Digestive System

• Digestive system – made up of a highly

specialized digestive tubes and several
organs.
• Each organ is adapted to carry out
certain functions.
• It is composed of alimentary canal or
food tube and accessory organs for
digestion.
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 Digestion System
• Functions:
- To break up big pieces of food into
tiny particles;
- To break the tiny particles of food
into molecules that will dissolve in
the body fluids and pass through
the cell walls to be used by the cells.
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 Digestion
• Phases Include
1. Ingestion
2. Movement
3. Mechanical and Chemical Digestion
4. Absorption
5. Assimilation
6. Elimination/Egestion
 Digestion
• Types
– Mechanical (physical) digestion – the physical breaking
apart of food, increasing the surface area of the food.
• Chew
• Tear
• Grind
• Mash
• Mix
– Chemical digestion
• Enzymatic reactions to improve digestion of
– Carbohydrates ,Proteins, Lipids
 DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

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 Digestive System Organization
• Gastrointestinal (Gl) tract
– Tube within a tube
– Direct link/path between organs
– Structures
• Mouth
• Pharynx
• Esophagus
• Stomach
• Small intestine
• Large Intestine
• Rectum
• Anus
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 Mouth
• Teeth mechanically • Epiglottis is a flap-like
break down food into structure at the back of
small pieces. Tongue the throat that closes
mixes food with saliva over the trachea
(contains salivary preventing food from
amylase, which helps entering it.
break down starch).
 Esophagus
• Approximately 10” long
• Functions include:
1. Secrete mucus
2. Moves food from the throat to
the stomach using muscle
movement called peristalsis
3. Peristalsis / Peristaltic
Movement – a series of rhythmic
muscular contraction and
relaxation that moves the food
through the digestive system.
 Stomach
• J-shaped muscular bag that stores the food
you eat, breaks it down into tiny pieces.
• Mixes food with digestive juices that
contain enzymes to break down proteins
and lipids. Enzyme produced from the
stomach is termed as PEPSIN.
• Hydrochloric Acid in the stomach kills
bacteria.
• Food found in the stomach is called chyme.

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 Small Intestine
• Small intestines are roughly 7 meters
long
• Lining of intestine walls has finger-like
projections called villi, to increase surface
area.
• The villi are covered in microvilli which
further increases surface area for
absorption.
• It has 3 sections namely : duodenum,
jejunum and ileum.

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 Small Intestine
• Nutrients from the food pass into the
bloodstream through the small
intestine walls.

• Absorbs:
– 80% ingested water
– Vitamins
– Minerals
– Carbohydrates
– Proteins
– Lipids

• Secretes digestive enzymes

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 Large Intestine
• About 5 feet long
• Accepts what small intestines don’t
absorb
• Rectum (short term storage which
holds feces before it is expelled).
 Large Intestine
• Functions
– Bacterial digestion
• Ferment carbohydrates
• Protein breakdown

– Absorbs more water

– Concentrate wastes
 Accessory Organs
• Not part of the path
of food, but play a
critical role.
• Include: Liver, gall
bladder, and
pancreas
 Liver
• Directly affects digestion by producing
bile
– Bile helps digest fat
• filters out toxins and waste including
drugs and alcohol

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 Gall Bladder
• Stores bile from the
liver, releases it into the
small intestine.
• Fatty diets can cause
gallstones
 Pancreas
• Produces digestive
enzymes to digest fats,
carbohydrates and
proteins
• Regulates blood sugar
by producing insulin
 Fun Facts

• HOW LONG ARE YOUR INTESTINES? At least 25 feet

in an adult. Be glad you're not a full-grown horse -- their
coiled-up intestines are 89 feet long!
• Food drying up and hanging out in the large intestine
can last 18 hours to 2 days!
• In your lifetime, your digestive system may handle
about 50 tons!!
 I. Identify the parts labeled with numbers

10
3

9 4

8
5 Anus

Parotid gland
7
Cecum
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 Test II. Multiple Choice. Choice the LETTER of the
correct answer.
11. Which of the following enzymes
is produced from the mouth?
A.Pepsin
B.Ptyalin
C.Pancreatic lipase
D.Pancreatic amylase

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12. Where does digestion of
starch start?
A.Mouth
B.Stomach
C.Small intestine
D.Large intestine
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13. Which of the types of
salivary glands is situated under
the tongue?
A.Parotid gland
B.Sublingual gland
C.Submandibular gland
D.Submaxillary gland
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14. Which tubular structure
transports food from the
mouth to the stomach?
A.Tongue
B.Esophagus
C.Pharynx
D.Salivary gland
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15. Which of the following structures belongs
to the accessory organs of digestion?
1 – gall bladder 3 – salivary gland
2 – rectum 4 – colon 5 – liver
A.1, 2, 3
B.1, 3, 4
C.1, 2, 4
D.1, 3, 5
E.2, 3, 5
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On a sheet of paper, write the name of
each colored organ:
• Green:
• Red:
• Pink:
• Brown:
• Purple:
• Green:
• Yellow:
Were you able to identify the parts
correctly?
• Green: Esophagus
• Red: Stomach
• Pink: Small Intestine
• Brown: Large Intestine
• Purple: Liver
• Green: Gall Bladder
• Yellow: Pancreas

Great Job!
 References and Links
• Your Digestive System and How It Works
– Digestive system diagram comes from this site
• The Real Deal on the Digestive System
• Pancreas: Introduction and Index
• Your Gross and Cool Body - Digestive System