The Digestive System

FIG 1: DIGESTIVE SYSTEM STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

-

1
Physical digestion aka mastication is the breaking up of
large food pieces into small ones.
- Physical digestion is done by i) the teeth and by ii)
churning movements caused by muscles in your stomach.
- Chemical digestion is the breaking up of large food
molecules into small food molecules.
- Chemical digestion is done by enzymes.
- Physical digestion increases the surface area of the food,
making it easier for enzymes to come into contact with the
food molecules and speed up chemical digestion.
- Peristalsis is the way food is squeezed along through
the alimentary canal (tube that runs from mouth to anus),
by the muscles in its walls. Fig. 2 shows how this happens.

FIG 2: PROCESSES OF DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

FIG 3. PROCESS OF PERISTALSIS

- Digestive enzymes - You will probably remember that

large molecules in your food must be broken down to small
ones, so that they can get across the wall of the alimentary
canal and be absorbed.

FIG 4. ENZYMES REACTIONS IN DIGESTION

2
- Digestion in the mouth: Food is ingested into the mouth. Mastication (chewing) by the teeth
increases the surface area of the food. Saliva is secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands.
Saliva contains salivary amylase enzyme that digests starch into maltose. It also contains
mucus, which makes the food slippery to slides through the alimentary canal easily. The tongue
rolls the food up into a bolus, which is then swallow.

- Digestion in the stomach: The bolus moves down the

oesophagus by peristalsis and enters the stomach. Gastric
juice is secreted by the walls of the stomach. Gastric juice
contains i) hydrochloric acid which destroys microorganisms
in the food and ii) a protease enzyme called pepsin which
breaks down proteins into polypeptides. The food is usually
kept in the stomach for a few hours before it moves on into the
small intestine.
FIG 5. PRODUCTION, STORAGE, AND
MOVEMENT OF SMALL INTESTINES
- Digestion in the small intestine: Pancreatic juice secreted
by the pancreas contains protease, carbohydrase, lipase
enzymes and an alkaline substance, sodium hydrogen carbonate, which neutralises the acid
from the stomach. The liver also secretes bile (salts) which helps digest lipids (insoluble), by
breaking big globules of lipid into tiny ones. This is called emulsification. This helps lipase to
get into contact with the lipid molecules to digest them.

3
 TABLE 1: SUMMARY OF DIGESTION
Part of canal pH Digestive juices Enzymes present Substrate End products

Mouth Slightly Saliva (salivary Salivary amylase Cooked starch Maltose

alkaline glands)
Stomach Acid Gastric juice (from Pepsin Proteins Polypeptides
stomach wall)
Duodenum Alkaline Bile (from liver) (not Bile salts Fats Emulsified fats
an enzyme) Amylase All starch Maltose
Pancreatic juice (from Lipase Emulsified fats Glycerol and fatty
pancreas) acids
Trypsin Polypeptides Dipeptides
Ileum Alkaline Intestinal juices Maltase Maltose Glucose
Sucrase Sucrose Glucose and
fructose
Lipase Emulsified fats Glycerol and fatty
acids
Peptidase Dipeptides Amino acids

- Absorption is the movement of nutrients from inside the ileum, across its walls, and into the
blood vessels or lymphatic vessels.
- Absorption in the small intestine:
• Amino acids are absorbed into the blood
• Glucose and other simple sugars are absorbed into the blood
• Fatty acids, glycerol, and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) are absorbed into the lymphatic
vessels.
• Water soluble vitamins (B, C), minerals, and water are absorbed into the blood.
- Sometimes absorption occurs by diffusion. This happens if the concentration of the nutrient is
greater inside the small intestine than in the blood.
- Sometimes absorption occurs by active transport. This happens if the concentration of the
nutrient is lower inside the small intestine than in the blood.
- Water is absorbed by osmosis, where the water molecules move from high to low water
concentration through a semi-permeable membrane (cell membranes of cells of alimentary
canal).

4
Adaptations of the small intestine for absorption:

Fig. 6: Structure of the Villi

- Absorption in the colon: More water is absorbed. Like the small intestine, the walls of the
colon are folded, to increase its surface area so more water can be absorbed at the same time.
However, it does not contain villi or microvilli. Undigested food materials (fibre) are
temporarily stored in the rectum, then egested through the anus.
- N.B. Note the difference between egestion and excretion. Egestion is the process of getting rid
of undigested waste, while excretion is the process of getting rid of waste produced by
metabolism.

- Assimilation - is the process where nutrients absorbed into the blood are carried all over the
body to be used in the cells for their life processes.
- Monosaccharides is absorbed by the blood to the liver in the hepatic portal vein and the liver
converts any non-glucose monosaccharides to glucose. The glucose is then:
i) Used by all body cells in respiration to release energy.
ii) Excess glucose is converted to glycogen by cells in the liver and muscles, where it is stored.

5
iii) Excess glucose is converted to fats by cells in the liver and adipose (fat) tissue (under the
skin and around organs). Fat made in adipose tissue is stored, and fat made in the liver is
transported by the blood to adipose tissue and stored.
- Amino acids is absorbed by the blood to the liver in the hepatic portal vein. The amino acid is
then used by body cells to make:
i) Proteins that are used for cell growth and repair.
ii) Enzymes.
iii) Hormones by the endocrine glands.
iv) Antibodies.
- Excess amino acids are deaminated by the liver because they cannot be stored. The nitrogen-
containing amine groups (NH2) are removed from the molecules and converted to urea
(CO(NH2). The urea enters the blood and is excreted by the kidneys. The remaining parts of the
molecules are converted to glucose which is used in respiration or are converted to glycogen or
fat and stored.
- Fatty acids and glycerol are carried by the lymph to body cells, where they are used:
i) To make cell membranes of newly forming cells.
ii) In respiration (sometimes).
iii) Excess are converted to fat and stored in adipose tissue under the skin and around.

Revision Questions
1) Explain the difference between ingestion and egestion.
2) Define digestion.
3) What do you notice about the names of the enzymes that help with digestion?
4) What is the function of mucus in the alimentary canal?
5) What is the function of hydrochloric acid in the stomach?
6) Copy and complete this table.
TABLE 2: ENZYME/SUBSTRATE REACTIONS
Enzymes Substrate Product Where it is Where it works
produced
Amylase
Protease
Lipase