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Gross Anatomy Of The Digestive System - Lecture notes,

lecture 2
Digestive System (University of Birmingham)

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BMedSci Year 1: Module: Digestive System

Lecture 2: Gross Anatomy of the Digestive System

Overview

 Digestive System situated within thorax and abdominopelvic cavity

 Head and Neck Region comprises of oral cavity, pharynx, and beginning of oesophagus
 Oesophagus to posterior thoracic cavity
 Largest part of digestive system is the abdominopelvic cavity
 Abdominopelvic cavity lasts 2cm of oesophagus, the stomach, small intestine, large
intestine, rectum and anal canal
 Small intestine consists of duodenum, jejunum and ileum
 Large intestine consists of caecum and colon

Food

 Food is ingested and masticated in oral cavity

 Food is propelled through tubular digestive system where digested, absorbed into profuse
blood supply (at alimentary canal) and unwanted fragments are excreted

Oral Cavity

 Digestion starts at the oral cavity  food is ingested, lubricated, chewed and tasted
 Teeth and temporomandibular joint moved by mastication muscles
 Tongue, cheek, lips and salivary glands supplied by cranial nerves
 Salivary glands secrete fluid to initiate digestion, lubricate food and help bolus formation
 Sublingual gland lies in oral cavity
 Submandibular and parotid salivary glands lie outside oral cavity
 They both empty their secretions into the cavity via ducts
 A discrete bolus is formed by action of tongue against soft palate
 Bolus is swallowed when tongue pushes it backwards
 Reflex movements make sure that bolus enters oesophagus and not respiratory tract
(nasopharynx or larynx)
 There are lymphoid aggregations in the oral cavity – for example, the tonsil and
oropharyngeal isthmus are in the back of the tongue and assist in immunological defence of
oral cavity and pharynx

Oropharynx

 Oropharynx lies behind oral cavity

 Reflex activity elevates oropharynx to receive bolus and fluid from swallowing
 Oropharynx then recoils as the three stacked constrictor muscles propel the food down
toward the oesophagus
 Oesophagus conveys bolus via peristalsis down neck and thorax to stomach (by thoracic
organs)
 Oblique angle of entry of oesophagus to cardiac region of stomach + orientation of
diaphragmatic fibres form a sling around the oesophagus
 This creates a sphincteric mechanism which prevents gastric reflux into the oesophagus
 A hiatus hernia may occur is this system does not work properly

Stomach

 Stomach is distensible sac covered in peritoneum under left diaphragm

 Stomach relates with spleen, pancreas, duodenum, left kidney and blood vessels

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 Lesser sac of peritoneum lies between stomach and its bed – allows distension and mobility
of the stomach
 Gastric fluid contains acid and enzymes  secreted into lumen as bolus enters stomach
 Acid is mixed with incoming food by muscular walls of stomach  produce chime
 Neural controls (vagus nerve) of tone of pyloric sphincters – this opens to allow chime to
enter duodenum which is a short- C-shaped pat of small intestine
 Second part of duodenum receives pancreatic and bile juice – this neutralises acidic chime
and enables further digestions
 Jejunum and Ileum are suspended from posterior abdominal wall by mesentery
(peritoneum) – maintains nervous, vascular and lymphatic supply of tissue

Small and Large Intestine

 Small intestine ends as ileum enters caecum in right iliac fossa

 Appendix vermiformis (vestigial [degenerative] structure in humans) hangs off end of
caecum
 Appendix is cause of pain if inflamed (appendicitis)
 Ascending colon (retroperitoneal) becomes transverse colon at hepatic fixture – this has
mesentery and is mobile at splenic flexure – then at descending coon it is retroperitoneal
again
 Colon is highly absorptive of water and vitamins and produces of microbial fermentation
 Large intestine continues as sigmoid colon – runs into pelvis becoming the rectum  anal
canal
 Smooth muscle of anal canal = internal sphincter of anus – under ANS control
 External anal sphincter (skeletal muscle) under somatic control – learned in childhood so
that excretion at sociably acceptable time

The Liver and Pancreas

 Pancreas secretes alkaline solution of digestive proenzymes

 These aren’t activated until they reach duodenum
 Endocrine Islets of Langerhans secrete insulin and glucagon into blood stream
 Liver lies under right dome of diaphragm and extends across midline – protected by ribs
and costal margins
 Liver is responsible for bile synthesis – bile stored and concentrated in gall bladder and
secreted into duodenum via common bile duct
 Liver receives venous drainage of GI tract (stomach to rectum) and modulaes this blood for
good systemic circulation
 Liver functions are also detoxification, regulation of glucose concentration and protein
synthesis and breakdown

Blood Supply

 3 major branches of abdominal aorta supply stomach and intestines

 Coeliac trunk (below diaphragm) supplies lower oesophagus, stomach, first part of
duodenum, spleen, liver and pancreas
 Superior mesenteric artery supplies second part of duodenum to transverse colon
 Inferior mesenteric artery supplies transverse colon to anal canal
 Venous drainage passes to liver via hepatic portal vein

Enteric Nervous System

 Maintains peristaltic waves and other reflexes

 ANS modulates ENS
 PNS promotes digestion, absorption and peristalsis
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 SNS shuts down sphincters, decreases peristalsis and diverts blood from alimentary
tract to skeletal and cardiac muscle tissue

Notes from Lecture

Mouth Oesophagus

 Lips to isthmus of fauces  25-30cm (The teeth to the stomach is

 Ingestion, fragmentation and 40cm)
moistening for swallowing  It opens up for bolus
 Speech, facial expression, sensory  It is behind the trachea
reception and respiration  If there is hypertrophy of the heart,
this pushes back to oesophagus
Tongue
Stomach
 Very mobile – involves intrinsic and
extrinsic muscles  Fragments completed and digestion is
 Sensitive to touch and taste initiated
 Anterior 2/3 in oral cavity – controlled  The cardia and pylorus are fixed and
by CN 12 the remained is mobile-shape
 Posterior 1/3 in pharynx – where the  The pylroci sphincter controls the
circumvallate papillae are onwards passage
 The folds in the stomach are known as
Salivary Glands rugae which allow the stomach
muscle to stretch
 The parotid gland has serous watery
 The gadtric epithelium are simple,
fluid, goes from the cheek to the
columnar epithelia which has a thick
vestibule and controlled by CN 9
shiny mucous
 The submandibular gland is watery
 Gastric acid also contains bleach
fluid which goes to the duct to the
submandibular papilla, controlled by Small Intestine
CN 7
 The sublingual gland is in the mouth  This is the site of absorption
controlled by CN 7  The large surface area includes the
plachae circulares, villi and microvilli
Palate  It is made up of the duodenum,
jejunum and ileum (suspended on the
 Very hard (top of mouth)
mesentery)
 As you move back to the soft part, this
is important in swallowing Pancreas
 This is stratified squamous epithelia
which is not keratinized  The pancreas pushes out proenzymes
and bicarbonates
Pharynx  Proenzymes  duct  duodenum 
neutralise chime
 12cm long muscular tube
 Bile is usually green which allows lipid
 Is not involved in peristalsis
absorption
 Has constrictors: superior, middle and
inferior Large Intestine
 Also has air coming in
 The epiglottis is a flap covering the  The appendix is attached here
trachea to close of the larynx  There is haustrations (small patches),
 The laryngeal goes up when appendices epiploicae (fat pads for
swallowing energy) and taenae coli (ribbons of
smooth muscle)

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