Human DIGESTIVE

SYSTEM
 Main Stages of Food
Processing
1. Ingestion - the act of eating or feeding; this is coupled
with the mechanical breakdown of food into smaller
pieces allowing for a greater surface area for chemical
digestion.
2. Digestion - breakdown of food into particles, then into nutrient
molecules small enough to be chemically digested by enzymes
which involves breaking of chemical bonds through the addition
of water.
3. Absorption - passage of digested nutrients and fluid across
the tube wall and into the body fluids; the cells take up (absorb)
small molecules such as amino acids and simple sugars.
4. Elimination - expulsion of the undigested and unabsorbed
organs involved in food
processing in the human
digestive system
 Oral
Cavity
Oral Cavity – it is
where food is
initially chewed
into shreds by the
teeth, and mixed
with saliva by the
tongue. Saliva is
secreted into the
mouth by three
pairs of salivary
glands located
above the upper
 Pharynx
Pharynx –the region in
the back of the throat
that serves as the
entrance to the
esophagus that connects
to the stomach and
(trachea (windpipe) that
serves as airway to the
lungs.) (To block
breathing as food leaves
the pharynx, a flap-like
valve (the epiglottis)
and the vocal cords close
off the trachea.)
Esophagus
Esophagus – connects the
pharynx with the stomach. No
digestion takes place within the
esophagus but the contractions
within its muscular wall propel the
food past a sphincter, into the
stomach. The rhythmic waves of
contraction of the smooth muscle
wall of the esophagus are called
peristaltic contractions or
peristalsis. The esophagus is
about 25 cm (10 in.) long.
 The Stomach
v The stomach is a muscular, stretchable
sac located just below the diaphragm. It
has three important functions. First, it
mixes and stores ingested food. Second,
it secretes gastric juice that helps
dissolve and degrade the food,
particularly proteins. Third, it regulates
the passage of food into the small
intestine.
v The gastric juice is a combination of HCl
and acid-stable proteases.
v The churning action of the stomach
together with the potent acidity of the
gastric juice convert food into a thick,
liquid mixture called chyme.
 Sphincters are circular muscles
that open and close passages in
the body to regulate the flow of
substances, such as bile, urine,
and feces, through the body. 1
Although many are found in the
gastrointestinal (GI) tract, there
are also sphincters in the urinary
tract and blood vessels
 The
Accessory
Digestive
Organ
1.Liver – secretes bile for
emulsifying fats
2.Gallbladder – stores bile
produced by the liver
3.Pancreas – secretes
enzymes that break down
all major food molecules;
secretes buffers against
HCl from the stomach;
secretes the hormone
insulin for control of
glucose metabolism
 liver
vproduces bile
• •bile stored in
gallbladder until
needed
• •breaks up fats
(act like
detergents to
breakup fats)
Bile contains colors from old red blood
cells collected in liver = iron in RBC rusts
& makes feces brown.
gallbladder
v Pouch structure located
near the liver which
concentrates and stores
bile
v Bile duct a long tube that
carries BILE. The top half
of the common bile duct is
associated with the liver,
while the bottom half of the
common bile duct is
associated with the
pancreas, through which it
passes on its way to the
 bile
v Bile emulsifies lipids
(physically breaks apart
FATS)
v Bile is a bitter, greenish
yellow alkaline fluid,
stored in the gallbladder
between meals and
upon eating is
discharged into the
duodenum where it aids
the process of digestion.
 pancreas
vAn organ which secretes both digestive
enzymes (exocrine) and hormones
(endocrine).
vPancreatic juice digests all major nutrient
types.
vNearly all digestion occurs in the small
intestine & all digestion is completed in the
small intestine.
pancreas
vDigestive enzymes
ü digest proteins
(trypsin,
chymotrypsin
ü digest starch
(amylase)
vBuffers –
neutralizes acid
from stomach
 The Small Intestine
v The small intestine is approximately 6 meters long and is
composed of three regions: the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.
v It is where most enzymatic hydrolysis of the macromolecules from
food occurs. The complete digestion of carbohydrates, fats, and
proteins occurs in the duodenum, about the first 25 cm. of the
small intestine.
v The rest of the small intestine is devoted to absorbing water and
the products of digestion into the bloodstream.
v Absorption of the end products of digestion takes place in the
ileum, the surface area of which is increased by villi and microvilli.
The Large Intestine
The longest part of the large intestine (a tube-like organ
connected to the small intestine at one end and the anus at
the other). The colon removes water and some nutrients and

or Colon electrolytes from partially digested food.

v The large intestine is much shorter than the small intestine, about 1
meter.
v It concentrates and stores undigested matter by absorbing mineral ions
and water. A small amount of fluid, sodium, and vitamin K are absorbed
through its walls.
v Unlike the small intestine, it does not coil up and does not have villi and
has only one thirtieth of the absorptive surface area of the small
intestine.
v Many bacteria live and thrive within the large intestine where they help
process undigested material into the final excretory product, feces.
The Rectum or Anus
v The rectum is a short extension of the large intestine
and is the final segment of the digestive tract. It is
where the compacted undigested food from the colon
are pushed via peristaltic contractions.
v The distention of the rectum triggers expulsion of
feces.
v The anus is the terminal opening of the digestive
system through which feces are expelled.
 MECHANISM OF
ABSORPTION & DIGESTION
vCarbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth but could
not continue in the stomach due to the acidic pH that
destroys the amylase. It resumes in the small
intestine where the resulting monosaccharides are
absorbed.
vProteins are digested in the stomach and small
intestine. Resulting amino acids are absorbed in the
small intestine where they leave the intestinal cell and
enter the blood through a facilitated diffusion carrier in
the plasma membranes on the opposite side.
 MECHANISM OF
ABSORPTION & DIGESTION
vFat digestion occurs entirely in the small intestine.
Although fatty acids and monoglycerides enter
epithelial cells from the intestinal lumen, it is
triglycerides that are released on the other side of the
cell and carried by blood capillaries to be transported
throughout the body.
vMost water-soluble vitamins are absorbed by diffusion
or active transport. Fat-soluble vitamins follow the
pathway for fat absorption.
 HOW ARE NUTRIENTS
DELIVERED INTO THE CELL?
v Substances pass through the brush border cells that line the
free surface of each villus by active transport, osmosis, and
diffusion across the lipid bilayer of plasma membranes.
v The nutrients then proceed into the internal environment and
pass to the blood which is collected into the hepatic portal
vein leading to the liver.
v After flowing through the liver, the blood carrying the
nutrients passes into the hepatic vein which carries the
blood back to the heart to be distributed to the different
body tissues.
 REGULATION OF
DIGESTION
v The digestive system of animals is regulated in part by
other organ systems, especially the nervous and
endocrine systems.
v The nervous system exerts control on the digestive
system in two ways:
ü regulation of muscular and glandular activity by the
local nerves in the alimentary canal; and
ü long-distance regulation by the brain.
v Hormones regulate the rate of digestion.
 Enzyme Produced In Site of Release pH Level
Carbohydrate
Digestion:
Salivary amylase Salivary glands Mouth Neutral
Pancreatic
Pancreas Small intestine Basic
amylase
Maltase Small intestine Small intestine Basic
Protein Digestion:
Pepsin Gastric glands Stomach Acidic
Trypsin Pancreas Small intestine Basic
Peptidases Small intestine Small intestine Basic
Nucleic Acid
Digestion:
Nuclease Pancreas Small intestine Basic
Nucleosidases Pancreas Small intestine Basic
Fat Digestion:
Lipase Pancreas Small intestine Basic
Thank
you!