THE DIGESTIVE

SYSTEM

MJ
INTRODUCTION
• It is the collective name used to describe
• the alimentary canal
• Some accessory organs and
• A variety of processes which take place at different levels in the
canal to prepare food eaten in diet for absorption.
•The alimentary canal / tract
• It is a long tube through which food passes.
• It commences at the mouth and terminates at the anus.
• Its parts are;
• Mouth, Pharyx, Oesophegus, Stomach, Small intestine
• Large intestine , Rectum and Anus
Activities of the digestive system
• The activities in the digestive system are grouped under five main
headings.
• Ingestion – process of taking food into the alimentary tract.
• Propulsion – moving of contents along alimentary tract.
• Digestion – consists of;
• Mechanical breakdown of food by mastication (chewing)
• Chemical digestion of food by enzymes
• Absorption – process by which digested food substances pass
through the walls of some organs of the alimentary canal into the
circulation system.
• Elimination – excretion of food staff that have been eaten but can
not be digested and obsorbed.
Accessory organs of the alimentary tract
• These include
• 3 pairs of salivary glands
• Pancreas.
• Liver and the biliary tract.
Structure of the alimentary canal
• It consists of specialized cells in its epithelium which pour secretions
in the lumen of the tract.
• These cell secrete the following secretions;
• Saliva from the salivary glands
• gastric juice from the gastric glands
• intestinal juice from the intestinal glands
• pancreatic juice from the pancreas
• bile from the liver.
Contd
• The walls of the alimentary tract are formed by four layers of tissue;
• Adventitia or outer layer
• Muscle layer
• Submucosal layer
• Mucosa – inner lining
ADVENTITIA
• In the thorax it consists of loose fibrous tissue
• In the abdomen the organs are covered by serous membrane called
peritoneum
• Peritoneum
• It is the largest serous membrane of the body.
• It has a closed sac containing small amount of serous fluid
Contd
• It is richly supplied with blood and lymph and has a number of
lymph nodes.
• It provides a physical barrier to local spread of infection.
• It can isolate an infective focus such as appendicitis, preventing
involvement of other abdominal structures.
• It has two layers;
• Parietal layer – which lines the abdominal wall.
• Visceral layer – which covers the organs (viscera) within the
abdominal and pelvic cavities.
• Its fold that encloses the stomach extends beyond the greater
curvature, and is called the greater omentum.
Contd
MUSCULAR LAYER
• It consists of two layers of involuntary muscles
• Outer layer of Longitudinal muscle fibres.
• Inner layer of Circular muscle fibres.
• Between its two layers are found;
• Blood vessels
• Lymph vessels
• Plexus of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, called the
myenteric or auerbach’s plexus
Structure of the alimentary canal
Contd
• Its wave of contraction and relaxation is referred to as peristalsis.
• This helps;
• Pushing food onward in the canal.
• Mixing the food with the digestive juices.
Contd
SUBMUCOSA
• This layer consists of loose connective tissue with some elastic fibre.
• It is also supplied with blood vessels, lymph vessels and sympathetic
and parasympathetic nerves.
• It nerve plexus is called submucosal or meissner’s plexus.
Contd
MUCOSA
• It consists of three layers;
• Mucous membrane – the inner most layer.
• Lamina propria – middle layer
• Muscularis mucosa – outer layer
Contd
THE MOUTH (ORAL CAVITY)
• It is divided into two
a)Vestibule
b)Buccal cavity
Vestibule
• The vestibule is the part of the mouth between the gum and the cheek while
the remainder is the buccal cavity also called mouth proper
Contd
Contd
• The mouth is lined with stratified squamous epithelium
• The palate forms the roof of the mouth and where the soft palate curves, it
forms and elongation called the uvula
CONTD…
TEETH
• Each individual has two sets of teeth or dentitions.
• The temporary (deciduous) teeth.
• The permanent teeth.
• Teeth are present at birth in immature form in the mandible and
maxilla.
• There are 20 temporary teeth, 10 in each jaw.
• They erupt when a child is about 6 months.
Contd
• All the 20 teeth are expected to be present when the child is about
24 months.
• Permanent teeth begin to replace deciduous teeth in the 6th year of
age.
• A full set of 32 permanent teeth is usually complete by the 21st year.
Contd
STRUCTURE OF TOOTH
• Despite the shapes of teeth varying, the structure
is the same and consists of;
• The crown
• Part that protrudes from the gum.
• The root
• Part embedded in the bone
• The neck
• The slightly narrowed region where the
crown merges with the root
Contd
BLOOD SUPPLY TO TEETH
• Most arterial blood is by branches of maxillary arteries.
• Venous drainage is by a number of veins emptying in the jugular
veins.
• The nerve supply is by trigeminal nerves (5th cranial nerves)
SALIVARY GLANDS

• They pour their secretions (saliva) into the

mouth.
• There are three pairs of these glands;
• Parotid glands.
• Submandibular glands.
• Sublingual glands.
Parotid Glands
• Are situated one on each side of face just below the external acoustic
meatus.
• Each gland has a parotid duct opening into the mouth at level of
second upper molar tooth.
Submandibular Glands
• Are situated one on each side of the face under the angle of the
mandible.
• There two ducts open on the flow of mouth, one on each side of the
frenulum of the tongue.
Sublingual Glands
• They lie in the mucous membrane of the floor of the mouth.
• They have numerous small ducts that open into floor of the mouth
Contd
Blood Supply To The Glands
• Arterial supply is by various branches of external carotid arteries.
• Venous drainage is into external jugular veins.
• Is by sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves.
COMPOSITION OF SALIVA
• About 1.5 litres of saliva is produced daily.
• It consists of
• Water.
• Mineral salts.
• Enzyme (salivary amylase)
• Mucus.
• Lysozyme
• Immunoglobulins.
• Blood-clotting factors
FUNCTIONS OF SALIVA
• Chemical digestion of polysaccharides.
• Lubrication of food.
• Cleansing and lubricating of the mouth.
• Non-specific defence – lysozymes, immunoglobulins and clotting
factors combat invading microbes.
• Taste - after thorough mixing with saliva
Contd
• Excreation of some substances e.g. urea in severe kidney failure and
sugar in severe diabetes
CONTROL OF SALIVARY SECRETION
• Small amount of saliva is continuosly being secreted, increased
amount occurs at meal times
• Salivary reflex is of two types
a)Unconditional reflex
• when food is placed in the mouth, nerve ending are stimulated
• The message is sent along taste nerves to the controlling salivary centre in
the medulla oblangatta
Contd
• Outing messages are transmitted in the motor nerve to excite or
stimulate secretion of saliva
• This is an in born reflex
Contd
• Conditioned reflex secretion
• This depends on experience
• The sight of food becomes associated with taste of food
• Association pathways are established between visual and taste centres in the
brain
• Simillar conditioned reflex are established by the smell or thought and even
the sound of food preparation
THE TONGUE
• Composed of voluntary muscle.
• Is attached
• by its base to hyoid bone
• by frenulum to floor of the mouth
• Superior surface consists of stratified squamous epithelium with
numerous papillae, many of which contain sensor receptors for sense
of taste in taste buds
CONTD..
Functions of the tongue
Plays an important part in:
• Chewing (mastication)
• Swallowing (deglutition)
• Speech
• Taste - nerve endings of sense of taste are present in papillae and
widely distributed in epithelium of tongue.
TASTE
• Taste buds are of three types as follows
a)Vallate –usually 8 to 12 in number and are arranged in an inverted V
shape towards the base of the tongue. More sensitive to bitter
subsistances
b)Fungiform – situated at the tip and edge of the tongue. More
numerous than vallate and are more sensitive to sweet and salty
subsistances
Contd
c) Filiform – smallest of the three varieties. They are more numerous
on the surface of the anterior two thirds of the tongue. More
sensitive to sour subsistances
- Blood supply to the tongue is by the linngual artery which is a branch
of the external carotid.
- Venous drainage is by lingual vein which joins the internal jugular
- Nerve supply is by the hypoglossal (12th)
Contd
OESOPHAGUS
• It is about 25 cm long and about 2cm in diameter.
• It lies in the median plane in the thorax, anterior
to vertebra and posterior to trachea.
• Is a downward continuation of pharynx.
• It joins the stomach just below the diaphragm.
Oesophagus and Related structures
BLOOD SUPPLY/DRAINAGE TO THE
OESOPHAGUS
Blood supply
• Arterial supply in the thoracic region is by oesophageal arteries,
branches from aorta.
• In the abdominal region arterial supply is by branches from the
phrenic arteries and the left gastric artery.
Venous drainage
• Drainage is by the azygous and hemiazygous veins.
NERVE SUPPLY
• Is by sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves
THE ACT OF SWALLOWING
• When food has been masticated and well mixed, the act of
swallowing takes place. This occurs in three stages.
a)Buccal stage- its under voluntary control, the mouth is closed,
voluntary muscles of the tongue and cheek pushes the bolus
backwards into the pharynx
Contd
b) Pharyngeal stage- food bolus stimulate nerve ending in the mucous
lining causing muscles to contract, grip and squeezes the into the
esophagus.
• The soft palate is raised to prevent food entering the nose and the
laryngeal wall is also raised to safe guard the bronchial passage
Contd
Contd
c) Oesophagus stage- food bolus stimulate the nerve endings in the
mucosa
• Peristaltic wave is initiated which squeezes the bolus towards the
cardiac sphincter
STOMACH
• Its a J shaped muscular organ
• It occupies the epigastric, umbilical and left hypochondriac region of
the abdominal cavity
• It varies in size and shape according to its content and to individuals
ORGANS IN ASSOCIATION WITH
THE STOMACH
• Anteriorly – it associates with the left lobe of
liver and anterior abdominal wall.
• Posteriorly – it associates with abdominal aorta,
pancreas, spleen, left kidney and adrenal gland.
• Superiory – it share borders with, diaphragm,
oesophagus and left lobe of liver.
Contd
• Inferiorly – it associates with transverse colon
and small intestine.
• Left lateral – is the diaphragm and spleen.
• Right lateral – is the liver and duodenum.
STRUCTURE OF STOMACH
• It is joined to the oesophagus at the cardiac
sphincter.
• It is joined to the duodenum at the pyloric
sphincter.
• It has two curvatures:
• The less curvature and
• Greater curvature.
curvature
Contd
• Its wall is made of muscular layer consisting of;
• Longitudinal fibres – outer layer.
• Circular fibres – middle layer.
• Oblique fibres – inner layer.
• Its inner most surface is lined by mucosa.
• The stomach is considered to be different from the other parts of the
alimentary canal because of its muscle layers
Structure of stamach
Contd
• The arrangement of these muscles allow for;
• Churning motions as well as
• Peristaltic movement.
• Its circular muscle is strong in the pyloric antrum and sphincter
• When the stomach is empty, its mucous membrane lining attain
longitudinal folds or rugae.
Contd
Contd
• When the stomach is full, the rugae stretches.
• It has numerous gastric glands situated below the surface in the
mucous membrane which secrete gastric juice into the stomach.
Gastic glands
Blood supply/drainage to stomach
• Arterial supply is by branches of the coeliac artery.
• Venous drainage is into the portal vein.
Nerve supply
NERVE SUPPLY
• Sympathetic mainly from the coeliac plexus.
• Parasympathetic is from the vagus nerve.
Gastric juice
• Is secreted by special secretory glands in the mucosa.
• About 2 litres of gastric juice are secreted on daily basis.
• It consists of;
• Water
Secreted by gastric glands
• Mineral salts
• Mucus secreted by globlet cells in the glands and on the stomach surface.
Contd
• Hydrochloric acid Secreted by parietal
Cells in gastric glands
• Intrinsic factor
• Inactive enzyme precusors: pepsinogens secreted by chief cells in the glands.
Functions of gastric juice
• water further liquefy the food swallowed.
• Hydrolic acid;
• Acidifies the food and stop the action of salivary amylase.
• Kills ingested microbes.
• Provides the acid environment needed for effective digestion by pepsins.
Contd
• Pepsinogens are activated to pepsins by hydrochloric acid.
• Pepsins digest proteins and break them into smaller molecules.
• Pepsins act effectively at pH 1.5 to 3.5
• Intrinsic factor (a protein) is necessary for the absorption of
cyanocobalamin from the ileum.
Contd
• Mucus prevents mechanical injury to the stomach wall by lubricating
the contents by acting as a barrier between stomach wall and
corrosive gastric juice.
SECRETION OF GASTRIC JUICE
• The stomach always has a small quantity of gastric juice present even
when there is no food.
• (this is known as fasting juice)
• Secretion reaches its maximum level about 1 hour after a meal and
declines to the fasting level after about 4 hours.
hours
• Secretion is under two types of control i.e nervous and humoral
control
NERVOUS SECRETION OF GASTRIC
JUICE
• Gastric juice is secreted in three phases;
• Psychic phase.
• Cephalic phase.
• Gastric phase.
Psychic phase
• This flow of juice occurs before food reaches the stomach.
• It’s a conditioned reflex.
• It is due to the reflex stimulation of the vagus nerve initiated by
• Sight of food
• Smell of food
• Taste of food or
• Thought of food
Cephalic phase
• Unconditioned reflex and does not depend on experience
• When food enters the stomach /mouth messages are carried through
the taste buds
• Out going impulse from the medulla through the vegus causes
secretion of gastric juice
Gastric phase
• Unconditioned reflex.
• Food entering the stomach distends the wall of the and triggers
signals along nerve fibbres.
• Outgoing impulse stimulate secretion of juice
Humoral secretion of gastric juice
• This is achieved through the chemical stimulation of the glands and is
divided into two
i.e gastric phase and intestinal phase
a)Gastric phase – production of protein digestion in the stomach
stimulates the pyloric mucosa to secrete the hormones gastrine and
gastrozymin.
contd
• Gastrine stimulate chief cell to produce a juice rich in enzyme pepsin
while gastrozymin stimulates parietal cell to secrete juice rich in HCL
contd
• Intestinal phase- as product of protein digestion begins to enter the
duodenum, they stimulate the mucosa to secrete intestinal gastrine
• This hormone further stimulate secretion gastric juice
• Presece of chyme in the duodenum, stimulate production of
enterogastrone
• This ihibits the glands of the stomach
Contd
FUNCTIONS OF THE STOMACH
• Temporary storage allowing time for the digestive enzymes, pepsins,
to act
• Absorbs water, alcohol and some lipid-soluble drugs to a limit.
• It provides non-specific defense against microbe – provided by
hydrochloric acid in gastric juice.
• It prepares iron for absorption further along the tract.
Contd
• Chemical digestion – pepsins break proteins into polypeptides
• It produces intrinsic factor needed for absorption of cyanocobalamin
in the terminal iluem.
• It regulates the passage of gastric contents into the duodenum.
Contd
• Mechanical breakdown – the three smooth muscle layers enable
stomach to act as a churn, gastric juice is added and contents are
liquefied to chyme.
• Secretion of the hormone gastrin
SMALL INTESTINES
• This are convoluted tubes lying in the abdominal cavity
• It is continuous with the stomach at the pyloric sphincter.
• It leads into the large intestine at the ileocaecal valve.
• It is slightly above 5 metres in length.
Contd
• It lies in the abdominal cavity surrounded by the large intestine.
• it comprises three main sections continuous with each other. These
are
• Duodenum.
• Jejunum.
• Ileum.
Contd
Duodenum
• It is about 25cm long.
• It curves around the head of pancreas.
• Secretions from the gall bladder and the pancreas are released into
it.
• Flow of these secretions into the duodenum is control by the
sphincter of oddi (hepatopancreatic sphincter).
Contd
Jejunum
• It is the middle section of the small intestine.
• It is about 2 metres long.
Ileum
• It is the terminal section of the small intestine.
• It is about 3 metres long.
• It ends at the ileocaecal valve which
• Controls the flow of material from the ileum and
• Prevent regurgitation.
Contd
NB:
• The chemical digestion of food is competed in the small intestine.
• Most of the absorption of nutrients takes place in the small
intestine.
Structure of small intestines
• Its walls are made of the four layers.
• Outer covering
• Muscle layer
• Submucosa
• Mucosa lining
Mucosa
• Its surface area is greatly increased in the intestine by permanent
circular folds called villi and microvilli
• The villi are tiny finger like projections on the inner lining of intestinal lumen.
• The villi are about 0.5 to 1 mm long.
• Unlike the rugae in the stomach, the villi do not stretch out when the
intestine is distended by food.
Contd
Mucosa
• The villi promote mixing of chyme as it passes along.
• The walls of the villi consist of columnar epithelial cell called enterocyte with
tiny microvilli.
• the enterocytes lie the globlet cells the secrete mucus
Intestinal juice ( succus entericus)
entericus
• About 1.5L of intestinal juice is secreted by intestinal glands on daily
basis.
• It consists of;
• Water.
• Mucus.
• Mineral salts
• Enzyme enterokinase
• Its pH is usually between 7.8 and 8.0
Functions of small intestines
• Onward movement of its content by peristalsis.
• Secretion of intestinal juice.
• Completion of chemical digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Contd
• Protection against infection by microbes that have survived the
antimicrobial action of hydrochloric acid in the stomach.
• Secretion of the hormones
• Cholecystokinin (CCK).
• Secretin.
• Absorption of nutrients.
Intestinal secretions
• As acid chyme passes into the intestine, it is mixed with;
• Pancreatic juice.
• Bile.
• Intestinal juice.
• Digestion of all nutrients is complete in the small intestines.
• Carbohydrates - to monosaccharides
• Proteins – to amino acids.
• Fat – to fatty acids and glycerol.
glycerol
Pancreatic juice
• It enters the duodenum at the hepatopancreatic sphincter (sphincter
of oddi).
• It consists of;
• Water
• Mineral salts.
• Enzymes;
• Amylase.
• Lipase.
Function of pancreatic juice
Bile
• It is secreted by the liver.
• About 500 - 1000 ml are secreted on daily basis.
• It is stored in the gall bladder in the liver.
• It drains to the duodenum via the cystic and the common bile duct.
Contd
• It consists of;
• Water.
• Mineral salts.
• Mucus.
• Bile salts.
• Bile pigments, mainly bilirubin.
• Cholesterol.
Functions of Bile
• It emulsifies fats in the small intestines.
• It makes cholesterol and fatty acids soluble for easy absorption in the
intestines.
• It helps in excretion of bilirubin, a waste product of breakdown of the
erythrocytes.
• In the large intestines, bilirubin is converted
• Urobilinogen which is reabsorbed and excreted in urine.
• Stercobilin which is excreted in faeces.
Contd
Contd
• Stercobilin colours and deodorises the faeces.
Digestion and absorption in the small
intestines
• As acid chyme enters the duodenum, it distends the intestinal wall
and cause the mucosa to secrete mucus and intestinal juice which
contains the enzymes enterokinase.
• At same time the mucosa releases into the blood stream the
hormone secretine and cholecystokinin(cck)
Contd
• Secretine acts on the pancrease to secrete pancreatic juice while
CCK causes contraction of the gall bladder to release bile
• Pancreatic juice contains trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen which
are inactive enzymes
Contd
• This converted to active enzymes trypsin and chymotrypsin in the
presence of enterokinase
• The enzymes reduces peptones to peptides and polypeptides
• Bile released contains bile salts which emulsifies fats into small
globules so that lipase acts on a larger surface area
Contd
• Small intestine also secrete digestive enzymes such sucrase, maltase
and lactase which converts diassacharides to monossacharides
• Peptidase reduces polypeptides to amino acids while lipase
completes digestion of fats to fatty acids and glycerol
Absorption of nutrients
• It occur by two main processes
• Difussion.
• Active transport.
• Of all the fluids that enter the alimentary tract,
only about 1500ml is not absorbed by small
intestine, and passes into the large intestine
• Absorption of digested food occurs through the
epithelial surface of the villi
Contd
Contd
• Glucose and amino acids are absorbed in the blood stream through
the capillaries of villi by process of active transport
• Fatty acids and glycerol(chyme) diffuse through the lacteal of the villi
Large intestine
• It is about 1.5 metres long.
• It starts from the caecum and terminates in the anus.
• It is divided into seven parts namely;
• The caecum
• Ascending colon.
• Transverse colon.
Contd
Contd
• Descending colon.
• Sigmoid colon.
• Rectum and
• Anus.
Structure of colon
• It is also made of the four layers of tissue.
• Its arrangement of longitudinal muscle fibres is modified.
• Instead of being continuously smooth, the muscle fibres collect into three
bands called taeniae coli and are situated at regular intervals round the
colon.
• This modification gives it a typical packered/ saccculated appearance
Contd
Contd
Contd
• It has more lymphoid tissue than in any other part of the alimentary
tract, providing non-specific defense against invading microbes.
Large intstines
1. CAECUM – blind end of colon which lies in the Rt iliac fossa
• It joined to the small intestines at the iliocaecal valve
• It is attached with a pourch like tube at its base called the appendix. It about
13cm and contains more lymphoid tissue
Contd
2. ASCENDING COLON- runs up from the caecum on the Rt side to the
surface of the liver where it turns at the Rt coelic flexure to become
transverse colon
3. TRANSVERSE COLON- Runs across the front of the abdomen below
the stomach till it reaches the spleen where it forms Lt coelic
flexure
Contd
4. DESCENDING COLON- runs down on the Left side in the Left iliac
fossa where it forms an S- shaped bend called pelvic or sigmoid
colon
5. RECTUM – the last 15cm of the large intestine. Runs into the pelvis
to join the anal canal. The anal canal is about 4cm long and opens
onto the external skin guarded by anal sphincters muscles
Functions of colon
• Absorption – water, mineral salts, vitamins and some drugs are
absorbed into the blood capillaries.
• Microbial activity – the comensals that colonize the colon synthesize
vitamin K and folic acid
Contd
• Mass movement – strong peristaltic movement that take place at
long intervals, moving the contents to descending colon and sigmoid.
• This is usually precipitated by entry of food into the stomach.
• Defaecation – this occurs as a result of nerve impulses.
Contd
Defaecation
• Peristaltic movement in the transverse colon forces its content into
the descending colon and pelvic colon
• This movement is precipitated by entry of food in the stomach
• The combination of the stimulus and response is called gastro colic
reflex
Contd
• The rectum is normally empty but when the mass movement occurs,
the content is pushed into it
• Nerve endings in the wall are stimulated by stretch
• The external anal sphincter is under the control of the will while
internal sphincter and muscles of the rectum are under involuntary
control
Contd
• Therefore defaecation involves voluntary contraction and relaxation
of external sphincter and abdominal wall muscles with involuntary
contraction and relaxation of internal sphincter and muscle of the
rectum
• Repeated suppression of the reflex may lead to constipation
• In infants and lower animals, the reflex is not under the control of the
will
Constituents of faeces
• Faeces consists of;
• A semi – solid brown mass
• Water about 60 – 70%.
• Fibre.
• Dead and live microbes.
• Epithelial cells from wall of the tract.
• Fatty acids.
• Mucus secreted by epithelial lining of the large intestine.
The pancreas
• It is a pale grey gland.
• It weighs about 60 grams.
• It is about 12 – 15 cm long.
• It is situated in the epigastric and the left hypochondriac regions of
abdominal cavity.
• It consists of head, body and tail.
• Its head lies in the curve of duodenum.
• It is both an exocrine and endocrine gland.
Contd
Contd
Exocrine pancrease
• Secrete pancreatic juice through ducts.
Endocrine pancreas
• Secretes hormones, insulin and glucagon directly into the blood
stream
The liver
• It is the largest gland in the body
• It weighs between 1 – 2.3 kg.
• It is situated largely in the right hypochondriac region, part of the
epigastric and left hypochondriac region.
Contd
Contd
• It has four lobes;
• anteriorly the large ones,
• The right lobe which is the largest.
• The left lobe which is wedge shaped
• Posteriorly the small ones,
• The caudate lobe and
• The quadrate lobe
Contd
Contd
NB: the region on the posterior surface of the liver where various
structures enter and leave the gland is called Portal fissure.
Functions of the liver
• Carbohydrate metabolism – conversion of glucose to glycogen.
• Fat metabolism – desaturation of fat.
• Protein metabolism – deamination of amino acids.
• Breakdown of erythrocytes and defence against microbes – this is
done by phagocytic kupffer cells (hepatic macrophages) in the
sinusoids.
Contd
• Detoxification of drugs and noxious substances eg. Alcohol and toxins
produced by microbes.
• Metabolism of ethanol.
• Inactivation of hormones - eg. Glucagon, insulin, aldesterone, cortisol,
thyroid and sex hormones.
• Synthesis of vitamin A.
Contd
• Production of heat – it is the main heat-producing organ of the body.
• Secretion of bile.
• Storage of substances – eg. Iron, copper, Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E,
K) and some water soluble vitamins (B6, B12, reboflavine, niacin and
folic acid).
Biliary tract
It is formed by;
• Two hepatic ducts (right and left) that join to form hepatic duct.
• The gall bladder which is connected to the hepatic duct by a cystic
duct forming the common bile duct.
Contd
Contd
• The common bile duct extends down wards to join the pancreatic
duct at the ampullar before opening into the duodenum at the
sphincter of oddi.
Functions of the gall bladder
• Stores bile.
• Release of stored bile.
• Concentration of bile by 10 to 15 folds.
QUOTE

“YOUR BRAIN BECOMES A

MIND WHEN IT IS FORTIFIED
WITH KNOWLEDGE”