Digestive system

( by Medical gateway)

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TARGET OF
THE TUTOR
Fresh man students
who aspire to join
Medical scholl

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ONLY BY MEDICAL
GATEWAY
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Functions of the digestive system
– Ingestion: taking in food
– Secretion: water, acid, buffers and
enzymes
– Mixing and propulsion: mix food and
secretions and move materials
– Digestion: break down food into nutrient
molecules
– Absorption: entrance of the nutrient
molecules into the bloodstream
– Defecation: removal of indigestible
remains

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 Organs of digestive system

 The organs of the GIT
– Mouth
– Pharynx
– Esophagus
– Stomach
– Small and large intestine
 The accessory digestive organs
– Teeth
– Tongue
– cheeks
– Salivary glands
– Gallbladder
– Liver
– Pancreas

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Mouth

 also known as the oral or buccal cavity .
 It is formed by
– the cheeks,
– lips,
– hard and soft palates,
– tongue.
 The oral cavity is divided into
– the vestibule
– the mouth proper.
1. The vestibule
– is the area b/n the cheeks and lips externally and the gums and
teeth internally.
2. The mouth proper
– is the space bounded by the teeth.
– The mouth is lined by nonkeratinized stratified squamous
epithelium.
 Oral Cavity
 lined with stratified squamous epithelium,
keratinized or non-keratinized, depending
on the region.
 The keratin layer:
– protects the oral mucosa from damage
during masticatory function
– is best developed on the gingiva (gum) and
hard palate.
– Non-keratinized squamous epithelium covers
the soft palate, lips, cheeks, and the floor of
the mouth
 Salivary Glands
 Is exocrine glands in the mouth
 produce saliva
 With a usual pH of 6.5–6.9, saliva also has an
important buffering function
 There are three pairs of large salivary glands:
– the parotid glands
– The submandibular
– sublingual glands
 minor glands in mucosa and submucosa
throughout the oral cavity which secrete 10% of
the total volume of saliva
 Major salivary gland:
– surrounded by connective tissue capsule.
• The secretion of each gland is either
serous, seromucous, or mucous
– Saliva from the parotids is serous and
watery.
–The submandibular and sublingual
glands produce a seromucous secretion
 Teeth
 normally 32 permanent teeth
 arranged in two bilaterally symmetric arches in
the maxillary and mandibular bones
 Each quadrant has eight teeth: two incisors,
one canine, two premolars, and three
permanent molars.
 Twenty of the permanent teeth are preceded
by deciduous (baby) teeth which are shed
 the others are permanent molars with no
deciduous precursors
 Each tooth has:
– a crown exposed above the gingiva
– a constricted neck at the gum
– one or more roots below the gingiva that hold the
teeth in bony sockets called alveoli, one for each
tooth

The neck
 Enamel
 is the hardest component of the human body
 consists of about 96% mineral, up to 1%
organic material, and 3% water as the
remainder
 organic material including at least two unique
proteins, amelogenin and enamelin
 no collagen.
 containing fluorapatite is more resistant to
acidic dissolution caused by microorganisms,
hence the addition of fluoride to toothpaste and
water supplies
 Pulp
Tooth pulp consists of connective tissue
resembling mesenchyme.
Its main components are the layer of
odontoblasts, many fibroblasts, thin collagen
fibrils, and ground substance
Pulp is a highly innervated and vascularized
tissue.
Some nerve fibers lose their myelin sheaths
and extend into the dentinal tubules.
Pulp fibers are sensitive to pain.
 Tongue
 is a mass of striated muscle covered by a mucous
membrane whose structure varies according to the
region .
 The mucous membrane is smooth on the lower
surface of the tongue.
 The dorsal surface is irregular, covered anteriorly by
a great number of small eminences called papillae.
 The posterior third of the tongue's dorsal surface is
separated from the anterior two thirds by a V-shaped
groove, the terminal sulcus.
 Behind this boundary is the root of the tongue,
whose surface shows the many bulges of the lingual
tonsils and smaller collections of lymphoid nodules
 Esophagus
 is a muscular tube (25cm) whose function is to
transport food from the mouth to the stomach
 lined by non-keratinized stratified squamous
epithelium with stem cells scattered throughout
the basal layer
 In the submucosa are groups of small mucus-
secreting glands, the esophageal glands,
secretions of which facilitate the transport of food
and protect the mucosa.
 In the lamina propria of the region near the
stomach are groups of glands, the esophageal
cardiac glands, which also secrete mucus
 Stomach
–The stomach is a J-shaped pouch and
is the most distensible part of the GIT.
–The functions of the stomach are:
• to store food as it is mechanically
churned with gastric secretions
• to initiate the digestion of proteins
• to carry out limited absorption
• to move food into the small intestine as a
chyme (pasty material)
• Secretion of gastric juice





The Stomach

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 Small Intestine
 At pyloric sphincter mucosa(gastroduodenal
j unc t i o n) c ha ng e f ro m g l a nd ul a r to v i l l o us
arrangement
 Major digestive organ
 In the small intestine, usable food is finally prepared
for its journey into the cells of the body (Absorption)
 Here digestion is completed and virtually all
absorption occurs
 However, this vital function cannot be accomplished
without the aid of secretions from the liver (bile) and
pancreas (digestive enzymes)
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 Small Intestine
 It has the regions;
duodenum, jejeunum
and ileum
 The small intestine is
highly adapted for
nutrient absorption
 Its length
approximately 6m
provides a huge
surface area for
absorption
 The four tunics of the
digestive tract are
modified in the small
intestine by variations
in mucosa and
submucosa
 Small Intestine: Microscopic
Anatomy
 The four tunics of the
digestive tract are
modified in the small
intestine by variations in
mucosa and
submucosa
 The small intestine is
highly adapted for
nutrient absorption
 Its length approximately
6m provides a huge
surface area for
absorption
 Cont’d
 There are three structural modifications which
increase the surface area for absorption
1. Plicae circulares
2. Villi
3. Microvilli
 Structural modifications increase the
intestinal surface area tremendously
the surface area of the small intestine is equal to
200 m2

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 Liver and Gallbladder
 Liver and gallbladder are accessory organs
associated with the small intestine
 Functions of liver
– Detoxification
– Destruction of spent RBCs
– Synthesis of bile
– Synthesis of plasma proteins
– Metabolic activities
 The gallbladder is a storage site for bile

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 Pancreas
 Mixed gland, both exocrine and
endocrine
 It has three parts; the head, body and
tail
 Exocrine portion
– forms the bulk of the gland
– secretes enzyme rich fluid - pancreatic
juice
• break down all categories of foodstuffs
• Endocrine tissue
– Forms Islets of Langerhans
– scattered throughout exocrine tissue 24
 Large Intestine
 Large intestine extends from the ileocecal junction to
the anus & is about 1.5m long.
 On the surface, you can identify bands of longitudinal
muscle fibers called taeniae coli, each about 5 mm wide.
 There are three bands of taeniae coli & they start at the
base of the appendix & extend from the cecum to
rectum.
 Along the sides of the taeniae, you will find tags of
peritoneum filled with fat, called epiploic appendages
(appendices epiploicae).
 The sacculations, called haustra, are characteristic
features of the large intestine, and distinguish it from
the rest of the intestinal tract.
Question
regarding this will

ay
be disscussed

tew
next class!!
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