THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the discussion, students will be able to :
1. Enumeratee and describe the main stages of food processing.
2. Describe the organs involved in food processing in the human
digestive system and their roles.
3. Summarize the mechanisms of digestion, absorption, and
delivery of nutrients into cells;
4. Enumerate the regulation of digestion; and
5. Cite some health problems associated with the digestive
system.
 MAIN STAGES OF FOOD PROCESSING
1. INGESTION
2. DIGESTION
3. ABSORPTION
4. ELUMINATION
 INGESTION
 the act of eating or feeding; this
is coupled with the mechanical
breakdown of food into smaller
pieces allowing for a greater
surface area for chemical
digestion.
 DIGESTION
 breakdown of food into particles,
then into nutrient molecules small
enough to be chemical digestion by
enzymes involves breaking of
chemical bonds through the addition
of water.
 ABSORPTION
passage of digested nutrients
and fluid across the tube wall
and into the body fluids; the
cells take up (absorb) small
molecules such as amino acids
and simple sugars.
 ELIMINATION
expulsion of the
undigested and unabsorbed
materials from the end of
the gut.
Organs involved in Food Processing in
the Human Digestive System
 ORAL CAVITY (MOUTH)
it is where food is initially chewed
into shreds by the teeth, and mixed with
saliva by the tongue. Saliva is secreted
into the mouth by three pairs of
salivary glands located above the upper
jaw and below the lower jaw.
 PHARYNX
the region in the back of the
throat that serves as the entrance
to the esophagus that connects to
the stomach and trachea
(windpipe) that serves as airway
to the lungs.
 ESOPHAGUS
connects the pharynx with the stomach. No
digestion takes place within the esophagus but
the contractions within its muscular wall
propel the food past a sphincter, into the
stomach. The rhythmic waves of contraction of
the smooth muscle wall of the esophagus are
called peristaltic contractions or peristalsis.
The esophagus is about 25 cm (10 in.) long.
 STOMACH
The stomach is a muscular, stretchable sac
located just below the diaphragm. It has three
important functions. First, it mixes and stores
ingested food. Second, it secretes gastric juice
that helps dissolve and degrade the food,
particularly proteins. Third, it regulates the
passage of food into the small intestine.
The churning action of the
stomach together with the potent
acidity of the gastric juice
convert food into a thick, liquid
mixture called chyme.
 SMALL INTESTINE
The small intestine is approximately 6 meters long
and is composed of three regions: the duodenum,
jejunum, and ileum.
It is where most enzymatic hydrolysis of the
macromolecules from food occurs. The complete
digestion of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
occurs in the duodenum, about the first 25 cm. of
the small intestine.
 SMALL INTESTINE

The rest of the small intestine is devoted to
absorbing water and the products of
digestion into the bloodstream.
Absorption of the end products of digestion
takes place in the ileum, the surface area of
which is increased by villi and microvilli.
 The Accessory Digestive Organs
LIVER - secretes bile for emulsifying fats
 GALLBLADDER - stores bile produced by the
liver
PANCREAS - secretes enzymes that break down
all major food molecules; secretes buffers against
HCl from the stomach; secretes the hormone
insulin for control of glucose metabolism.
THE LARGE INTESTINE OR COLON
The large intestine is much shorter than
the small intestine, about 1 meter.
It concentrates and stores undigested
matter by absorbing mineral ions and
water. A small amount of fluid, sodium,
and vitamin K are absorbed through its
walls.
THE LARGE INTESTINE OR COLON
Unlike the small intestine, it does not coil
up and does not have villi and has only
onethirtieth of the absorptive surface area
of the small intestine.
Many bacteria live and thrive within the
large intestine where they help process
undigested material into the final
 THE RECTUM AND ANUS
The rectum is a short extension of the large
intestine and is the final segment of the digestive
tract. It is where the compacted undigested food
from the colon are pushed via peristaltic
contractions.
The anus is the terminal opening of the digestive
system through which feces are expelled.
 Carbohydrate digestion begins
in the mouth but could not continue
in the stomach due to the acidic pH
that destroys the amylase. It
resumes in the small intestine where
the resulting monosaccharides are
absorbed.
 Proteins are digested in the
stomach and small intestine.
Resulting amino acids are absorbed
in the small intestine where they
leave the intestinal cell and enter
the blood through a facilitated
diffusion carrier in the plasma
membranes on the opposite side.
 Fat digestion occurs entirely in the
small intestine. Although fatty acids and
monoglycerides enter epithelial cells
from the intestinal lumen, it is
triglycerides that are released on the
other side of the cell and carried by
blood capillaries to be transported
throughout the body.
 Most water-soluble vitamins are
absorbed by diffusion or active
transport. Fat-soluble vitamins
follow the pathway for fat
absorption.
 HOW NUTRIENTS ARE
DELIVERED INTO CELLS?
Substances pass through the brush border cells
that line the free surface of each villus by
active transport, osmosis, and diffusion across
the lipid bilayer of plasma membranes.
The nutrients then proceed into the internal
environment and pass to the blood which is
collected into the hepatic portal vein leading to
the liver.
 HOW NUTRIENTS ARE
DELIVERED INTO CELLS?
After flowing through the liver, the
blood carrying the nutrients passes
into the hepatic vein which carries
the blood back to the heart to be
distributed to the different body
tissues.
 REGULATION OF DIGESTION
 The digestive system of animals is regulated in
part by other organ systems, especially the nervous
and endocrine systems.
 The nervous system exerts control on the
digestive system in two ways:
1.regulation of muscular and glandular activity by
the local nerves in the alimentarycanal; and
2. long-distance regulation by the brain.
 Some Health Problems associated with
Nutrition and Digestive System
Frequent complaints associated
with the gastro-intestinal tract
include heart burn, ulcers, and
diarrhoea.
The digestive system is one of the largest organ systems
in the human body. It is responsible for processing
ingested food and liquids. The functions of the
digestive system can be summarized as follows:
ingestion (eat food), digestion (breakdown of food),
absorption (extraction of nutrients from the food), and
elimination (removal of waste products). Digestion is
important for breaking down food into nutrients, which
the body uses for energy, growth, and cell repair.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING...