Nutrition In Mammals

Nutrition refers to the intake of food molecules into an organism and the processes which converts
these molecules into more useful substances or breaks them down to release energy. Nutrition consists
of 5 main processes –

 Ingestion – The intake of food

 Digestion – The breakdown of complex molecules into more simpler more diffusible ones
 Absorption – The intake of digested molecules into body cells
 Assimilation – The process whereby these molecules are converted to protoplasm or used to
provide energy
 Egestion – The removal of faeces(undigested matter) from the organism

Animals feed on complex organic matter obtained from other animals and break them down or
convert them into other types of organic matter. This type of nutrition is known as holozoic nutrition

Digestion
The Mouth And The Buccal Cavity

In mammals , food enters the body through the mouth which then leads to the buccal cavity which
is where physical digestion occurs. Around the buccal cavity are jaws – the upper (fixed) jaw and the
lower(movable) jaw. These jaws bear four types of teeth – incisors , canines , molars and premolars.
The lower jaw moves in an upward and downward motion and these teeth act as knives which cut
the food down into smaller pieces. This cutting down of food into smaller pieces with the help of the
jaws and teeth is known as chewing.

The Pharynx

The Pharynx is a muscular tube located between the mouth and the oesophagus. It leads into two
pathways the larynx and the oesophagus. Below the larynx is a tube called the trachea which is a
pathway for air to go into the lungs while the oesophagus is a pathway for food. Because the
pharynx is a common pathway for food and air there is a possibility that food may go into the
trachea instead of the oesophagus. Which is why, the opening which leads into the treachea – the
epiglottis , bears a flap of flesh called the glottis which covers the trachea when food passes from
the pharynx into the oesophagus.

The Oesophagus

This is a narrow muscular acting as a tunnel which transports the food from the buccal cavity to the
stomach. The oesophagus does not play a role in digestion. It is made of four main the layers

 The outermost layer is a thin membrane known as the serous coat. It is slippery and is
responsible for reducing friction when organs slide over one anther
 Next comes the muscle layers which consists of an outermonst layer of longtitudinal muscles and an
inner layer of circular muscles. These muscles are responsible for pushing the food down the
oesophagus. They work in such a way that when one contracts the other relaxes. These contractions
and relaxations are responsible for the constriction and dilation of the oesophageal walls. Behind
 the bolus the circular walls contract and the longitudinal muscles relax(i.e the wall constricts). In
front if the bolus the circular muscles relax and the longtitudinal muscles contract(i.e the wall
dilates). This results in the bolus being pushed forward. These rhythmic , wave-like contractions and
dilations of the circular and longitudinal muscles is known as peristalsis.
 The submucous coat which consists of blood vessels and connective tissues
 The mucous coat which bears gland which secrete mucous. This mucous lubricates the food and
pushes the bolus down the oesophagus more easily.

The Stomach

The stomach is a muscular bag located in the upper abdominal cavity right below the diaphragm in the
left side of the body. It aids in physical digestion by churning the food through contractions and
relaxation of the stomach walls and in chemical digestion with the help of its gastric glands which
secrete gastric juice containing HCl and certain enzymes. The stomach is connected to the small
intestine by a muscular valve known as the pyloric sphincter which closes and prevents the food being
digested in the stomach to overflow into the small intestine.

The Small Intestine

The small intestine is a highly coiled tube which is mainly responsible for absorbing the nutrients from
the digested food. It consists of the duodenum(the first section of the small intestine) the jejunum and
the ileum. The small intestine is longer than the large intestine but has a smaller diameter.

Glands

The first digestive gland is the liver which is a dark red organ located in the upper right hand side of the
abdomen. It produces bile which is a greenish yellow liquid that doesn’t contain any enzymes and
instead is responsible for emulsifcation of fats. This bile is temporarily stored in a greenish yellow bag
called the gall bladder. The gall bladder is connected to the small intestine by the bile duct.

The second one is called the pancreas which is a yellow bag located right behind the stomach. It consists
mostly of tubes called pancreatic ducts. Its function in the digestive system is to make enzymes. It also
plays an important role in the control of blood sugar level.

Digestion
This is the breakdown of complex , insoluble food substances into smaller more diffusible ones.

In The Mouth

When food enters the mouth , its stimulates the salivary glands to secrete saliva. Saiva contains mucin
which helps to soften the food while chewing and it also contains salivary amylase which partly digests
starch to maltose. The tongue rolls the food up into spherical masses called boli

In The Oesophagus

No digestion occurs in the oesophagus

In the Stomach

Food in the stomach stimulates the gastric glands to release gastric juice which contains a dilute
solutions of Hydrochloric acid , prorennin and pepsinogen. Peristaltic movements of the stomach walls
mixes the food well with gastric juice.

The Hydrochloric acid –

 Kills bacteria and parasites

 Converts the inactive enzymes prorennin and pepsinogen to rennin and pepsin respectively
 Provides a slightly acidic medium for the action of the enzymes
 Stops the action of salivary amylase

Pepsin breaks down proteins into polypeptides. It has to be produced as inactive pepsinogen or else it
would digest the gastric glands that produced it. Rennin converts soluble caseinogen into insoluble
casein. This is necessary as the soluble caseinogen would pass into the small intestine before it could be
digested by the pepsin. Food remains in the stomach for 3 to 4 hours and becomes liquefied to form a
liquid called chyme.

In The Small Intestine

When food passes into the small intestine , it stimulates –

 The intestinal glands to secrete intestinal juice

 The pancreas to secrete pancreatic juice
 The liver to secrete bile

All these juices are alkaline and so act to neutralize the acidic chyme

Below is a summary of all the substances which digest the nutrients in the food

Region Secretion Source Enzyme Action

Bile Liver - Emulsifies fats
Small Intestine Intestinal Juice Intestinal Enterokinase Trypsinogen –
Glands Trypsin
Maltase Maltase –
Lactase Glucose
Lactose –
Sucrase Glucose and
Galactose
Lipase Sucrose –
Glucose and
Erepsin Fructose
Fats – Fatty
Acids and
Glycerol
Polypeptides –
Amino Acids
Pancreatic Pancreas Pacreatic Starch –
Juice Amylase Maltose
 Trypsin Proteins –
Polypeptides
Lipase Fats – Fatty
acids and
Glycerol

Absorption
This refers the intake of digested food substances into the body cells.

Most of absorption occurs in the small intestine , especially the jejunum and ileum.

Nutrients are absorbed in the intestines with the help of active transport

The small intestine has many microscopic projections called villi. These projections increase the surface
area to volume ration of the food making it easier for the blood vessels and lymphatic capillaries in the
sub-mucous coat of the small intestine to absorb the digested food substances. These villi in turn
possess microvilli which further increase the surface area to volume ratio of the food. The small
intestine is also supplied with many blood vessels for more efficient absorption of nutrients.

Water and mineral salts are absorbed by the large intestine. Undigested materials, also known as faeces,
are temporarily stored in the rectum before being expelled through the anus.

Assimilation
This is the utilization and storage of nutrients.

Sugars

These are absorbed by the bloodstream and taken to the liver where some is converted to glycogen for
storage , while the rest is sent to cells to use for day to day activities.

Amino acids

They first travel through the liver before being sent to cells which use them for growth and repairs of
worn out parts of the body. They are also used to manufacture hormones and enzymes.

Fats

Fats go from the small intestine to the lymphatic capillaries where they mix with lymph to form chyle.

This chyle is discharged into the bloodstream and taken to the liver where it is converted to a form
which can be easily oxidized. This is then stored as adipose tissue under the skin in the heart , etc.

When the body is short in glucose , this fat is broken down and used to provide energy