longest segment of the GI tract ( about 2.

5 7 m or 8 18 ft) it is a muscular tube extending from pyloric sphincter to the ileocecal valve. it is the bodys major digestive organ is where most chemical digestion takes place

Fx: for digestion and absorption

1. Duodenum - is the first portion of the small Intestine, and receives the contents of the stomach. 2. Jejunum middle section and where the majority of the absorption of nutrients takes place 3. Ileum distal section - where the majority of the absorption of nutrients takes place

 Absorption

Digestion

The small intestine is where most chemical digestion takes place. Most of the digestive enzymes that act in the small intestine are secreted by the pancreas and enter the small intestine via the pancreatic duct. The enzymes enter the small intestine in response to the hormone cholecystokinin, which is produced in the small intestine in response to the presence of nutrients. The hormone secretin also causes bicarbonate to be released into the small intestine from the pancreas in order to neutralize the potentially harmful acid coming from the stomach.

Microvilli

Villi

Are tiny projections of the plasma membrane of the mucosa cells that give the cell surface a fuzzy appearance, sometimes referred as the BRUSH BORDER
Are fingerlike projections of the mucosa that give it a velvety appearance and feel.

Circular folds

Also called PLICAE CIRCULARES Are deep folds of the mucosa and submucosa layers

The transport of digested end products from the lumen of the GI tract to the blood or lymph. For absorption to occur, the digested foods must first enter the mucosal cells by active or passive transport processes.

The small intestine is the major absorptive site.

CHO
(monosaccharide glucose, galactose, fructose)

CHON
(amino acids)

CAPILLARY BLOOD IN THE VILL

via Hepatic portal vein

LIVER

Fatty Acids

Monoglycerides

LACTEALS OF THE VILL

via Lymph in the thoracic duct

SYSTEMIC CIRCULATION

Nutrients are absorbed at specific locations throughout the small intestine and duodenum CHO, CHON, fats, sodium and chloride area absorbed in jejunum. Vit. B12 and bile salts are absorbed in the ileum. Magnesium, phosphate, and potassium are absorbed throughout the small intestine.

1. Segmentation contraction - produce mixing waves that move more the intestinal contents back and forth in a churning motion 2. Intestinal peristalsis -propels the contents of the small intestine toward the colon

BOTH MOVEMENTS ARE STIMULATED BY THE PRESENCE OF CHYME!