• Alimentary Canal

◦ Continuous, muscular digestive tube winding

throughout the body
◦ Digests and absorbs food particles
◦ Contains the following organs:
●Mouth, Pharynx, Esophagus, Stomach, Small and Large
Intestines
• Accessory Digestive Organs
◦ Contains the following organs:
●Teeth, Tongue, Gallbladder, Salivary Glands, Liver, and
Pancreas
• Ingestion

• Digestion

• Absorption

• Elimination
Peritoneum
Peritoneum is the serous membrane lining the
abdominopelvic cavity

Visceral peritoneum covers the external surfaces of

most digestive organs and is continuous with the
parietal peritoneum that lines the body wall

Between the two peritoneums is the peritoneal cavity

Mesentery is a double layer peritoneum; provides
routes for BV, lymphatics, nerves

Alimentary canal organs are classified as

Retroperitoneal - no mesentery and organs lies
posterior to the peritoneum (SADPUCKER)
Intraperitoneal - mesentery and organs lies within
the peritoneal cavity
• Ingestion
• Propulsion
• Mechanical
digestion
• Chemical digestion
• Absorption
• Defecation
• Splanchnic Circulation
◦ Includes all arteries branching off the abdominal
aorta and the hepatic portal circulation
◦ Arterial supply:
●Celiac Trunk (hepatic, splenic, and left gastric)
●Mesenteric Arteries: sup. and inf.
◦ Receives ¼ of the blood volume (CO); increases after
a meal
• Buccal/oral cavity
• Contains stratified squamous epithelium
• Vestibule: area bounded by lips and cheeks
externally and teeth and gums internally
• Lips: posses no sweat or oil glands
• Palate: forms roof of the mouth, soft and hard
palate, uvula
• Helps grind food into a bolus which contains
partially digested food and saliva
• Helps form words and is a sensory organ for
taste
• Three surface features:
◦ Filiform papillae (roughness and grip)
◦ Fungiform papillae (contains taste buds)
◦ Circumvallate papillae (contains taste buds)
• Main functions:
◦ Produces and secretes saliva
◦ Cleanses the mouth
◦ Dissolves food chemicals so they can be tasted
◦ Moistens food, compacting it into a bolus
◦ Begins the chemical breakdown of food
●Salivary amylase: starch
• Submandibular Glands
◦ Found underneath the mandible
• Sublingual Glands
◦ Found underneath the tongue
• Parotid Glands
◦ Found anterior to the ear between masseter and
skin
• Saliva travels to oral orifice via ducts from all
three glands
• Composition of Saliva: 97-99.5% water
• pH 6.75-7.0
• Sodium, potassium, chloride, phosphate, and
bicarbonate
• Mucin
• Salivary amylase
• Break food into smaller parts, increasing
surface area for digestion
• Types of Teeth
◦ Deciduous Teeth (“baby” teeth)
◦ Permanent Teeth
●Incisors- cutting and shredding
●Canines- piercing and tearing
●Molars- grinding
●Premolars- grinding and crushing
• Crown: exposed
portion of tooth
covered by enamel
which covers dentin
• Root: internal portion
that is beneath the
gums (gingiva) and is
anchored by
periodontal ligaments
• Deglutition = swallowing
• Oropharynx and Laryngopharynx are common
passageways for food and air
• Pharynx contains stratified squamous epithelium
(friction-resistant)
• Muscular tube that propels food to stomach;
bolus enters stomach through esophageal
hiatus
• Skeletal muscle (upper third for swallowing)
and smooth muscle (lower third) for peristalsis
• Esophageal glands – produce mucus to
lubricate bolus
• Esophageal sphincter – prevents backflow into
oral cavity
• Cardiac sphincter- prevents backflow into
esophagus
• Mouth processes:
◦ Ingestion
◦ Mechanical digestion (e.g. salivary amylase)
◦ Initiation of Propulsion
◦ Mastication: chewing
• Pharyngeal processes:
◦ Deglutition = swallowing
●Voluntary Buccal phase
●Involuntary Pharyngeal-Esophageal Phase
• Esophageal processes:
◦ Peristalsis (rhythmic contractions, involuntary)
• Temporary storage area for food and allows it
to mix with gastric juice to produce chyme
• Regions: cardiac, fundus, body, and pyloric
• Greater and Lesser Curvatures: connected to
greater and lesser omentums
• Rugae folds: longitudinal folds in stomach
wall
- mucous b/w folds
• Muscle layers arranged circularly,
longitudinally, AND obliquely (aids in
digestion)
• Simple columnar epithelium – contains gastric pits
that secrete gastric juices
• Goblet cells – secrete mucus that coats stomach and
prevents it from being digested itself
• Parietal cells – secrete hydrochloric acid (converts
pepsinogen into pepsin) and intrinsic factor
(necessary for absorption of vitamin B12)
• Chief cells – secrete pepsinogen which is converted
to pepsin to aid in protein digestion
• Enteroendocrine cells – release hormones such as:
◦ Histamine, Serotonin, Gastrin, Endorphins, and
Somatostatin
• Histamine
- activates parietal cells to release HCl
• Serotonin
- contraction of stomach muscle
• Gastrin
- gastric glands to increase secretion
• Endorphins
- natural opiates
• Somatostatin
- sympathetic n.s.
- inhibits gastric secretion
- inhibits gastric emptying
• Gastric Secretion
◦ Cephalic Phase
●Stimulated by the thought, sight, taste, or aroma or food
●Inputs from olfactory receptors and taste buds travel to
parasympathetic enteric ganglia which then stimulate
stomach glands
◦ Gastric Phase
●Stomach distension activates stretch receptors
●Food chemicals (e.g. peptides, rising pH) activate
chemoreceptors which activate G cells which secrete
gastrin
◦ Intestinal Phase
●Presence of low pH and partially digested foods in
duodenum stimulates intestinal gastrin secretion
• Peristaltic waves approach stomach and become
stronger near pyloric region
• Pyloric sphincter allows ~ 3 mL of chyme to pass to
duodenum and the rest to return to stomach for
further mixing
• Receives chyme from stomach; performs
majority of digestion and absorption of
nutrients
• Regions:
◦ Duodenum (upper region receiving chyme from
stomach and digestive enzymes from pancreas and
bile from liver and gallbladder)
◦ Jejunum/Ileum (lower regions where absorption
occurs)
◦ Plicae circulares (permanent folds in mucosa and
submucosa that slow movement of chyme)
• Villi: fingerlike projections that increase the
surface area of the SI
• Microvilli: tiny projections on the plasma
membranes of columnar cells that appear
fuzzy (i.e. brush border cells)
• Crypts of Lieberkuhn: secrete intestinal juice
and special lysozymes that protect against
bacteria
• Peyer’s Patches: aggregated lymphoid
tissues containing lymphocytes
• Secretin: released by enteroendocrine cells when
acidic chyme enters SI; causes release of
bicarbonate-rich pancreatic juices
• Somatostatin: slows gastric motility and emptying
and inhibits production of gastric secretions
• Cholecystokinin (CCK): released when fatty,
protein-rich chyme enters SI; causes release of
enzyme-rich pancreatic juices and bile
• Brush border enzymes: process long peptides,
nucleic acids, and sugars into smaller ones
• Largest internal organ
• Functions:
◦ Filters and processes nutrient-rich blood of
carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids from intestine
◦ Production and regulation of cholesterol
◦ Production of bile which emulsifies fats
◦ Removes drugs and hormones from circulation
◦ Storage of vitamins and minerals
• Right and Left Lobes: separated by falciform
ligament
• Caudate and Quadrate Lobes: found on
posterior side
• Blood vessels:
◦ Hepatic artery/vein and hepatic portal vein
• Gallbladder: found underneath right lobe,
stores bile
• Liver Lobules: structural unit of liver
• Hepatocytes: liver cells contained within the lobules
• Hepatic portal vein & Hepatic Artery: the circulation
of the liver, they bring blood into the liver where it is
filtered through the liver sinusoidal capillaries
• Kupffer cells: remove debris
• Filtered blood drains into the central vein, then to the
hepatic vein, and eventually to the inferior vena cava
• Bile (produced by hepatocytes) drains into the bile
duct after passing through portal triad
• Bile then shipped to gallbladder for storage
Blood supply
- receives fresh O2 blood from hepatic artery
(off of aorta)
- receives deoxygenated blood with nutrients
(from small intestine)
- hepatic portal vein
- From liver- hepatic vein- inferior vena cava
Hepatic portal vein, hepatic artery and bile
ducts make up the portal triad.
• Bile ducts are present at every portal triad
• Bile flows down bile canaliculi (tiny canals)
between adjacent hepatocytes towards bile
duct branches at every portal triad
• Bile enters the bile ducts which drain into the
common hepatic duct
• Bile emulsifies fats, separating them into
smaller parts
• Bilirubin: the chief bile pigment, a waste
product of the heme of hemoglobin formed
during the breakdown of worn-out
erythrocytes
• Bile exits cystic duct
upon stimulation
• CCK released when
acidic, fatty chyme
enters intestines
• Causes:
◦ Gallbladder Contraction
◦ Pancreatic Juice Secretion
◦ Relaxation of
hepatopancreatic sphincter
• Pancreatic Juice secreted by acinar cells
• Islets of Langerhans release insulin and
glucagon (important in glucose metabolism)
• Pancreatic Juice contains:
◦ Sodium Bicarbonate (buffers HCl in stomach)
◦ Proteases (break down polypeptides)
◦ Pancreatic amylase (digests oligosaccarides and
disaccharides into monosaccharides)
◦ Pancreatic lipases (break down lipids into fatty
acids and glycerol)
◦ Pancreatic nucleases (break down nucleic acids)
• Functions:
◦ Reabsorption of remaining water and electrolytes
◦ Production and absorption of Vitamins B and K
◦ Elimination of feces
• Diameter is only 7 cm but is larger than that
of the small intestine
• Teniae Coli: bands of smooth muscle that create
pocket-like sacs (haustra)
• Cecum: sac-like connection between the small and
large intestines
• Appendix: small structure containing lymphoid
tissue; small immune function
• Ascending, Descending, Transverse, and Sigmoid
Colon
• Splenic and hepatic flexure
• Rectum: storage area
• Anus: regulates defecation with two sphincter
muscles; internal and external
• Simple columnar epithelium for absorption
except in the anal canal where there is
stratified squamous
• No villi, no digestive-secreting cells
• Goblet cells produce mucus for lubrication
of feces
• Bacterial flora synthesize vitamin B and most
of the vitamin K needed for blood clotting
• gastric and duodenal,
caused by Helicobacter
pylori, HCl
hypersecretion
• scarred liver due to
chronic inflammation
• gall stones
• crystals of cholesterol
in bile
• rumbling noise caused
by gas through
intestines
• inflammation of gall
bladder
• Form in the tooth
surface usually in the
pit and grooves of the
molars teeth.
• Produced by bacteria
because of
carbohydrate residues
of food
• Fungal infection of the
mouth tissues
• Caused by Candida
albicans.
• difficulty in swallowing
• Inflammation of the
pancreas, caused by
alcohol abuse, infection
disease or drugs.
• Can be chronic or
acute.
• Cancer of the large
intestines and rectum.
• Second most cancer in
the United States