Chapter 21 – Digestive System

GI tract: mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine

Accessory organs: teeth, tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver gallbladder

Six basic digestive processes

1) ingestion
2) secretion
3) motility
4) digestion
5) absorption – vitamins, ions, cholesterol and water can be absorbed without undergoing
digestion
6) defecation

four layers of digestive system

mucosa – inner lining of GI tract, comprised of epithelium, a lamina propria and a muscularis
mucosae
submucosa – thick layer of connective tissue that provides the GI tract with distensibility and
elasticity
muscularis externa – main muscle layer, upper digestive (before stomach) contains skeletal
muscle which is under voluntary control, lower digestive system (stomach, intestines) contains
smooth muscle, two layers: inner circular and outer longitudinal
serosa – outermost layer, connective tissue and epithelium, forms part of the peritoneum, part
of the mesenteries which bind digestive organs to each other and to the abdominal wall

ENS innervates GI, two plexuses, the myenteric (Auerbach) plexus and the submucosal
(Meissner) plexus

myenteric plexus mostly controls GI motility

submucosal plexus mostly controls GI secretion

GI smooth muscle is autorhythmic and promotes two major patterns of motility