THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Heterotrophic nutrition
The Gastrointestinal (GI) tract

Tube that includes:
Mouth, Pharynx,
Oesophagus, Stomach,
Small intestine, Large
intestine

Accessory organs:
teeth, tongue, salivary
glands, liver,
gallbladder, and
pancreas
Overview of the activities

Ingestion: eating

Secretion: release of water, enzymes & buffers

Mixing & propulsion: movement along GI tract

Digestion: mechanical and chemical breakdown of

foods

Absorption: getting it into the body

Defecation: dumping waste products = defecation

GI Wall Layers
4 layers present:

Mucosa- epithelium, connective tissue the lamina
propria, glands, muscularis mucosae

Submucosa- connective tissue, blood vessels,
lymphatic vessels, enteric nervous system

Muscularis- circular layer, longitudinal layer

Inmouth, pharynx & upper esophagus –skeletal muscle

Also in external anal sphincter

Serosa or Visceral peritoneum

 The Oral/Buccal Cavity

Formed by cheeks, hard
& soft palate & tongue

Soft palate at back

includes a hanging
structure → uvula

During swallowing uvula
prevents entry into nasal
cavity

Tongue- muscular
accessory organ

maneuvers food for
chewing

Adjusts shape for speech
& swallowing
The Salivary Glands

3 pairs of salivary glands whose ducts empty into
oral cavity

Parotid - inferior & anterior to ears

Submandibular - in floor of mouth, medial & inferior to

mandible

Sublingual - beneath tongue and superior to submandibular

Saliva contains 99.5% water, salivary amylase,

mucus and other solutes

Dissolves food & starts digestion of starches
The Teeth

Accessory organs in bony sockets of mandible &
maxilla

3 external regions:

Crown- above gums

Root- 1 or more parts embedded in socket

Neck – between crown and root near gum line

3 layers of material

Enamel- covers crown

Dentin- majority of interior of tooth

Pulp cavity - nerve, blood vessel & lymphatics
Dental Formula

Diphyodont: describing a type of
dentition that is characterised by two
successive sets of teeth: the
deciduous (milk) teeth followed by
the permanent (adult) teeth.

Dental Formula of the permanent
dentition:
i2/2 c1/1 pm2/2 m3/3

the letter represents the type of tooth

The numerator represents the number
of that type of tooth in one side of the
upper jaw

The denominator represents the
number of that type of tooth in one
side of the lower jaw.

Dental formula of the deciduous set:
i2/2 c1/1 m2/2
Digestion in the Mouth

Mechanical breakdown- chewing

Mixed with saliva by tongue

Salivary amylase chemically breaks down

Amylose  Maltose and Dextrin (oligosaccharides)
Continues in the stomach until acidified

Rounds up food into a soft bolus for swallowing

Pharynx + Oesophagus

On swallowing:

Bolus of food  oropharynx
Laryngopharynx oesophagus

Muscular contractions in pharynx help

Upper oesophageal sphincter (UES)

Skeletal muscle –controls entry to oesophagus

Lower oesophageal sphincter (LES)

Smooth muscle- regulates entry to stomach
The Swallowing Reflex

Voluntary: bolus forced into oropharynx

Triggers oropharyngeal stage

Involuntary & breathing interrupted

Soft palate move up-close nasopharynx

Epiglottis seals off larynx

Bolus moves into esophagus through UES

Oesophageal stage peristalsis moves it

toward stomach
The Stomach

J- shaped enlargement of tract

Serves as mixing chamber and holding
reservoir

Very elastic & muscular

3 muscle layers: longitudinal, circular and oblique

4 regions

Cardia- surrounds upper opening

Fundus- superior & to left of cardia

Body – large central portion

Pylorus- lower part leading to pyloric sphincter &
duodenum
The Parietal Cells
Oxyntic Cells secrete 0.05% hydrochloric acid
pH = 1.5 to 2.5

kills bacteria

loosens cell masses

converts pepsinogen to pepsin; pro-rennin to rennin

coagulates caseinogen

facilitates uptake of Ca2+, Fe3+ salts

starts conversion of sucrose to glucose and fructose

NUCLEOPROTEINS to Nucleic acids and protein

Argentaffine Cells Secrete a glycoprotein

(INTRINSIC FACTOR) which binds with Vit. B12 for protection
The Chief Cells secrete zymogen
Zymogen: An inactive form of a digestive enzyme secreted into the lumen of the
gut where enzymes (proteases) or other substances (like HCl) snip off parts to form
the active enzyme
Endoenzymes vs Exoenzymes

Endoenzyme Exoenzyme

Hydrolyses internal
Hydrolyses terminal

bonds – within a bonds of a polymer
polymer
Digestion in the Stomach

Food entry stretch & rise in pH

Nerve impulses  secretion & mixing waves Food mixed
with juice Chyme

Small amount pushed through pyloric sphincter = gastric
emptying

Entry in duodenum feedback inhibition of stomach activity

Pepsinogen is first activated by HCl and the active

enzyme Pepsin digests protein shorter polypeptides

Zymogen to prevent autodigestion

Activation by autocatalysis

Prorennin is activated to Rennin which coagulated milk

protein to facilitate it’s digestion
The Small Intestine

3 parts: duodenum, jejunum, ileum

Where most of the digestion occurs

Essentially all of the nutrient absorption

Ends in ileocecal sphincter
Intestinal Wall Structure

Same 4 layers

Epithelial- simple columnar

Absorptive cells with microvilli

Goblet cells- secrete mucus

Intestinal glands- intestinal juice & hormones

Secretin, Cholecystokinin-Pancreozymin (CCK-PZ),
Gastric Inhibitory Peptide (GIP)

Lymphatic tissue- defense
Intestinal Wall Structure (cont)

Duodenal glands- alkaline mucus

Helps neutralize stomach acid

Circular folds- increase surface area

Villi- finger like projections of mucosa

Increase surface area for absorption

Include lacteals for lipid absorption
The Pancreas

Behind stomach-

Producespancreatic juice in acinar cells

to duodenum via pancreatic duct

NaHCO3 solution (pH 7.1-8.2)– 1000ml/day

Neutralize stomach acid and dilutes chyme

Panceas- digestive enzymes

Proteases: chymotrypsinogen, trypsinogen, and
carboxypeptidase

Activated by entreokinase from intestine

Starch digesting- Pancreatic Amylase

Pancreatic lipase

Nucleotidases – RNAase & DNAase
The Gall Bladder and Bile

Gall bladder a Pear-shaped organ on the front of the liver (stores
bile)

Bicarbonate, bile salts, bile pigments, mineral ions and water – 1000
ml/day

Important for emulsifying fats

Increases surface area for digestion

Pigment is bilirubin- from broken-down heme during RBC recycling

Digested to strecobilin- brown color

Bile salts reabsorbed at end of small intestine (ileum)

recycled to liver in portal circulation
Emulsification and Lipid Digestion
Digestion in the Small Intestine
 Absorption

By diffusion, facilitated
diffusion, osmosis &
active transport

Carbohydrates 
monosaccharides

Via portal system to liver

Proteins (jejunum &
ileum) amino acids

Via portal system to liver

Lipids reformed to
triglycerides

Packaged in chlyomicrons
with protein

Via lacteals  lymphatics
Absorption [cont…]

Water & salt

Primarily osmotic movement along with other nutrients

Vitamins:

Fat soluble absorbed with fat

Water soluble with simple diffusion

B12 combines with intrinsic factor & absorbed by active

transport in ileum
The Large Intestine

Cecum, colon, rectum, anal canal

Ileocecal canal large intestine

Below is caecum with appendix

Colon- ascending, transverse, descending & sigmoid

 rectum anal canal

Standard 4 layers with mucus secretion

Few folds , little specialization for absorption

Muscularis: circular + bands of longitudinal muscle
The Large Intestine [cont…]

Slow emptying of ileum

Slow peristalsis

Mass peristalsis with food in stomach

Moves from middle of colon  rectum

Bacterial digestion

Produce some B-vitamins & Vit. K

Produce gases= flatus

Colon absorbs salt & water

Control and Regulation

Rule: activate forward and inhibit behind

three phases: Cephalic, gastric, intestinal

Cephalic- smell, sight, thought of food

Neural signals stimulates salivary glands & gastric
glands

Gastric- stretching, pH of stomach

Gastrin activates stomach & LES & relaxes pyloric
sphincter

Neural signals + gastrin signal satiety (fullness)
Control and Regulation [cont…]

Intestinal- responses to food entering
duodenum

neural & endocrine

CCK-PZ stimulated by AA & fats

Pancreaticenzyme release

Gall bladder contraction

Contraction of pyloric sphincter

Acid stimulates secretin

Stimulates HCO3- ions in pancreatic juice

Inhibits gastrin action in stomach
 Slows movement
and emptying of
stomach

Release of GIP by
intestinal mucosa