Nutrition: liver, stomach,

Key words
bile vein
and pancreas
chyme insulin
enzyme liver
gut
Liver, stomach, and pancreas
hepatic portal
esophagus section of
stomach wall
liver
Liver
● The liver is a complex organ that stomach
carries out a range of metabolic gall bladder
functions, not all of them concerning bile duct
digestion. Blood from the gut drains
pancreatic
into the liver through the hepatic duct
pyloric
portal vein, and all digested food sphincter
pancreas
chemicals pass through the liver for
duodenum
sorting before they pass on to the rest section of pancreas
of the body.
● The liver also produces bile, which is Section of stomach wall gastric gland opening of gastric gland
an alkaline solution that helps with the
digestion of fat. It is stored in the gall
bladder and expelled into the
duodenum when fatty food is present.
mucosa

Stomach
● The stomach is a large muscular sac
that acts as a storage vessel for food, submucosa
passing it out through the pyloric oblique muscle
sphincter to the duodenum. The circular muscle
muscles contract and relax to mix the longitudinal muscle
food and stomach secretions into a smooth muscle
slurry called chyme. layers
● It also starts protein digestion using an
enzyme called pepsin. The stomach gastric gland thin muscle layer
contents are strongly acidic, which
helps pepsin to work and kills bacteria Section of pancreas Gastric gland
in the food.
● The stomach protects its wall from the
acid and enzymes by secreting a layer
mucus-secreting
of mucus that covers the inner surface. cells

Pancreas
● The pancreas produces a package of
digestive enzymes. These pass to the oxyntic cells
gut in pancreatic juices along the (secrete
pancreatic duct. hydrochloric
acid)
● Cells in the pancreas called islets of
Langerhans also produce the hormone
insulin, which regulates the level of branch of
© Diagram Visual Information Ltd.

sugar in the blood. pancreatic duct chief zymogen cells

(secrete pepsin)
blood capillary

islet of Langerhans
(secretes insulin)

zymogen cell (secretes

pancreatic enzymes)