The Digestive System

Energy Pyramids
Only about
10% of energy
passed on
between
trophic levels

Few Carnivores

More Herbivores

Most is lost
through the
organisms
living
processes

All supported
by energy
from
producers

Food

Type

Carbohydrate
Fat
Protein
Sugars

Use
Long term energy
Protecting organs and
long term energy store
Making muscle, enzymes,
skin, hair
Fast energy

Write the name of each colored

organ:

Green:
Red:
Pink:
Brown:
Purple:
Green:
Yellow:

Answers

Green: Oesophagus
Red: Stomach
Pink: Small Intestine
Brown: Large Intestine
Purple: Liver
Green: Gall Bladder
Yellow: Pancreas

Dr. Alzoghaibi

The Digestive System

(Breaking food down into smaller pieces)

Lets find out what happened to your breakfast today!

Mouth
Oesophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Liver
Large Intestine
Gall Bladder
Pancreas
Rectum
Anus

Digestive System
Organization
Gastrointestinal (Gl) tract
(Alimentary canal)
Tube within a tube
Direct link/path between organs
Structures

Mouth
Oral Cavity
Pharynx
Esophagus
Stomach
Duedenum
Jejenum
Ileum
Cecum
Ascending colon
Transverse colon

Digestive System Organization

Descending colon
Sigmoid colon
Rectum
Anus

Accessory structures
Not in tube path
Organs

Teeth
Tongue
Salivary glands
Liver
Gall bladder
Pancreas
9

Mouth
Teeth
(mechanical breakdown)
Incisors used for cutting
Canines used for stabbing
and holding
Molars large surface area
used for grinding

Saliva
(chemical breakdown)
Enzyme (speeds up
reactions in the body)
Breaks down carbohydrate

Oesophagus
Approximately 25cm
long
Moves food from the
throat to the stomach
Muscle movement
called peristalsis

If acid from the

stomach gets in here
thats heartburn.

Stomach Regions
Esophageal
Non-glandular

Cardiac
Secretes mucus

Fundic
Parietal cells
Chief cells

Pyloric
Mucus

Stomach
A stretchy bag that holds
your food after you eat/
Stores the food you eat
Helps to break food into
smaller pieces so your
body can use it for energy
and nutrition
Mixes food with digestive
juices
Acid in the stomach kills
bacteria

Small Intestine
Small intestines are roughly
6 metres long.
Enzymes and bile are added.
Villi increase the surface
area to help absorbtion.
Nutrients from the food pass
into the bloodstream through
the small intestine walls.
Food stays in your small
intestine for 4 to 8 hours

Small Intestine
Composed of 3 segments (proximal to distal)
Duodenum
Releases bile and pancreatic secretions
Active site of digestion

Jejunum
Active site of nutrient absorption

Ileum
Active site of nutrient absorption
Most water, vitamins & minerals
Some bacterial presence
Fermentation
The

pH of the small intestine increases towards 7.0 as food

moves from the duodenum to the ileum

Large Intestine
About 1.5 metres long
Accepts what small intestines
dont absorb.
Absorbs water and minerals
from the waste matter.
Absorption means taking into
the body via the blood stream.
Waste stays for 10 to 12 hours

Gall Bladder
Storage tank for bile (a
greenish-yellow liquid)
that helps your body
break down and use fats
Stores bile from the liver
Delivers bile when food is
digested
Fatty diets can cause
gallstones

Liver
Directly affects digestion
by producing bile
Bile is an enzyme that
helps dissolve fat

Factory for antibodies

and bile/ Is often called
the bodys energy factory
Stores vitamins and
sugars until your body
needs them

Pancreas
Produces compounds
to digest fats and
proteins
Neutralizes acids that
enter small intestine
Regulates blood
sugar by producing
insulin

Rectum and Anus

Rectum
About 15cm long
Stores waste
before egestion.

Anus
Muscular ring that
controls egestion.

Functions of the digestive

system

Ingestion
Mechanical processing
Digestion
Secretion
Absorption
Excretion

GI PROCESSES
Phases
Ingestion
Movement
Digestion
Absorption
Further digestion

22

Overview of
GI Processes
Food

Digestion
Secretion

Blood Vessels

Absorption

Motility

GI organization

Primary Types of Secretions

Digestive Enzymes
Mucous
Fluid and Electrolytes

Three Phases of digestion

Cephalic Phase
Gastric Phase
Intestinal Phase

Primary Substances Absorbed

Carbohydrates
Peptides
Fats

Two Types of Movement

Peristaltic
moves food forward

Segmental
mixing

How is the digestive process

controlled?
Hormone Regulators
The major hormones that control the functions of the
digestive system are produced and released by cells in
the mucosa of the stomach and small intestine. These
hormones are released into the blood of the digestive
tract, travel back to the heart and through the arteries,
and return to the digestive system where they stimulate
digestive juices and cause organ movement.

HOW IS THE DIGESTIVE

PROCESS CONTROLLED?
The hormones that control digestion are gastrin, secretin, and
cholecystokinin (CCK):
Gastrin causes the stomach to produce an acid for dissolving
and digesting some foods. It is also necessary for the normal
growth of the lining of the stomach, small intestine, and colon.
Secretin causes the pancreas to send out a digestive juice
that is rich in bicarbonate. It stimulates the stomach to
produce pepsin, an enzyme that digests protein, and it also
stimulates the liver to produce bile.
CCK causes the pancreas to grow and to produce the
enzymes of pancreatic juice, and it causes the gallbladder to
empty.

The additional hormones

Ghrelin is produced in the stomach and
upper intestine in the absence of food in
the digestive system and stimulates
appetite.
Peptide YY is produced in the digestive
tract in response to a meal in the system
and inhibits appetite.

Nerve Regulators
Two types of nerves help control the action of the
digestive system.
Extrinsic, or outside, nerves come to the
digestive organs from the brain or the spinal
cord. They release two chemicals,
acetylcholine and adrenaline
The intrinsic, or inside, nerves make up a very dense
network embedded in the walls of the esophagus,
stomach, small intestin, and colon. The intrinsic nerves
are triggered to act when the walls of the hollow organs
are stretched by food. They release many different
substances that speed up or delay the movement of food
and the production of juices by the digestive organs.

Overview of Digestive Enzymes

Stomach
Pepsinogen
Chymosin (rennin)

Pancreas

Trypsinogen
Chymotrypsinogen
Procarboxypeptidase
Amylase
Lipase
Nuclease

Brush Border (SI)

Sucrase
Maltase
Lactase
Aminopeptidase
Dipeptidase
Enterokinase