Chapter Outline.

Includes everything, arranged in a nice way.

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DIGESTION AND ABSORPTION

➢ major components of food –
• carbohydrates
• proteins
• fats.
• Vitamins and minerals (required in small amounts)
➢ Food provides energy and organic materials for growth and repair of tissues
➢ Biomacromolecules in food cannot be utilised in their original form, have to be broken down
and converted into simple substances in the digestive system
➢ Digestion – process of conversion of complex food substances to simple absorbable forms

➢ Alimentary Canal –
- begins with an anterior opening – the mouth
- opens out posteriorly through the anus

- mouth -> oral cavity

- oral cavity has a number of teeth and a muscular tongue
- human teeth –
type of arrangement – thecodont
type of dentition – diphyodont
numbers – 32 permanent teeth
- four different types of teeth in human (Heterodont dentition) –
incisors (I), canine (C), premolars (PM) and molars (M)
- hard chewing surface of the teeth – Enamel
- enamel helps in the mastication of food
- tongue –
- freely movable muscular organ attached to the floor of the oral cavity by the frenulum
- papillae – upper surface of the tongue has small projections

- oral cavity -> pharynx: common passage for air and water
 - oesophagus and the trachea (wind pipe) open into the pharynx
- glottis: opening of wind pipe
- epiglottis: cartilaginous flap – prevents the entry of food into the glottis, during swallowing
- oesophagus: thin, long tube which extends posteriorly passing through the neck, thorax and
diaphragm and leads to stomach
- A muscular sphincter (gastro-oesophageal) regulates the opening of oesophagus into the

- stomach
- Stomach: ‘J’ shaped bag like structure,
• located in the upper left portion of the abdominal cavity
• four major parts
cardiac: portion into which the oesophagus opens
fundic
body: main central region
pyloric: portion which opens into the first part of small intestine

- small intestine: distinguishable into three regions

• duodenum: ‘C’ shaped
• jejunum: long coiled middle portion
• ileum: highly coiled, opens into the large intestine
- The opening of the stomach into the duodenum is guarded by the pyloric sphincter

- Large intestine: consists of –

• Caecum: small blind sac, hosts some symbiotic micro-organisms
• Colon: divided into four parts – an ascending, a transverse, descending part and a
sigmoid colon.
descending part opens into the rectum which opens out through the anus
• Rectum: opens out through the anus

➢ Tissue layers of GIT:

- wall of alimentary canal from oesophagus to rectum possesses four layers:
- serosa: outermost layer
• made up of a thin mesothelium, with connective tissue
- muscularis: formed by smooth muscles,
• usually inner: circular, outer: longitudinal layer
• An oblique muscle layer may be present in some regions
- sub-mucosa: formed of loose connective tissues containing nerves, blood and lymph vessel
• In duodenum, glands are also present in sub-mucosa
- mucosa: innermost layer lining the lumen of the alimentary canal
 • layer forms – stomach: irregular folds (rugae), small-intestine: small finger-like foldings -
villi
• villi produce numerous microscopic projections: microvilli, giving a brush border
appearance – modification increases surface areas
• villi -supplied with a network of capillaries and a large lymph vessel called the lacteal
• pithelium has goblet cells which secrete mucus – lubrication
• forms glands in the stomach – gastric glands crypts in between the bases of villi –crypts
of Lieberkuhn

➢ digestive glands –
- salivary glands:
• three pairs of salivary glands:
o the parotids – location: cheek
o the submaxillary/sub-mandibular – lower jaw
o sub- linguals – below the tongue
• salivary glands situated just outside the buccal cavity secrete salivary juice into the buccal cavity

- liver – largest gland of the body

• weight: 1.2 to 1.5 kg
• situated in the abdominal cavity, just below the diaphragm and has two lobes
• hepatic lobules: structural and functional units of liver – hepatic cells arranged in the
form of cords
• Glisson’s capsule: lobule is covered by a thin connective tissue sheath
• Gall bladder – thin muscular sac: bile secreted by the hepatic cells passes through the
hepatic ducts and is stored and concentrated
• Cystic duct i.e., duct of gall bladder + hepatic duct = common bile duct

- Pancreas –
• compound (both exocrine and endocrine) elongated organ
• situated between the limbs of the ‘C’ shaped duodenum
• exocrine portion secretes an alkaline pancreatic juice containing enzymes the
• endocrine portion secretes hormones: insulin and glucagon

➢ Digestion of food –
- accomplished by mechanical and chemical processes
- buccal cavity –
 • mastication of food – teeth and the tongue with the help of saliva masticate and mix up
the food
Mucus in saliva helps in lubricating and adhering the masticated food particles
• facilitation of swallowing – bolus is then conveyed into the pharynx and then into the
oesophagus by swallowing or deglutition
• saliva secreted into the oral cavity contains –
electrolytes and enzymes, salivary amylase and lysozyme
• chemical process – oral cavity: hydrolytic action of the carbohydrate splitting enzyme:
salivary amylase
• Lysozyme: antibacterial agent, prevent infection
- The bolus further passes down through the oesophagus by successive waves of muscular
contractions called peristalsis
- Stomach –
• mucosa of stomach has gastric glands
• cells of gastric glands and secretion :
i) mucus neck cells: mucus
ii) peptic or chief cells: proenzyme pepsinogen;
iii) parietal or oxyntic cells: HCl and intrinsic factor
(factor essential for absorption of vitamin B12)
• food mixes thoroughly with the acidic gastric juice of stomach: churning movements
and is called the chyme
• proenzyme- pepsinogen + hydrochloric acid = active enzyme pepsin
• pepsin coverts protein into proteoses and peptones
• mucus and bicarbonates: protection of the mucosal epithelium from excoriation by HCl
- small intestine/ pancreatic secretions
• he breakdown of biomacromolecules occurs in the duodenum
• simple substances are absorbed in the jejunum and ileum
• pancreatic juice contains inactive enzymes – trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogen,
procarboxypeptidases, amylases, lipases and nucleases
• Trypsinogen: activated by enterokinase into active trypsin
• Trypsin activates the other enzymes in the pancreatic juice
• bile released into the duodenum contains bilirubin and bili-verdin, bile salts, cholesterol and
phospholipids but no enzymes
• Bile helps in emulsification of fats
• intestinal mucosal epithelium: goblet cells which secrete mucus
• secretion of brush border cells + goblet cells: succus entericus
• succus entericus contains - disaccharidases (e.g., maltase), dipeptidases, lipases, nucleosidases
- action of pancreatic juices:
 - action of succus entericus:

- No significant digestive activity occurs in the large intestine

- Function of large intestine:
i) absorption of some water, minerals and certain drugs
ii) secretion of mucus which helps in adhering the waste (undigested) particles together
and lubricating it for an easy passage
- undigested, unabsorbed substances: faeces, enters into the caecum
- temporarily stored in the rectum till defaecation
➢ absorption of digested food:
• by simple diffusion: glucose, amino acids and some electrolytes like chloride ions
• by facilitated diffusion, carrier proteins: glucose and amino acids
• active: glucose, electrolytes like Na+

• Fatty acids and glycerol being insoluble, first incorporated into small droplets called micelles:
move into the intestinal mucosa
• Are re-formed into very small protein coated fat globules called the chylomicrons: transported
into the lymph vessels (lacteals) in the villi
• lymph vessels ultimately release the absorbed substances into the blood stream
 Disorders
Jaundice liver is affected, skin and eyes turn yellow due
to the deposit of bile pigments
Vomiting ejection of stomach contents through the
mouth
controlled by vomit centre in the medulla
Diarrhoea abnormal frequency of bowel movement and
increased liquidity of the faecal discharge
reduces food absorption
Constipation faeces are retained within the colon
Indigestion food is not properly digested leading to a
feeling of fullness
cause - inadequate enzyme secretion, anxiety,
food poisoning, over eating, and spicy food

➢ Protein-energy malnutrition:
affects infants and children to produce Marasmus and Kwashiorkar
- Marasmus:
✓ produced by a simultaneous deficiency of proteins and calories
✓ infants less than a year in age
✓ protein deficiency impairs growth and replacement of tissue proteins
✓ extreme emaciation of the body and thinning of limbs results, the skin becomes dry, thin
and wrinkled
✓ Growth rate and body weight decline
✓ growth and development of brain and mental faculties are impaired
- Kwashiorkar
✓ produced by protein deficiency unaccompanied by calorie deficiency
✓ replacement of mother’s milk by a high calorielow protein diet in a child more than one
year in age
✓ wasting of muscles, thinning of limbs, failure of growth and brain development
✓ fat is still left under the skin; moreover, extensive oedema and swelling of body parts
are seen

Points to remember –
➢ Arrangement of teeth in each half of the upper and lower jaw is in the order I, C,
PM, M
➢ dental formula = 2123
2123
➢ A narrow finger-like tubular projection, the vermiform appendix which is a
vestigial organ, arises from the caecum
➢ The bile duct and the pancreatic duct open together into the duodenum –
common hepato-pancreatic duct guarded by: the sphincter of Oddi.
➢ chemical process of digestion is initiated in the oral cavity
➢ About 30 per cent of starch is hydrolysed in mouth by this enzyme (optimum pH
6.8) into a disaccharide – maltose
➢ stomach stores the food for 4-5 hours
➢ HCl provides the acidic pH (pH 1.8) optimal for pepsins
➢ Rennin is a proteolytic enzyme found in gastric juice of infants which helps in the
digestion of milk proteins
➢ Small amounts of lipases are also secreted by gastric glands
➢ Enterokinase is secreted by the intestinal mucosa
➢ Bile activates lipases
➢ Mucus + bicarbonates from the pancreas protects the intestinal mucosa from acid
and provide an alkaline medium (pH 7.8) for enzymatic activities, role of sub-
mucosal gland: brunner’s gland
➢ faeces enters into the caecum of the large intestine through ileo-caecal valve
➢ Hormonal control of the secretion of digestive juices is carried out by local
hormones produced by the gastric and intestinal mucosa
➢ absorbed substances finally reach the tissues which utilise them for their
activities: assimilation
➢ defaecation: voluntary process and is carried out by a mass peristaltic movement
➢ gross calorific or gross energy value: the amount of heat liberated from complete
combustion of 1 g food in a bomb calorimeter
➢ Gross calorific values of
- carbohydrates:4.1 kcal/g
- Proteins: 5.65 kcal/g
- Fats: 9.45 kcal/g
➢ physiologic values are –
- carbohydrates: 4.0 kcal/g
- proteins: 4.0 kcal/g
- fats: 9.0 kcal/g