DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

STAGES OF FOOD
PROCESSING
Ingestion- eating/feeding
Digestion- food gets broken down
Mechanical
Chemical
Enzymatic Hydrolysis:
splitting process of chemical
digestion
Intracellular digestion:
hydrolysis of food w/in vacuoles
Absorption
Elimination

UMBRELLA TERMS

Gastrovascular

cavity: digestive
compartment w/ single opening

Alimentary Canal: tube between two

openings of an animal (AKA complete
digestive tract)

Food pushed along by peristalsis, using

sphincters that acts as drawstrings

INGESTION
Oral cavity: start of ingestion
Salivary glands: stimulated by
presence of food

Amylase

hydrolyzes starch and

glycogen
Mechanical digestion shapes
food into a bolus

Pharynx: throat cavity

Opens

to esophagus and trachea

Epiglottis flap covers opening to
lungs when eating
Larynx guides movement of food
into esophagus

DIGESTION
Stomach:

stores food/starts protein

digestion
Gastric juice: digestive fluid
Kept inactive until it reaches the
lumen (cavity) of the stomach
Mixes w/ ingested food to create
chyme
Hydrochloric acid denatures proteins
in food
Pepsin attacks exposed peptide bonds

ABSORPTION
Small

intestine: site of most

enzymatic hydrolysis of
macromolecules
Duodenum: formed by first
10 in of small intestine
Chyme mixes w/ more
digestive juices
Pancreas: produces enzymes
and an alkaline solution w/
bicarbonates
Liver: produces bile (stored in
the gallbladder) that digests
lipids

MORE ABSORPTION

Villi:

finger like projections in the small intestine

Surface has microvilli
Increase surface area for maximum
absorption
Hepatic portal vein: carries nutrient rich blood
from villi to the liver
Liver detoxifies and redistributes blood

EVEN MORE ABSORPTION

Chylomicrons transported into
a lacteal (vessel @ core of villus)
water soluble globules
fatty acids absorbed by
small intestine epithelial
cells
recombined into triglycerides
coated w/ lipids and proteins
Go into lymphatic system and
eventually to the heart
Lets the lipids move in the
water-based blood

EXCRETION
Large

intestine (end of alimentary canal)

Cecum: pouch for fermentation; start of the large
intestine
Colon: reabsorbs water; what we think of as the large
intestine
Rectum: stores feces; end of the large intestine