Soran University

Faculty of Science
Department of
Biology

Digestive system s accessory organs

By: Shakila Hamid Abdulla

Supervised By: Dr.Sarbest

2019-2020

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Contents

Abstract

Introduction

1. Mastication and Swallowing

2. Stomach and Intestines
3. ACCESSORY ORGANS
4. Why is digestion important
Conclusion

References

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Abstract

Accessory glands of digestive system The accessory glands of digestive system

consist from salivary glands, gall bladder, pancreas and liver. Liver: The liver is
located in the right portion of the abdominal cavity, beneath the diaphragm and on top
of the stomach, and intestines. The liver a dark reddish-brown organ. It is the largest
gland of the body; receives both venous blood (through the portal vein) and arterial
blood (through the hepatic artery(. It acts as endocrine and exocrine gland. The
function of the Liver:-1-Production of bile, which helps carry away waste and break
down fats in the small intestine during digestion. 2-Production of certain proteins for
blood plasma 3-Store and release glucose as needed the liver stores iron. 4-
Conversion of harmful ammonia to urea (urea is one of the end products of protein
metabolism that is excreted in the urine).

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Introduction

Our digestive system has two important responsibilities - to digest the food and to
absorb the nutrients obtained from the breakdown of that food. Food enters our body
through the mouth, which begins both mechanical and chemical digestion. It then
travels into the pharynx and then into the esophagus. The smooth muscles within the
esophagus propel the food into the stomach, where the digestion of protein begins.
The food then travels into the small intestine, where the food continues to be broken
down and where absorption of the broken down nutrients begins. Once all the
nutrients are absorbed, the food enters the large intestine. In the large intestine, water
absorption takes place and anything that was not absorbed in the small intestine is
absorbed into the body (things like calcium and other minerals) The human digestive
system is responsible for food ingestion and digestion as well as the absorption of
digested food molecules and the elimination of undigested molecules. It consists of a
long tube called the gastrointestinal tract or GI tract (alimentary canal) and several
accessory organs. The major components of the GI tract are the
mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. The major
accessory organs are the teeth, salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

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Mastication and Swallowing
Ingestion (the intake of food) occurs in the mouth where food is chewed and mixed
with saliva. The teeth have different shapes to perform different tasks; the incisors
(chisel-shaped anterior teeth) are used to cut into food, the canines (pointed teeth
located lateral to the incisors) are used to tear or pierce food, and the premolars and
molars (having broad surfaces) are used for crushing and grinding food. Chewing
(mastication) of food is accompanied by mixing of the food with saliva. The mouth is
normally kept moist by the continual production of small quantities of saliva by
numerous tiny intrinsic salivary glands located in the inner lining of the mouth.During
chewing, much greater quantities of saliva are secreted by three pairs of extrinsic
salivary glands, namely the parotid glands (located under the skin anterior to each
earlobe), the submandibular glands (located under the base of the tongue), and the
sublingual glands (located in the floor of the mouth). Saliva is a watery fluid
containing several components including lysozyme, an enzyme that kills bacteria, and
salivary amylase, an enzyme that begins the digestion of starch.Once the food has
been chewed into a soft, flexible mass called a bolus, it is swallowed for delivery to
the stomach. On its journey, the bolus passes through the pharynx and then through
the esophagus, a straight muscular tube that descends through the thoracic (chest)
cavity, anterior to the spine. Each bolus of food is propelled through the esophagus by
gravity, and by the process of peristalsis, a wave of muscular contraction that pushes
the bolus downward. The lower end of the esophagus, which passes through a hole in
the diaphragm to meet the stomach within the abdominal cavity, has a lower
esophageal (or gastroesophageal or cardiac) sphincter which briefly relaxes to allow
the bolus of food to enter the stomach.

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Stomach and Intestines
The stomach is a muscular sac that is located in the upper left portion of the
abdominal cavity. The inner lining of the stomach wall contains millions of tiny
gastric glands that secrete gastric juice, which dissolves the food to form a thick liquid
called chyme. Gastric juice contains several substances including hydrochloric acid,
intrinsic factor (which is essential for the intestinal absorption of vitamin B12) and
pepsinogen (an inactive protein- digesting enzyme). The hydrochloric acid has
several functions including destroying ingested bacteria, and converting pepsinogen
into its active form, pepsin, in order to initiate the digestion of protein.

At the lower end of the stomach is the pyloric sphincter, a valve through which chyme
must flow to enter the small intestine. Most meals are gradually emptied into the
small intestine after two to six hours due to peristaltic contractions that travel toward
the lower end of the stomach. Most digestion and absorption occur within the small
intestine. The small intestine consists of three segments named the duodenum,
jejunum and ileum. The duodenum receives chyme from the stomach as well as
pancreatic juice from the pancreas and bile from the liver (and stored in the
gallbladder).

Pancreatic juice contains digestive enzymes capable of digesting proteins,

carbohydrates, and lipids. Bile emulsifies lipids to increase the efficiency of lipid
digestion and absorption. Once digestion has been completed, the digested nutrients
are absorbed into blood vessels and lymphatic vessels within the wall of the small
intestine.

Peristaltic contractions move chyme through the small intestine and into the large
intestine. The large intestine consists of three major segments, the cecum (which
receives chyme from the small intestine), the colon, and the rectum. As peristalsis
moves chyme through the colon, water is absorbed to gradually convert the chyme
into semisolid material called feces. The feces contain indigestible food molecules
(primary cellulose) and intestinal bacteria that live in the colon
(primarily Escherichia coli). Peristalsis delivers the feces into the rectum where they
are stored until they are expelled through the anus by the process of defecation.

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ACCESSORY ORGANS

Each accessory digestive organ aids in the breakdown of food Within the mouth, the
teeth and tongue begin mechanical digestion, whereas the salivary glands begin
chemical digestion. Once food products enter the small intestine, the gallbladder,
liver, and pancreas release secretions—such as bile and enzymes—essential for
digestion to continue. Together, these are called accessory organs because they sprout
from the lining cells of the developing gut (mucosa) and augment its function; indeed,
you could not live without their vital contributions, and many significant diseases
result from their malfunction. Even after development is complete, they maintain a
connection to the gut by way of ducts.

Why is digestion important

When we eat such things as bread, meat, and vegetables, they are not in a form that
the body can use as nourishment. Our food and drink must be changed into smaller
molecules of nutrients before they can be absorbed into the blood and carried to cells
throughout the body. Digestion is the process by which food and drink are broken
down into their smallest parts so that the body can use them to build and nourish cells
and to provide energy.

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Conclusion

Digestion is the process by which the gastrointestinal system retrieves important

nutrients for the body and chemically changes the unused food into waste.
Mastication, or the chewing of food in the mouth, is the first step of digestion. Saliva
initiates digestion and changes the chewed food into a soft mass, or bolus. Saliva
makes the bolus slippery, making it easier to be swallowed and slide down the back of
the throat and esophagus. The bolus passes through the esophageal sphincter before it
enters the stomach. Inside the stomach, hydrochloric acid is released, breaking down
large food molecules into smaller ones and liquefying the bolus. The liquefied bolus,
now called chime, then passes through the pyloric sphincter and enters the duodenum,
the first section of the small intestine. It is here that enzymes released from the
pancreas, liver and gallbladder further breakdown chime into elements that can be
easily absorbed and used by the body. The small intestine is lined with a heavily
folded inner mucosa and small fingerlike projections called villi. The villi enable
digested food to enter the bloodstream. It is here, in the small intestine, where all
nutrients and vitamins are absorbed. Chime can travel through up to 20 feet of small
intestine before it passes through the ileocecal valve to enter the large intestine. Very
little digestion occurs in the large intestine. Undigested chime that enters the large
intestine is considered waste. The waste becomes more and more solid as it passes
through the large intestine because water is continuously being reabsorbed from the
waste. Waste collects in the rectum, or end of the large intestine, until the brain
signals for it to be expelled from the body.

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 References

 https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/Anatomy/your-
digestive-system/Pages/anatomy.aspx
 https://www.omicsonline.org/gastrointestinal-digestive-system.php
 https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/digestive-system.html
 https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/digestive_disorders/dig
estive_system_an_overview_85,P00380/
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3828163/
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25103109
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26306709
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26100928