6.

1 : Digestion and Absorption

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There are two major groups of organs which comprise the human digestive system:
• The alimentary canal consists of organs through which food actually passes
(oesophagus, stomach, small & large intestine)
• The accessory organs aid in digestion but do not actually transfer food (salivary
glands, pancreas, liver, gall bladder)

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Key Features:
• Stomach should look like a ‘J’-shaped bag and be connected to the oesophagus and
small intestine
• Liver should look like a right-angled triangle and be superimposed to the left of the
stomach (right side of the human)
• Bile duct (connected to gall bladder) and pancreatic duct should both feed into a U-
shaped bend of the small intestine
• 4/9/2019 Maryamthan
Small intestine should be thinner in width Asgharthe large intestine 6
 Use the video to learn how to draw the digestive system

https://youtu.be/Nm-pT7fk6gs

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 Mechanical Digestion

• Mechanical digestion - food is physically broken down into smaller fragments via
the acts of chewing (mouth), churning (stomach) and segmentation (small
intestine)
Chewing (Mouth)
• Food is initially broken down in the mouth by the grinding action of teeth (chewing
or mastication)
• The tongue pushes the food towards the back of the throat, where it travels down
the esophagus as a bolus
• The epiglottis prevents the bolus from entering the trachea, while the uvula
prevents the bolus from entering the nasal cavity
Churning (Stomach)
• The stomach lining contains muscles which physically squeeze and mix the food
with strong digestive juices ('churning’)
• Food is digested within the stomach for several hours and is turned into a creamy
paste called chyme
• Eventually the chyme enters the small intestine (duodenum) where absorption will
occur

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Peristalsis
• Peristalsis is the principal mechanism of
movement in the oesophagus, although it also
occurs in both the stomach and gut
• Continuous segments
of longitudinal smooth muscle
rhythmically contract and relax 1. Contraction of
• Food is moved unidirectionally longitudinal
along the alimentary canal in a muscle expand
caudal direction (mouth to anus) the lumen in
front of the
In the small intestine peristalsis food giving it
also mixes food with enzymes and space to move
forces the products of digesiton into.
into contact with the wall of the
intestine 2. Contraction of
circular muscles
Therefore in the intestines the behind the food
food is moved very slowly to allow propels it
time for digestion. forwards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwiGXtNnh1E
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 Chemical Digestion

Chemical digestion - food is broken down by the action of chemical agents

Stomach Acids
• The stomach contains gastric glands which release digestive acids to create a low pH
environment (pH ~2)
• The acidic environment functions to denature proteins and other macromolecules, aiding in
their overall digestion
• The stomach epithelium contains a mucous membrane which prevents the acids from
damaging the gastric lining
• The pancreas releases alkaline compounds (e.g. bicarbonate ions), which neutralise the acids
as they enter the intestine
Bile
• The liver produces a fluid called bile which is stored and concentrated within the gall bladder
prior to release into the intestine
• Bile contains bile salts which interact with fat globules and divide them into smaller droplets
(emulsification)
• The emulsification of fats increases the total surface area available for enzyme activity
(lipase)

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Human Digestive Enzymes
Remember: enzymes are specific to their substrates and
each enzyme has its own optimum pH.
Three main types of enzymes in human digestion:
Amylases break down carbohydrates
Example: salivary amylase
Substrate: starch Product: maltose
Source: mouth (salivary glands)
Optimum pH: 7-7.8

Proteases break down polypeptides

Example: pepsin
Substrate: polypeptides Product: amino acids
Source: stomach
Optimum pH: 2
Lipases break down fats and lipids
Example: pancreatic lipase
Substrate: triglycerides Product: fatty acids & glycerol
Source: pancreas, delivered into small intestine
Optimum pH: 7.2 - 7.5
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The pancreas synthesises the three main types of digestive enzyme:
• amylase to digest carbohydrates, e.g.
starch
• lipases to digest lipids, e.g. triglycerides
• proteases to digest polypeptides
Pancreatic juice containing the
enzymes is released into the
upper region of the small
intestine (duodenum) via the
pancreatic duct

The small intestine is where the

final stages of digestion occur.

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Carbohydrates
• Carbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth with the release of amylase from the
salivary glands (amylase = starch digestion)
• Amylase is also secreted by the pancreas in order to continue carbohydrate digestion
within the small intestine
• Enzymes for disaccharide hydrolysis are often immobilised on the epithelial lining of
the small intestine, near channel proteins
• Humans do not possess an enzyme capable of digesting cellulose (cellulase) and
hence it passes through the body undigested
Proteins
• Protein digestion begins in the stomach with the release of proteases that function
optimally in an acidic pH (e.g. pepsin = pH 2)
• Smaller polypeptide chains enter the small intestine where they are broken down
by endopeptidases released by the pancreas
• These endopeptidases work optimally in neutral environments (pH ~ 7) as the
pancreas neutralises the acids in the intestine
Lipids
• Lipid breakdown occurs in the intestines, beginning with emulsification of fat
globules by bile released from the gall bladder
• The smaller fat droplets are then digested by lipases released from the pancreas
Nucleic Acids
• The pancreas also releases nucleases which digest nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) into
smaller nucleosides

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 Structure of small intestine

The small intestine is composed of four main tissue layers, which are (from
outside to centre):
• Serosa – a protective outer covering composed of a layer of cells
reinforced by fibrous connective tissue
• Muscle layer – outer layer of longitudinal muscle (peristalsis) and inner
layer of circular muscle (segmentation)
• Submucosa – composed of connective tissue separating the muscle layer
from the innermost mucosa
• Mucosa – a highly folded inner layer which absorbs material through its
surface epithelium from the intestinal lumen

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 cross-section of the ileum – the final section of the small intestine

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 Villi

• The inner epithelial lining of the intestine is highly folded into finger-like
projections called villi (singular: villus)
Features of Villi
• Intestinal villi contain several key features which facilitate the absorption of
digestive products (monomers, ions and vitamins)

• Microvilli – Ruffling of epithelial membrane further increases surface area

• Rich blood supply – Dense capillary network rapidly transports absorbed products
• Single layer epithelium – Minimises diffusion distance between lumen and blood
• Lacteals – Absorbs lipids from the intestine into the lymphatic system
• Intestinal glands – Exocrine pits (crypts of Lieberkuhn) release digestive juices
• Membrane proteins – Facilitates transport of digested materials into epithelial
cells

Mnemonic: MR SLIM
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Adaptations to Absorption
Many villi protrude into the lumen, greatly
increasing the surface area for absorption.
Getting digested food molecules into the
blood from the lumen of the ileum.
Single-cell layer of epithelial cells
Short path for diffusion.

Microvilli on the surface of

each cell increase surface
area even further.

Lacteals (lymph vessels)

Allow for rapid absorption and transport of lipids.
Capillaries close to epithelium
Short path for diffusion, rich supply of blood.
Rich blood supply
Maintains concentration gradients between
lumen and blood.
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Structure of Villus Epithelium
The epithelial lining of villi contains several structural features which optimise its capacity to absorb
digested materials:
Tight Junctions
• Occluding associations between the plasma membrane of two adjacent cells, creating an
impermeable barrier
• They keep digestive fluids separated from tissues and maintain a concentration gradient by
ensuring one-way movement
Microvilli
• Microvilli borders significantly increase surface area of the plasma membrane (>100×), allowing
for more absorption to occur
• The membrane will be embedded with immobilised digestive enzymes and channel proteins to
assist in material uptake
Mitochondria
• Epithelial cells of intestinal villi will possess large numbers of mitochondria to provide ATP for
active transport mechanisms
• ATP may be required for primary active transport (against gradient), secondary active transport
(co-transport) or pinocytosis
Pinocytotic Vesicles
• Pinocytosis (‘cell-drinking’) is the non-specific uptake of fluids and dissolved solutes (a quick way
to translocate in bulk)
• These materials will be ingested via the breaking and reforming of the membrane and hence
contained within a vesicle

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How is membrane transport involved in absorption of nutrients
from the small intestine?

Method of Nutrients Outline

transport
Simple Lipids Lipids are non-polar and therefore can pass freely
diffusion through hydrophobic core of the plasma
membrane into the epithelial cells (down the
concentration gradient )
Facilitated Fructose, vitamins Water-soluble (hydrophilic) molecules use channel
Diffusion proteins to pass phospholipid bilayer
and enter the epithelial cells (down the
concentration gradient)
Active Glucose, amino Protein pumps use ATP to move molecules against
Transport acids and mineral the concentration gradient into the epithelial cells
ions
Endocytosis Antibodies from The plasma membrane folds inward to form
(Pinocytosis) breast milk vesicles to absorb larger molecules without
digesting them

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Membrane Transport Mechanisms
Secondary Active Transport
• A transport protein couples the active translocation of one molecule to the passive
movement of another (co-transport)
• Glucose and amino acids are co-transported across the epithelial membrane by the
active translocation of sodium ions (Na +)
Facilitated Diffusion
• Channel proteins help hydrophilic food molecules pass through the hydrophobic portion
of the plasma membrane
• Channel proteins are often situated near specific membrane-bound enzymes (creates a
localised concentration gradient)
• Certain monosaccharides (e.g. fructose),
vitamins and some minerals are
transported by facilitated diffusion

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Osmosis
• Water molecules will diffuse across the membrane in response to the movement
of ions and hydrophilic monomers (solutes)
• The absorption of water and dissolved ions occurs in both the small and large
intestine
Simple Diffusion
• Hydrophobic materials (e.g. lipids) may freely pass through the hydrophobic
portion of the plasma membrane
• Once absorbed, lipids will often pass first into the lacteals rather than being
transported via the blood

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Bulk Transport
Endocytosis
• Endocytosis involves the invagination of the plasma membrane to create an internal
vesicle containing extracellular material
• Vesicle formation requires the breaking and reforming of the phospholipid bilayer and
hence is an energy-dependent process
• In the intestines, vesicles commonly form around fluid containing dissolved materials
(pinocytosis – cell ‘drinking’)
• Pinocytosis allows materials to be ingested en masse and hence takes less time than
shuttling via membrane proteins

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Starch consists of amylose (by 1,4 bonds) and amylopectin (by 1,4 bonds and
occasional by 1,6 bonds)
Amylase breaks 1,4 bonds in chains of four or
more monomers producing maltose

Maltase digests maltose

into glucose monomers Dextrinase breaks the 1,6 bonds that
amylase cannot deal with forming
glucose monomers
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Role of Pancreas
The pancreas serves two functions in the breakdown of starch:
• It produces the enzyme amylase which is released from exocrine glands (acinar cells)
into the intestinal tract
• It produces the hormones insulin and glucagon which are released from endocrine
glands (islets of Langerhans) into the blood
• Insulin lowers blood glucose levels
• Glucagon increases blood glucose levels

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Modelling Digestion
• Cell membranes are impermeable to large molecules (polypeptides, polysaccharides)
unless transport is facilitated by proteins
• The size-specific permeability of cell membranes can be modelled using dialysis
tubing (Visking tubing)
• Dialysis tubing contains pores typically ranging from 1 - 10 nm in diameter and is
semi-permeable according to molecular size
• Large molecules such as starch cannot pass through the tubing, however smaller
molecules (such as maltose) can cross
• Unlike the membranes of living cells, dialysis tubing is not selectively permeable
based on charge (ions can freely cross)

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Digestion Experiments
Digestive enzymes like amylase can break down inpermeable polymers (starch) into
permeable subunits (maltose)
• Dialysis tubing is impermeable to amylase and starch, but permeable to maltose (and
water)
Experiment 1: Measuring Meniscus Levels
• A length of dialysis tubing is attached to a thistle funnel and filled with starch solution (control
condition)
• A second length of tubing is attached to a thistle funnel and filled with starch and amylase solution
(experimental condition)
• Both apparatuses are placed in a beaker filled with water
• Over time, water will move into the tubing via osmosis (towards the solute) causing the meniscus
level to rise
• The tube with amylase will have less solute (as starch is digested) and hence the meniscus level
should not rise as much
Experiment 2: Measuring Maltose Diffusion
• A length of dialysis tubing is filled with starch solution and suspended in a beaker of water (control
condition)
• A second length of tubing is filled with starch and amylase solution and suspended in a beaker of
water (experimental condition)
• The amylase will digest the starch into maltose, which is small enough to diffuse out of the tubing
and into the beaker
• The presence of maltose can be detected using Benedict’s reagent or glucose indicator strips

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