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Digestive System Notes

The digestive system is a continuous tube from the mouth to the anus, responsible for digesting food, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating waste. Key components include the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus, each with specific functions in the digestion process. Organs such as the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas play crucial roles by producing bile and digestive enzymes to aid in nutrient absorption.

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Abdulrhman Mukhtar
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16 views3 pages

Digestive System Notes

The digestive system is a continuous tube from the mouth to the anus, responsible for digesting food, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating waste. Key components include the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus, each with specific functions in the digestion process. Organs such as the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas play crucial roles by producing bile and digestive enzymes to aid in nutrient absorption.

Uploaded by

Abdulrhman Mukhtar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Digestive System Notes

General Questions
1. What is the digestive system?
- The digestive system is a continuous tube that begins at the mouth and ends at the anus,
known as the alimentary canal or gastrointestinal tract. It measures about 30 feet long in the
average adult and has three functions: digestion of food into nutrients, absorption of nutrients
into the bloodstream, and elimination of solid wastes.

Mouth
2. What are the salivary glands and their functions?
- Three pairs of glands open into the oral cavity, producing saliva: the parotid, sublingual, and
submandibular glands. Sensory organs such as the nose and eyes send messages to the brain,
which in turn sends signals to the salivary glands to secrete chemicals that begin the digestive
process.

3. What is the structure and function of the tongue?


- The tongue is a muscle covered with a mucous membrane, consisting of the root, tip, and
central body. It is covered with taste buds and raised elevations called papillae, which taste
sweet, sour, salt, bitter, and umami (savory).

4. What are the functions of teeth in digestion?


- Teeth are used for chewing food (mastication), breaking it apart, and mixing it with saliva to
form a bolus, which is ready to be swallowed. Muscular constrictions move the bolus through the
pharynx and into the esophagus, preventing food from entering the airway.

Esophagus
5. How is food transported through the esophagus?
- Food is moved down the esophagus toward the stomach by wavelike muscular contractions
called peristalsis. The lower esophageal sphincter at the opening of the stomach permits the
passage of food and prevents the backup of stomach contents.

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Stomach
6. What is the structure and function of the stomach?
- The stomach is a muscular, expandable organ with an upper portion called the fundus and a
lower portion called the antrum. It uses hydrochloric acid and other gastric juices to convert food
into a semiliquid state called chyme, which then passes through the pyloric sphincter valve into
the small intestine.

Small Intestine
7. What are the sections of the small intestine?
- The small intestine is about 21 feet long and 1 inch in diameter, extending from the pyloric
sphincter valve to the large intestine. It consists of the duodenum (the foot-long section beyond
the stomach), the jejunum (the next 8 feet), and the ileum (the remaining 12 feet).

8. What is the role of the liver in digestion?


- The liver produces bile, which drains into the duodenum and is stored in the gallbladder. Bile
helps digest fats and the liver also stores iron and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.

9. What is the function of the gallbladder?


- The gallbladder stores bile, making it more concentrated and potent. When chyme containing
fat leaves the stomach, the gallbladder contracts and discharges bile through the cystic duct and
common bile duct into the duodenum.

10. What is the role of the pancreas in digestion?


- The pancreas secretes pancreatic juice into the duodenum via the pancreatic duct, which
merges with the common bile duct. This juice contains digestive enzymes and bicarbonate ions,
essential for digestion.

11. What are the functions of the jejunum and ileum?


- The jejunum and ileum are lined with villi, which slow the passage of food, allowing food
particles to be captured and nutrients to be absorbed into the blood. Villus capillaries collect
amino acids and glucose, while villus lacteals collect absorbed fatty acids.

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Large Intestine
12. What is the function of the large intestine?
- The large intestine absorbs remaining water and nutrients from indigestible food matter,
stores unusable food matter (wastes), and eliminates the wastes from the body. It is subdivided
into the cecum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, and sigmoid colon sections.

Rectum and Anus


13. What are the functions of the rectum and anus?
- The rectum stores feces until they leave the digestive system through the anus as a bowel
movement. As the rectal walls expand with waste material, receptors from the nervous system
stimulate the desire to defecate. Defecation involves consciously relaxing the external anal
sphincter muscle to expel waste through the anus.

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