Unit.

6 Nutrition in humans
Digestive system
Alimentary canal
Digestive glands

Process...
1)ingestion
2)digestion
3)absorption
4)assimilation
5)egestion

Tongue
Tooth mouth cavity
Salivary glands
Pharynx
Oesophagus
Liver
Gall bladder
Bile duct
Stomach
Pancreas
Pancreatic duct
Duodenum
Ileum small intestine
Colon
Caecum
Appendix large intestine
Rectum
Anus

Alimentary canal
Mouth cavity
> pharynx
> oesophagus
> stomach
> small intestine
> large intestine > anus

Receives digestive juices produced by...

Digestive glands
Salivary glands
Pancreas
liver

Ingestion
In mouth cavity
mastication(cutting food into small pieces by teeth)

Types of teeth
1)incisors
2)canines
3)premolars
4)molars

Incisor
Shape:
Chisel-shaped
Flat sharp edges
Has one root

Function:
Biting and cutting food

Canine
Shape:
Pointed and curved
Has one root

Function:
Tearing flesh

Premolar
Shape:
Broad top with cusps
Has one or two roots

Function:
Crushing and grinding food

Molar
Shape:
Similar to premolar but larger
Has two or three roots

Function:
Crushing and grinding food
Dentition
=dental formula
upper/lower jaw
2:1:2:3
Incisors canines premolar molar
Total number of teeth:(2+1+2+3)x2x2=32

Permanent and milk teeth

Milk teeth
=during the first two years of life
Permanent teeth
=ages 6-12
(replaced milk teeth when they fall out)

Dental formula of milk teeth=

2:1:0:2
No premolar and only 2 molar
Total:20 teeth

Structure of tooth
Three region:
1)crown
2)neck
2)root

Structure:
Enamel
Dentine
Pulp cavity
Nerve fibres
Blood vessels
Cement
Periodontal membranes
Gums
Jawbone

Enamel
-outermost,hardest part of crown
-non living thing made up of calcium salts
-protects the tooth
-replaced by cement when around the root
(cement forms periodontal membrane to fix tooth to the jawbone)
Dentine
-middle region of the tooth
-bone-like substance
-living cytoplasm run through

Pulp cavity
-contains living cells,blood vessels and nerve fibres
-blood vessels:supply oxygen and nutrients to the tooth and remove wastes
-nerve fibres:detect temperature and pressure

Digestion
Large complex molecules
(e.g.starch,proteins,lipids)
>broken down in the alimentary canal
Small soluble molecules
>absorb into the blood

water,vitamins,minerals=small molecules
>absorb into the blood directly(without digestion)

Physical digestion
=breaking food into small pieces
>increases the surface area contact with the digestive juices

1)mechanical actions
-chewing(mastication) in mouth cavity
-churning in stomach
-peristalsis in alimentary canal

2)emulsification of lipids
By bile salts

Chemical digestion
=chemical reaction that broken complex food molecules to small simple forms
By digestive enzymes

Digestive enzyme
1)carbohydrases
Complex carbohydrates > simpler sugars
2)proteases
Proteins > polypeptides,peptides,amino acids
3)lipases
Lipids > fatty acids,glycerol
Digestion in mouth cavity
Food > chewed into small pieces > mixed with saliva > bolus
saliva=produced by salivary glands

Saliva contains…
1)Salivary amylase(carbohydrase)
Break down starch to maltose
Work best in a slightly alkaline medium

2)mucus
Bind food particles together
Moistens and lubricates the food
(make the food easier to be swallowed)

3)water
Dissolves soluble substance in food

Process to ensure food passes into the oesophagus=

(pharynx lead to oesophagus and trachea)
1)food is chewed by teeth
>
2)the tongue rolls the food into a bolus
>
3)the tongue rises
(to push the bolus towards the pharynx)
>
4)the soft palate moves up
(to prevent food entering the nasal cavity)
>
5)the larynx rises and the epiglottis covers the opening of trachea
(to prevent food entering the trachea)
>
6)bolus enters the oesophagus

Peristalsis
=wave-like movement of the alimentary canal
Produced by alternate contraction and relaxation of longitudinal muscles and circular muscles
>food pushes down from oesophagus to the stomach

Behind the bolus:

1)circular muscles contract
2)longitudinal muscles relax
3)the lumen become smaller
4)the food is squeezed forward
In front of the bolus:
1)circular muscles relax
2)longitudinal muscles contract
3)the food slides through the lumen

Importance of peristalsis
-pushes food along the oesophagus
-helps mix food with digestive juices
-increases the contact between the wall of alimentary canal and digested food to facilitate
absorption

Digestion in stomach
Entrance of stomach=cardiac sphincter
Exit of stomach=pyloric sphincter

cardiac sphincter
>its contraction prevents food from flowing back to the oesophagus
Pyloric sphincter
>controls the release of food into the duodenum
=Allows food to stay in the stomach for a sufficiently long period of time for digestion

Gastric glands(digestive glands)

=produce gastric juice

Gastric juice contains…

1)pepsin
Break down proteins to peptides
Work best in an acidic medium

2)hydrochloric acid
provide s an acidic medium for pepsin
Kills bacteria in food

3)mucus
Protects the stomach wall from being digested or damaged

Muscles in the stomach contract

>churn the food into chyme
>releases into the duodenum

Digestion in the small intestine

Small intestine=duodenum and ileum
Bile
Produced by the liver
Stored in gall bladder
Released through bile duct
To the duodenum

Bile contains…
1)Bile salts
Emulsify lipids into small droplets

2)Bile pigments
Formed from the breakdown of hemoglobin
Do not take part in digestion

3)Sodium hydrogencarbonate
Is alkaline
Neutralizes acidic chyme
Provides an alkaline medium for enzyme actions

Pancreatic juice
Produced by the pancreas
Carried along pancreatic duct
to the duodenum

Pancreatic juice contains…

1)Pancreatic amylase
Break down remaining starch into maltose

2)Pancreatic lipase
Break down lipids to fatty acids or glycerol

3)Proteases
Break down proteins to peptides
Break down some peptides to amino acids

4)Sodium hydrogencarbonate
Neutralized the acidic chyme
Provides an alkaline medium for enzyme action

Intestine juice
Produced by glands on the wall of the small intestine
Slightly alkaline
Provides an alkaline medium for enzyme action
Intestine juice contains…
1)Water
2)Mucus
3)Sodium hydrogencarbonate

Enzyme of the epithelium of small intestine

1)Carbohydrases
Break down disaccharides into monosaccharides
(e.g. maltase break down maltose to glucose,sucrase break down sucrose to glucose)

2)Proteases
Break down peptides to amino acids

Digestion of carbohydrates,lipids and proteins

=completed in small intestine
Products(monosaccharides,amino acids,fatty acids,glycerol)
=ready for absorption

Absorption
After food digested into small and soluble molecules
=take place in the ileum(small intestine)

Small intestine
1)length
Very long
Allows sufficient time for complete digestion and absorption

2)inner wall
Highly folded and there are many villi
(villi=finger-like projection)

Villi
=increases the surface area for absorption

Epithelium of villi
Very thin(one-cell thick)
=provides short distances for diffusion

Epithelial cell of villi

Has many microvilli
=further increases the surface area for absorption

Structure of villi
Each villus has a lymph vessel as centre
Surrounded by capillaries
=absorbed food carried out rapidly
Steep concentration gradient is kept
=increases the rate of diffusion

3)Peristalsis
Brings digested food close contact with villi
Steep concentration gradient is kept
=increases rate of diffusion

How digested food absorbed?

1)Absorption into the blood

Water-soluble food molecules
(e.g. monosaccharides,amino acids,water-soluble vitamins)
=absorb into the capillaries by diffusion and active transport
Absorption of food increases the water potential of the small intestine
=water drawn into blood by osmosis

Digested food in the blood vessels via the blood to the liver

2)Absorption into the lymph

Fatty acids ,glycerol
>enter the epithelium of villi by diffusion
>recombine into fine lipid droplets
=enter the lymph in the lacteal(lymphatic system)
Lipid-soluble vitamins also absorbed into the lacteals

Digested lipid in the lymph vessels via the lymphatic system to the bloodstream

Undigested and unabsorbed materials reach the large intestine

Remaining water > absorbed into the blood through the colon
Minerals and vitamins > absorbed very slowly

Summary

Blood Vessels
Water soluble food molecules
(e.g. monosaccharides,amino acids,minerals,water-soluble vitamins)
>absorbed into the blood(diffusion/active transport)

Water absorbed into the blood by osmosis

Lymph vessels(lacteals)
Fatty acids,glycerol
>enter the epithelium of villi(diffusion)
>combine to lipids
>enter the lacteals
>enter the lymph vessels
>carried into the blood circulation(bloodstream)

Lipid-soluble vitamins absorbed into the lacteals

>enter the lymph vessels
>carried into blood circulation(bloodstream)

Assimilation
=uptake and use of absorbed food molecules by cells for metabolism

Water-soluble food molecules

(e.g.monosaccharides,amino acids,minerals,water-soluble vitamins)
>capillaries of villi
>hepatic portal vein
>liver
>hepatic vein
>vena cava
>heart

Lipids and lipid-soluble vitamins

>lymph vessel
>vein(blood circulation)
>heart

>transport to all part of body through aorta(by force of heart pump)

Fates of the absorbed food

1)Glucose
Releasing energy through respiration
Excess glucose converted to glycerol or lipids in the liver
Glycerol:stored in liver and muscles
Lipids:stored under skin or around internal organs

2)Amino acids
Make proteins for growth and repair
Be the raw materials for making enzymes,antibodies and hormones
Excess amino acids deaminated in the liver

3)Lipids
Make cell membranes and hormones
As source of energy(provide us energy when glucose is used up)
Excess lipids deposited around internal organs for protection
Or build up in adipose tissue under skin to reduce heat loss

Liver
=important organ in assimilation

1)regulate blood glucose level

After a meal ,glucose level rises
>liver converts the excess glucose to glycogen and stored

Before a meal,glucose level falls below a certain level

>liver converts the stored glycogen back to glucose and releases

2)storage of glycogen,iron and lipid-soluble vitamins

As the main site of storing glycogen
Breaks down old red blood cells and stored in iron
Stored lipid-soluble vitamins

3)production of bile and vitamin A

Produces bile
Carotene is changed to vitamin A

4)Deamination
Excess amino acids are breakdown through deamination
Amino acids break down to urea (carbohydrates and lipids)

5)Detoxification(by enzymes in liver cells)

Break down certain mild toxic substances into harmless substance
(e.g. alcohol and drugs)

Egestion(defaecation)
Undigested and unabsorbed materials=faeces
Faeces contains…
Dietary fibre,bacteria,secretions,dead cells,water
Brown in colour=because the presence of bile pigments

At the anus there is a ring of muscle called the anal sphincter

>sphincter relax
>muscle of rectum contract
>faeces are pushed out

Vocab
Nutrition
Ingestion
absorption
Assimilation
Egestion
Digestive system
Alimentary canal
Digestive glands
Tongue
Tooth
Salivary glands
Pharynx
Oesophagus
Liver
Gall bladder
Stomach
Bile duct
Pancreas
Pancreatic duct
Duodenum
Ileum
Colon
Caecum
Appendix
Rectum
Anus
Digestive juice
Incisor
Canine
Permolar
Molar
Dentition
Dental formula
Milk teeth
Permanent teeth
Crown
Neck
Root
Enamel
Dentine
Pulp cavity
Nerve fibres
Blood vessels
Gums
Jawbone
Periodontal membranes
Cement
Physical digestion
Mechanical actions
Chewing
Churning
Peristalsis
Emulsification
Bile salts
Chemical digestion
Digestive enzyme
Saliva
Bolus
Cardiac sphincter
Pyloric sphincter
Gastric glands
Gastric juice
Chyme
Small intestine
Duodenum
ileum
Bile
Live
Gall bladder
Bile duct
Bile salts
Bile pigments
Sodium hydrogencarbonate
Neutralization
Pancreatic juice
Pancreas
Pancreatic duct
Pancreatic amylase
Pancreatic lipase
Proteases
Sodium hydrogencarbonate
Intestinal juice
Carbohydrases
Proteases
Villi
microvilli
Epithelium
Lacteal
Capillaries
Peristalsis
Hepatic portal vein
Hepatic vein
Vena cava
Aorta
Lymph vessel
defaecation
Anal sphincter