Mary Ann Ramsey

Weekly Discussion

-RESEARCH-

Digestive Secretions and Functions of the Liver, Gallbladder, and Pancreas

The chemical digestion in the small intestine depends on the involvement of three

accessory digestive organs: the liver, the pancreas and the gallbladder. The digestive function of

the liver is to make bile and export it to the duodenum. The gallbladder stores, concentrates, and

releases bile primarily. The pancreas produces pancreatic juice, which contains digestive

enzymes and bicarbonate ions, and delivers to the duodenum. This three are called as the organ

accessory of our body. (Taylor, 2019).

Liver

The liver is found mainly in the right hypochondriac and epigastric regions of the

abdomen, just below the diaphragm. It's the biggest gland in the body. The liver is divided on the

surface into two main lobes and two smaller lobes. The functional units of the liver are sinusoid

lobules that bring blood from the periphery to the central vein of the lobule.

The liver is given blood from two sources. Freshly oxygenated blood is carried to the

liver by a typical hepatic artery, a branch of the celiac trunk of the abdominal aorta. Blood rich in

nutrients from the digestive tract is transferred to the liver by the hepatic portal vein.

The liver has a wide range of functions, all of which are essential to life. Hepatocytes perform

most of the functions assigned to the liver, but the phagocytic Kupffer cells that line the sinusoid

are responsible for the purification of the blood.

Liver roles shall include the following:

 Secretion

 synthesis of bile salts

 synthesis of plasma protein

 storage

 detoxification

 excretion

 carbohyrate metabolism

 lipid metabolism

 protein metabolism

 filtering

Gallbladder

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped bag that is connected to the visceral surface of the liver

by the cystic duct. The main function of the gallbladder is to act as a bile storage reservoir. Bile

is a yellowish-green fluid formed by the cells of the liver. The major components of bile are

water, bile salts, bile pigments and cholesterol.

Bile salts serve as emulsifiers in the digestion and absorption of fats. Cholesterol and bile

pigments from the hemoglobin degradation are excreted from the body in the bile.

Pancreas

It has both endocrine and exocrine roles. The endocrine component consists of the

dispersed islets of Langerhans, which secrete the insulin and glucagon hormones into the blood.
The exocrine component is the dominant part of the gland. It consists of pancreatic acinar cells,

which secrete digestive enzymes into tiny ducts interwoven between cells. Pancreatic enzymes

include anyase, trypsin, peptidase, and lipase. Pancreatic secretions are mediated by secretin and

cholecystokinin hormones.

-CRITICAL THINKING-

To understand this lesson, you will need to focus on the topic which is the Digestive

System we can easily understand and remember it by totally recognize the definition of the

Digestive System on what its all about and to recognized its effect in our body, To make it short,

it is a long, twisting tube that begins at the mouth and ends at the anus. It consists of a series of

muscles that regulate the movement of food and other cells that contain enzymes and hormones

to help break down food.

It is essential to break down food into nutrients that the body uses for energy, growth and

cell repair. Food and drink must be converted into smaller molecules of nutrients before they are

absorbed by the blood and transferred to cells in the body.

References

SEER Training Modules, Module Name. U. S. National Institutes of Health, National

Cancer Institute. Day Month Year (10, December 2020) Retrieved from

https://training.seer.cancer.gov

T. Taylor (2019). Stomach, Gallbladder and Pancreas. Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279250/
ER Service (2020) Anatomy and Physiology II Module 7: Digestive System. Retrieved from

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-ap2/chapter/accessory-organs-in-digestion-the-liver-

pancreas-and-gallbladder/