THE PROCESSES OF

ABSORPTION AND
ASSIMILATION OF
DIGESTED FOOD
S8LTIVa-13

Explain ingestion, absorption,

assimilation, and excretion
REVIEW
• The food contains necessary
nutrients needed by the
body for its growth, repair or
replacement of damaged
tissues, and other physical
activities.
Major Food Common Sources Building Blocks
Groups
carbohydrates Rice, bread, Simple sugar
noodles, corn, (glucose,fructose,
wheat galactose
proteins Meat, chicken, Amino acids
egg, tofu, soya,
milk
Fats/ lipids Butter, Fatty acids and
margarine, glycerol
lard
Physical/mechanical digestion
includes processes like chewing or
mastication, cutting, and tearing of
food to make food particles smaller
in size, which makes digestion
easier.
Chemical digestion involves
enzymes which chemically break
down the food into simpler form.
• The main part of the digestive
system is the alimentary canal/
digestive tract which include
the mouth, esophagus, stomach,
small intestine, large intestine,
and anus.
• The alimentary canal is about 30
ft long from mouth to anus.
• There are accessory organs
glands which include the salivary
glands,the pancreas, liver,and the
gallbladder.
• These accessory parts secrete
digestive enzymes or juices
necessary for chemical digestion.
• Digestion process begins in the
mouth. It is the site of ingesting
food. Foods enters the body
through the mouth, with teeth,
tongue, and salivary glands. The
sharp-edged teeth help to tear,
rip, and cut the food while the
flat- surfaced pre- molars grind
and chew the food into smaller
sizes.
• There are 3 pairs of salivary glands in the
mouth: parotid, the sublingual, and the
submandibular salivary glands
• Saliva consist of
1. Water, which moisten and soften the
food
2. Mucus, which binds the food particles
into a slippery bolus that can pass easily to
the esophagus
3. Salivary amylase, which is an enzyme
that specifically digest food rich in starch, a
complex carbohydrate
• After swallowing bolus passes from
the pharynx down to the
esophagus, which is a tube leading
to the stomach.
• Peristaltic muscular contraction in
the pharynx propels the bolus into
esophagus.
• The esophagus is also coated with
slippery mucus, making bolus pass
easily along the tube.
• From esophagus, food moves into
the stomach.
• Stomach is a J-shaped muscular
organ which stores food, it has a
capacity of about one to two liters in
adults.
• It is made up of three layers of
muscular which are very important in
creating grinding motion.
• Both mechanical and chemical
digestion occurs in the stomach.
• The churning or contraction of the
stomach is mechanical, and gastric
juice secretions is chemical digestion.
• The epithelial lining of the stomach
secretes fundamental substances
which aid in the digestion process.
1. Mucous cell, which secrete
alkaline mucus that protects the
lining of the stomach against
acid
2. Parietal cells, which secrete
hydrochloric acid that destroys
ingested bacteria or
microorganisms
• 3. Chief cells, which secrete protein-
digesting enzymes pepsin and
rennin
• 4. G-cells. Which secrete hormone
gastrin, a protein that controls
acid secretion.
• These substances are called gastric
juices, a combination of hydrochloric
acid, mucus, hormones, and
enzymes.
• The small intestine is the longest
part of the alimentary canal which is
about 23 ft long. It is divided into 3
sections.
1. Duodenum, receives all secretions
from the liver via the common bile
duct and pancreas via the pancreatic
duct.
2. jejunum is the middle part and
3. ileum, the longest, most coiled and
very near the large intestine.
• The food chyme is push along by
the peristalsis and the food will
undergo complete digestion in
the small intestine. In the small
intestine, intestinal glands
secretes enzymes for complete
digestion of carbohydrates.
• The mixture of enzymes in the
intestine is called intestinal
juice.
• It is also site of absorption, where
nutrients are absorbed into the
blood vessels of the circulatory
system.
• The lining of the small intestine
have finger like projection called
villi which contain blood vessels
that absorbs nutrients.
• After absorption of nutrients, it
becomes mostly undigested food
and water. It passes through the
large intestine.
• The large intestines is divided into
3 regions, namely: Caecum, Colon
and Rectum
1. Caecum, which is a blind-ended
pouch connected to the
appendix
2. Colon, which is the longest in
the organ, and is divided into:
ascending, transverse and
descending colon
3. Rectum, which is a short
segment that stores feces.
• Salivary gland pour their secretions
called salivary amylase to the
mouth.
• Liver plays important role in the
assimilation of absorbed food
• Assimilation is a process where food
nutrients become part of the body
tissues.
 Absorption of digested food in small
intestine
 In ileum, 2 processes occur :
 Digestion

 Absorption

 Process of digestion is completed in the ileum to produce

 simple sugars
 amino acids
 Glycerol and fatty acids
ABSORPTION AND
ASSIMILATION
ABSORPTION MEANING
ASSIMILATION MEANING
Ingestion

Digestion

Absorption

Assimilation

Egestion/
Absorption of digested food in small
intestine

 Process of absorption (occur in ileum) – to absorb

the products of digestion into the blood capillaries
and to be used by the cells in the body

Finger-like
projection (villi)
 Absorption of digested food in small
intestine
 Products of digestion
= absorbed into body
by small finger-like
projections called
villi (singular :
villus)
Villus
 Structure in the walls of
small intestine
 Villus contains:
 Networks of blood capillaries
 Lymphatic vessel called
lacteal ( center of the villus)
 Villus
 Adaptation of small intestine to aid absorption
 Long and coiled – increase the surface area for absorption
 Lining of the intestine is folded – increase the surface area for
absorption
 Epithelial cells lining the villus is very thin – to facilitated of digested
food.
 Many villi and microvilli to increase the surface area for absorption
 Each villus has network of blood capillaries – to transported digested
food that has been absorbed
 Villus has lacteal to transport glycerol and f.a
 Structure of villus

Via simple
Villus
Diffuse
diffusion
across
through
Blood capillaries Lacteal thin
epithelium
epithelial
of the villus absorb absorb of villus
• Glucose • fatty acids
• amino acid • glycerol
• minerals • vitamins A, D, E and K
• vitamin B and C
Carried by thoracic duct
Carried by hepatic
into blood stream via the
portal vein to liver
left shoulder vein liver
(distributed to body
(distributed to body cell by
cell by circulatory
circulatory system
system
Absorption of Water and Minerals in
Colon
 Large intestine consists of :
 Caecum = part where small intestine joins with large intestine
 Colon = longer part of large intestine
 Rectum = the last part of large intestine
 Intestinal contents (has not been absorbed in ileum) pass
into caecum to colon
Absorption of Water and Minerals in
Colon
 Colon absorb much of the water from indigestible food
residue become more solid as it passes along.
 Colon absorb : 90% water and mineral
Label the villus
Answer
Assimilation
 Process where the products of digestion are
utilized in the body cell to form complex
compounds or structural components.
 Glucose – oxidized in body cells during
respiration to produce energy
 Excess glucose converted to glycogen and
stored in the liver and muscles.
 Assimilation
 Amino acids – synthesise various proteins such as
enzymes, antibody, plasma membrane and protoplasm.
 Excess a.a – broken down in the liver and converted into
urea(urine)
 Lipids(fats droplets) – to build plasma membrane and
cholesterol
 Excesslipid- stored as adipose tissue below skin,
abdomen and around internal organ.
Assimilation

Mineral – calcium- strong

bones and teeth
Iron – synthesize
hemoglobin in RBC
Liver
 Largest gland
 Carries out assimilation and acts as storage organ
 Receives the products of digestion dissolved in the
blood via hepatic portal vein
 Main function of liver:
 Storage nutrient – glycogen, fat, iron
 Processingthe products of digestion- convert
excess glucose to glycogen and vice versa
Liver
 Function
 Detoxcification- toxic substances –alcohol and drugs
into less toxic in body. The product of detoxcification
excreted in urine.
 Breaks down of lipids in storage to provide energy
 Production of bile
 Removal of damaged rbc
 Synthesise vita A and blood clotting substances
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