The Digestive System 19

Chapter 19

Unit 1
Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract 19
• Tube that includes: mouth, Pharynx,
Esophagus, Stomach, Small
intestine, Large intestine
• Accessory organs: teeth, tongue,
salivary glands, liver, gallbladder,
and pancreas

Unit 1
Figure 19.1
 Overview- Operations 19
• Ingestion: eating
• Secretion: release of water, enzymes &
buffers
• Mixing & propulsion: movement along
GI tract
• Digestion: mechanical and chemical
breakdown of foods
• Absorption: getting it into the body

Unit 1
• Defecation: dumping waste products =
defecation
 Wall Layers- Everywhere 19
• 4 layers
• Mucosa- epithelium, connective layer, glands,
muscularis mucosae
• Submucosa- connective tissue, blood vessels,
lymphatic vessels, enteric nervous system
• Muscularis- circular layer, longitudinal layer

Unit 1
In mouth, pharynx & upper esophagus –skeletal muscle
Also in external anal sphincter
• Serosa or Visceral peritoneum
Figure 19.2
Figure 19.3a
Figure 19.3b
 Mouth 19
• Formed by cheeks, hard & soft palate &
tongue
• Soft palate at back includes a “hangy
down” part = uvula
During swallowing uvula prevents entry into
nasal cavity
• Tongue- muscular accessory organ

Unit 1
maneuvers food for chewing
Adjusts shape for speech & swallowing
• Lingual tonsils at base of tongue
 Salivary Glands 19
• 3 pairs of salivary glands
Ducts empty into oral cavity
• Parotid-
inferior & anterior to ears
• Submandibular-
in floor of mouth, medial & inferior to mandible
• Sublingual
Beneath tongue and superior to submandibular

Unit 1
• Saliva contains 99.5% water, salivary
amylase, mucus and other solutes
Dissolves food & starts digestion of starches
Figure 19.4
 Teeth 19
• Accessory organs in bony sockets of
mandible & maxilla
• 3 external regions:
Crown- above gums
Root- 1 or more parts embedded in socket
Neck – between crown and root near gum line
• 3 layers of material

Unit 1
Enamel- covers crown
Dentin- majority of interior of tooth
Pulp cavity - nerve, blood vessel & lymphatics
Figure 19.5
 Digestion in the Mouth 19
• Mechanical breakdown- chewing
• Mixed with saliva by tongue
• Salivary amylase chemically breaks
down polysaccharides (starch)
maltose and larger fragments
Continues in the stomach until acidified

Unit 1
• Rounds up food into a soft bolus for
swallowing
 Pharynx & Esophagus 19
• On swallowing:
• Bolus of food  oropharynx
• Laryngopharynx esophagus
Muscular contractions in pharynx help
• Upper esophageal sphincter (UES)
Skeletal muscle –controls entry to esophagus

Unit 1
• Lower esophageal sphincter (LES)
Smooth muscle- regulates entry to stomach
Figure 19.6a,b
 Swallowing 19
• Voluntary: bolus forced into oropharynx
• Triggers oropharyngeal stage
Involuntary & breathing interrupted
Soft palate move up-close nasopharynx
Epiglottis seals off larynx
Bolus moves into esophagus through UES

Unit 1
• Esophageal stage peristalsis moves it
toward stomach
Figure 19.6c
 Stomach 19
• J- shaped enlargement of tract
• Serves as mixing chamber and holding
reservoir
• Very elastic & muscular
• 4 regions
Cardia- surrounds upper opening
Fundus- superior & to left of cardia

Unit 1
Body – large central portion
Pylorus- lower part leading to pyloric sphincter
& duodenum
Figure 19.7
 Stomach Wall 19
• Mucosa:
Folds called rugae
Epithelium- simple columnar mucous
Form gastric glands lining gastric pits
• Secretory cells: mucous neck cells
Chief cells inactive enzyme pepsinoge
Parietal cells HCl & intrinsic factor
Coll4ectively = gastric juice

Unit 1
• Muscularis- 3 Layers: longitudinal,
circular & oblique
Figure 19.8
Figure 19.9
 Digestion & Absorption 19
• Food entry stretch & rise in pH
Nerve impulses  secretion & mixing waves
Food mixed with juice Chyme
Small amount pushed through pyloric sphincter
= gastric emptying- Carb. foods fastest, lipids
next & proteins slowest
Entry in duodenum feedback inhibition of
stomach activity

Unit 1
• Pepsin digests protein peptides
• Little absorption- water, ions & some
drugs
 Pancreas 19
• Behind stomach-
Produces pancreatic juice in acinar cells
to duodenum via pancreatic duct
• NaHCO3 solution (pH 7.1-8.2)–
1000ml/day
Neutralize stomach acid and dilutes chyme
• Panceas- digestive enzymes
Proteases: chymotrypsinogen, trypsinogen, et. al.

Unit 1
Activated by entreokinase from intestine
Starch digesting- pancreatic amylase
Pancreatic lipase
Nucleotidases – RNAase & DNAase
 Liver & Gall Bladder 19
• Largest organ after the skin
• On right below diaphragm
• Functional unit is lobule-
Hepatocytes around central vein
Open capillaries = sinusoids
• Bile  canaliculi ducts hepatic duct

Unit 1
Gall bladder =Pear-shaped organ on
front (stores bile)
cystic duct common bile duct
 Bile 19
• Bicarbonate, bile salts & waste. – 1000
ml/day
• Important for emulsifying fats
Increases surface area for digestion
• Pigment is bilirubin- from broken-down
heme during RBC recycling
• Digested to strecobilin- brown color

Unit 1
• Bile salts reabsorbed at end of small
intestine- ileum
• recycle to liver in portal circulation
Figure 19.10
Figure 19.11a
Figure 19.11b
 Liver Function 19
• Maintains blood glucose
Stores as glycogen
Uses absorbed sugars & Converts amino
acids glucose
• Lipid metabolism
Produces cholesterol & triglycerides, makes bile
Makes lipoproteins for lipid transport
• Excretion of bilirubin

Unit 1
• Processes drugs and other chemicals
• Store fat soluble vitamins
• Make active vitamin D
 Small Intestine 19
• 3 parts: duodenum, jejunum, ileum
• Where most of the digestion occurs
• Essentially all of the nutrient
absorption
• Ends in ileocecal sphincter

Unit 1
Figure 19.12a
Figure 19.12b
 Wall Structure 19
• Same 4 layers
• Epithelial- simple columnar
Absorptive cells with microvilli
Goblet cells- secrete mucus
• Intestinal glands- intestinal juice &
hormones

Unit 1
Secretin, cholecystokinin (CCK), Glucose-
dependent-insulinotrophic peptide (GIP)
• Lymphatic tissue- defense
 Wall Structure (Cont.) 19
• Duodenal glands- alkaline mucus
Helps neutralize stomach acid
• Circular folds- increase surface area
• Villi- finger like projections of
mucosa

Unit 1
Increase surface area for absorption
Include lacteals for lipid absorption
Figure 19.13
 Motility & Secretions 19
• Secretions: alkaline, some enzymes
Peptidases-breaks small peptides
Disaccharidases attached to wall
Water and salt to balance osmolality
~2000 ml/day
• Segmentation activity- for mixing

Unit 1
• Peristalsis for movement after most
absorption completed- slow waves
 Digestion & Absorption 19
• Chyme enters with partially digested
carbohydrates & proteins
• Bile + pancreatic juice + intestinal
juice completes the job
• Absorption is of monosaccharides;
amino acids; phosphate sugar &

Unit 1
bases of DNA & RNA; fatty acids &
monoglycerides
 Carbohydrate Digestion 19
• Amylases:
Starch & dextrin  maltose
• Disaccharidases at surface:
Maltose: maltose  glucose
Sucrase: sucrose  glucose & fructose

Unit 1
Lactase: lactose glucose & galactose
 Protein & Fat Digestion 19
• Trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase,
carboxypeptidase & pepsin
Proteins small peptides
• Peptidases at surface:
Peptides amino acids & di- & tri- peptides
• Lipase:

Unit 1
glycerides fatty acids & monoglycerides
 Absorption 19
• By diffusion, facilitated diffusion, osmosis
& active transport
• Carbohydrates  monosaccharides
Via portal system to liver
• Proteins (jejunum & ileum) amino acids
Via portal system to liver
• Lipids reformed to triglycerides

Unit 1
Packaged in chlyomicrons with protein
Via lacteals  lymphatics
 Absorption (Cont.) 19
• Water & salt
Primarily osmotic movement along with
other nutrients
• Vitamins:
Fat soluble absorbed with fat
Water soluble with simple diffusion

Unit 1
B12 combines with intrinsic factor &
absorbed by active transport in ileum
Figure 19.14a
Figure 19.14b
 Large Intestine 19
• Cecum, colon, rectum, anal canal
• Ileocecal canal large intestine
Below is cecum with appendix
• Colon- ascending, transverse, descending
& sigmoid
 rectum anal canal
• Standard 4 layers with mucus secretion

Unit 1
Few folds , little specialization for absorption
• Muscularis: circular + bands of
longitudinal muscle
Figure 19.15a
Figure 19.15b
Figure 19.16
 Digestion & Absorption 19
• Slow emptying of ileum
• Slow peristalsis
• Mass peristalsis with food in stomach
Moves from middle of colon  rectum
• Bacterial digestion
Produce some B-vitamins & Vit. K

Unit 1
Produce gases= flatus
Colon absorbs salt & water
 Defecation Reflex 19
• Stretch of rectum wall neural reflex
 contraction of longitudinal muscle
• Combined pressure + parasympathetic
activity relaxing of internal anal
sphincter
• External anal sphincter is voluntary

Unit 1
• Contraction of diaphragm & abdominal
wall muscles aid defecation
 Control 19
• Rule: activate forward and inhibit behind
• three phases: Cephalic, gastric, intestinal
• Cephalic- smell, sight, thought of food
Neural signals stimulates salivary glands &
gastric glands
• Gastric- stretching, pH of stomach

Unit 1
Gastrin activates stomach & LES & relaxes
pyloric sphincter
Neural signals + gastrin signal satiety (fullness)
 Control (Cont.) 19
• Intestinal- responses to food entering
duodenum
neural & endocrine
• CCK stimulated by AA & fats
Pancreatic enzyme release
Gall bladder contraction
Contraction of pyloric sphincter
• Acid stimulates secretin

Unit 1
Stimulates HCO3- ions in pancreatic juice
Inhibits gastrin action in stomach
 Aging 19
• Decreased secretion, motility, strength of
responses
• loss of taste, periodontal disease, hiatal
hernia, gastritis & peptic ulcer disease
• Increased incidence of gall bladder
problems, cirrhosis of liver, pancreatitis,

Unit 1
constipation, hemorrhoids & diverticulitis