Digestive

System
 Objective
At the end of the lesson, you should be able
• to identify the different metabolic
processes involved in the absorption of
nutrients in various organ systems.
How are nutrients
absorbed inside the
body?
 Learn about it!
• The nutrients that the body needs come from
food.
• These nutrients are absorbed by the body
during digestion.
• Digestion is the process by which food is
broken down into simple, soluble compounds in
the digestive tract.
• It involves mechanical and chemical processes.
 Processes of Digestion
1. Mechanical Process - During the
mechanical process, the food is
broken down into small particles
that are mixed with the digestive
juices. This process starts in the
mouth and continues into the
stomach.
2. Chemical process - During the chemical
process, also known as hydrolysis,
digestive enzyme changes food particles
into soluble forms that can be easily
absorbed.
• For example, enzymes change
carbohydrates into simple sugars, proteins
into amino acids, and fats into fatty acids
and glycerol. The chemical process starts
in the mouth and continues into the small
intestine.
 Absorption
• is the passage of nutrients through the intestinal walls
and into the blood. The primary site of absorption is the
small intestine.
• The villi, which are tiny finger-like projections, trap the nutrients
which are taken in by the adjacent cells.
• The capillaries, tiny blood vessels contained in the
villi, serve as the passageway for the nutrients to
reach the general blood circulation.
• These nutrients are carried by the blood to the liver
and from there, distributed to various organs and
tissues. The body is able to digest and absorb about
90% to 98% nutrients of a mixed diet.
Metabolism
• is a process that converts absorbed nutrients
into energy needed for repair, growth, and
development of organisms.
• All types of metabolism happen at the cellular
level, specifically intracellular or inside the cell.
• When metabolism results in building new
substances, it is called anabolism.
• If the nature of metabolism is destructive, it is
called catabolism.
• Catabolism happens in the mitochondria,
which act as a 'furnace' that burns food
energy. The presence of oxygen is
necessary for the release of energy by
the cells. The process of combining
oxygen to a molecule is called oxidation.
Carbohydrates
• Carbohydrates can be converted to usable
energy through glycolysis.
• Glycolysis is an anaerobic process (does
not require oxygen) that happens in the
cytosol.
• Overall, the complete breakdown of glucose
yields to carbon dioxide, water, and ATP.
Fats
• Fats can be converted into energy through beta-oxidation.
• Triglycerides, the dietary form of fat, are first broken down into
fatty acids and glycerol.
• Fatty acids contain almost all the energy found in triglycerides.
• Their breakdown occurs in the mitochondria.
• The acetyl-CoA enters the Kreb's cycle. The complete
breakdown of fatty acids yields carbon dioxide, water, and ATP.
Proteins
• Proteins are not the major sources of energy.
• However, when there are no carbohydrates and fats available
for energy production, proteins can be the alternative source.
• During the starvation state, the body breaks down protein and
extracts the energy needed by the body from the amino acids.
• To use amino acids as a source of energy, they must undergo
the process of deamination.
• The breakdown of the amino acid yields urea, carbon dioxide,
water, and ATP.
What do you think?

Bodybuilders consume a lot of protein-rich

foods and protein drinks when they attempt
to build muscles. But why do some of them
still gain a lot of fat instead of muscles?
Diseases and Disorders
in the Digestive System
Key Points
• Absorption is the passage of nutrients through the intestinal walls
and into the blood. The primary site of absorption is the small
intestine.
• Absorbed nutrients are carried by the blood to the liver and from
there, distributed to various organs and tissues as needed.
• Metabolism is a process that converts absorbed nutrients into
energy needed for repair, growth, and development of organisms.
• When metabolism results in building new substances, it is called
anabolism.
• If the nature of metabolism is destructive or oxidative and release
heat and energy, it is called catabolism.
• Glycolysis is an anaerobic process that converts glucose into
pyruvates used in the Kreb's cycle to produce energy.
• Beta-oxidation strips up the fatty acids and converts them to
molecules of acetyl-CoA which enters the Kreb's cycle to complete
the extraction of energy from fatty acids.
• Deamination is the process where the amino group (-NH) is stripped
off, leaving the "carbon skeleton" that is converted to pyruvate,
acetyl-CoA, ketone body, or other intermediates of the Kreb's cycle.
• The breakdown of glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids yield
carbon dioxide, water, and ATP.
Respiratory
System
 Objective
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to
describe the general characteristics of the different
respiratory structures that animals use for gas
exchange with the environment.

• Animals have respiratory structures that enable them

to breathe in oxygen that is delivered to their cells.
For instance, mammals have lungs for gas
exchange.
• Have you ever wondered how
other animals such as fish, insects,
frogs, earthworms, and turtles
breathe?
 Learn about
• Gas exchange in animals it!
refers to the exchange
of respiratory gases – uptake of molecular
oxygen and discharge of carbon dioxide. This
process follows the principle of diffusion, the
movement of molecules from an area of high
concentration to one of low concentration.
• Animals have different respiratory structures
used for gas exchange. Important respiratory
structures include the gills, the tracheal system,
the skin, and the lungs.
Gills
• Fish and other aquatic animals have gills that are
used to take in dissolved oxygen in water. When
the oral valve in their mouth opens, it draws the
water into the buccal cavity. The opercular cavity,
where the gills are housed, then closes. When
the oral valve closes, the operculum (gill cover)
opens to move out the water through the gills.
• In the gill filament, the blood in the capillaries flows in a
direction opposite to the water flow.
• This opposite flow allows for countercurrent exchange,
the exchange of materials between two fluids flowing in
opposite directions.
• As a result, the oxygen molecules diffuse from water
(higher concentration) to the blood (lower
concentration).
• This mechanism maximizes gas exchange efficiency
because if both fluids flow in the same direction, the
concentration difference will decrease rapidly.
Tracheal System
• The tracheal system is common in insects.
• This system does not need the direct
participation of the circulatory system to
transport and since the air can diffuse
directly to the cells.
• In every segment of the insect’s abdomen, there are pairs of
openings called spiracles, where air enters and leaves the
body.
• These openings connect to the tubular network called trachea
that eventually branches into tracheoles.
• When the oxygen reaches the tracheoles, it diffuses into the
cytoplasm of a nearby body cell.
• On the other hand, , which is formed as waste product, diffuses
out of the cell and eventually out of the body through the
tracheal system.
• Another part of the tracheal system is the air sac which serves
as an air reservoir.
• Amphibians, earthworms, and Skin
some turtles can breathe
through their skin in a process called cutaneous respiration.
• They respire through their skin when they are submerged in
water or damp areas.
• It is important for them to keep their skin moist to allow
efficient cutaneous respiration.
• To avoid desiccation, their skin secretes mucus through the
mucus glands.
• Cutaneous respiration also occurs through concurrent
exchange, where the direction of the absorbed oxygen is
directly opposite the circulation of the blood in the skin.
Tip
• Though many amphibians can breathe through their skin in
water, note that they also have lungs that they use for
breathing on land.
 Lungs
• The lungs are the primary organs of respiration in mammals.
• During respiration, t
• he air has to go through different organs before reaching the lungs. When air is
inhaled, it passes through a windpipe called trachea.
• The trachea then divides the air into air passages called the bronchial tubes or
bronchi located at the lungs.
• Upon reaching the lungs, the air passes through smaller airways
called the bronchioles with tiny balloon-like air sacs called the alveoli
at their ends.
• Capillaries, a network of tiny blood vessels, surround the alveoli.
These vessels are the sites of gas exchange.
• After the deoxygenated blood in the capillaries absorbs the oxygen
from the alveoli walls, it travels to the heart which in turn, pumps it
throughout the body to provide oxygen to the cells.
• On the other hand, produced by the cells is carried by the blood
back to the lungs where it is removed through exhalation.
What do you think?
• Humans have two lungs, the
primary organs for respiration. Can
humans live with only one lung?
• Gas exchange refers to the KEYuptakePOINTS
of oxygen from the environment and
discharge of carbon dioxide.
• Diffusion is the principle involved in gas exchange. It is the movement
of molecules from an area of high concentration to one of low
concentration.
• Different respiratory structures are found in the different animals.
• Gills are the organs that enable fishes and other aquatic animals to
breathe in oxygen dissolved in water and excrete carbon dioxide.
• Tracheal system is common in insects. This system is composed of the
spiracles, the trachea, the tracheoles, and the air sacs.
• Cutaneous respiration is breathing through the skin. It is common in
amphibians and some turtles.
• Lungs are common in mammals. Capillaries located in the alveoli are
the sites of gas exchange.