaminated.
Significance

Vaccines

Hepatitis B
Usually spread by
sexual contact
but also by blood
transfusions and
contaminated
needles.
Hepatits B virus
is more
contagious than
AIDS virus, they
spread in the
same way.
Available

Hepatitis C
Acquired by
contact with
infected blood

Lead to chronic
hepatitis, liver
cancer and
death.

Not available

Jaundice :
Yellowish tint to the whites of the eyes and skin of loght-pigmented
person.
Reason: leakage of bile pigments into the blood when a person has a liver
ailment. It can also result from hepatitis.
2- Cirrhosis
Chronic disease of the liver.
First, the liver becomes fatty, then liver tissue is replaced by
inactive fibrous scar tissue
Incidence: often seen in:
1- Alcoholics because of malnutrition and the excessive amounts of
alcohol ( toxin) the liver has to break down.

2- Obese people who are overweight due to a diet rich in fatty

foods.
Amazing feature of the liver:
The liver has a regenerative power and can recover when the
regeneration rate exceeds the damage rate.
Exception is the liver failure. Reason: because there is no
enough time to let the liver heal itself so liver transplantation is
preferred.
-

Regulation o digestive secretions:

The secretion of digestive juice is controlled by :
1- Nervous system:
When you look at food or smell it, the parasympathetic nervous system
stimulates gastric secretion.
2- Digestive hormones:
When a person has eaten specially rich in protein , the stomach
produces the hormone gastin which enters the bloodstream and soon
the secretary activity of gastric glands increases.
Duodenum:
The other two hormones released by cell of the duodenal wall:
1- Secretin whose release is stimulated by acid especially the HCl in
chyme.
2- Cholecystokinin CCK whose release is stimulated by partially digested
proteins and fat. It causes the liver to produce more bile and causes
the gallbladder to contract and release the stored bile.
The bile aids in the digestion of fats that stimulated the release
of CCK.
After these hormones enetre the bloodstream, the pancrease
produces more pancrearic juice .
Function: the pancreatic juice buffers the acidic chyme entering
the intestine from the stmach and helps in digestion .

The large intestine and defecation:

Structure :
The large intestine includes
Cecum

The first portion

of the large
intestine joining
the end of the
small intestine