Digestive System

 I.  Digestion : breaking down of food materials for use by body cells

A.Overview of the digestive process

1.  Ingestion:

2.  Secretion:

3.  Mixing & propulsion:

4.  Digestion:

a.  mechanical digestion

i.  chewing

ii. churning

b.  chemical digestion

5.. Absorption:

6.  Defecation:

B.  Layers of the GI Tract

1.  four layers

a.  mucosa

 made of three layers

a.  epithelium

  

b.  lamina propria

  

c.  muscularis mucosae

 

b.  Submucosa

  

c.  muscularis

 

two layers- inner circular fibers & outer longitudinal fibers

  

d.  serosa

 

visceral peritoneum

 

II.  GI Tract:

    A. Mouth & Associated Structures

            1.  lips and cheeks

               

2.  teeth

dentin

four types of teeth

i.  incisors

ii.  canines

iii.  premolars & molars

                         3.  tongue:

             tastebuds

 papillae

i.  filiform papillae

 

ii.  fungiform papillae

 

4.  salivary glands: secrete saliva

a.  three pairs open into oral cavity

i.  parotid glands

ii.  sublingual glands

iii.  submandibular glands

b.  composition of saliva (pH 6.35-6.85)

i.  99.5% water

ii.  0.5% solutes:

a.   salts

b.  mucin

c.  lysozyme

d.  salivary amylase

                                                             e.  lingual lipase:

c.  functions of saliva

  

5.  physiology of digestion in the mouth

a.  mechanical digestion

bolus

 

b.  chemical digestion

D.  pharynx

               

 

E.  esophagus

 

peristalsis

 

heartburn

  

F.  Stomach

composed of

a.  cardia - 

 b.  fundus

c.  body

d.  pylorus

e.  pyloric sphincter

 rugae

 has 3 layers of muscle (not just 2)

mucosa is composed of simple columnar epithelial cells

a.  cells extend down into the lamina propria to form gastric pits

b.  three kinds of exocrine gland cells in the pits

mucous neck cells

chief (zymogenic) cells - pepsinogen

parietal cells

physiology of digestion and absorption in the stomach

                                        a.  mechanical digestion

                                             chyme

 

                b.  chemical digestion

 protein digestion begins here

  

regulation of gastric secretion - three phases

a.  cephalic phase

 

 

b.  gastric phase

 

 

c.  intestinal phase

 

 

 

G.  accessory structures emptying into small intestine;  three organs (pancreas, liver, gall bladder) important in chemical digestion

1.  pancreas

  

pancreatic juice: water, salts, sodium bicarbonate, several enzymes (trypsin: protein digestion; enzymes used in nucleic acid digestion)

 

 

2.  liver

  

lobule

hepatocytes

 

Bile - contains water, bile salts, bile acids, cholesterol, bile pigments, several ions, and lecithin (a phospholipid)

bilirubin

stercobilin

 

 

 functions of the liver 

i.  carbohydrate metabolism

ii.  lipid metabolism

iii.  protein metabolism

iv.  removal of drugs and hormones

v.  excretion of bilirubin

vi.  synthesis of bile salts

vii.  storage

viii.  phagocytosis

ix.  activation of vitamin D

3.  gall bladder

 

hepatic duct

cystic duct

common bile duct

H.  small intestine

 Important site of absorption

anatomy:

i.   composed of 3 sections

a.  duodenum

b.  jejunum

c. ileum

ii.  circular folds

 

iii.  ileocecal valve

iv.  structure of mucosa :

a.  villi

 

b.  microvilli

  

c.  glands

  

physiology of digestion

a.  mechanical digestion - 2 types

i.  segmentations

 

ii.  migrating motility complexes ( MMCs):

 

b.  chemical digestion:

i.  carbohydrate digestion

  

ii.  protein digestion

 

iii.  lipid digestion

iv.  nucleic acid digestion:

             a.  ribonuclease

b.  deoxyribonuclease

 

physiology of absorption

a.  carbohydrate absorption

 

b.  protein absorption

  

c.  lipid absorption

  

 micelles

  

d.  water absorption

  

I.  large intestine

 1. anatomy

a.  ileocecal valve

 

b.  appendix

 

c.  colon 

i.  ascending

 ii.  transverse

 iii.  descending

 iv.  sigmoid

d.  rectum

 

e.  anus

 

2.  mucosa layer differs from small intestine

 

 3.  muscularis

         haustra

4.  physiology of digestion

a.  mechanical digestion

haustral churning

                           peristalsis

mass peristalsis

 

b.  chemical digestion

 

bacteria

B vitamins and vitamin K

5.  water absorption and feces formation

 

                        6.  defecation