Digestion and Absorption

When food has been eaten it must be broken down in the body by the process
of digestion so that the molecules in particular the nutrients can be absorbed
into the bloodstream. The whole process takes place in the digestive system
which begins at the mouth and ends at the anus.

Physical breakdown

Food must be small enough to swallow, and is first broken up in the mouth by
the action of the teeth and jaws. The muscular action of the stomach also
reduces the size of the food particles.

Physical breakdown in the mouth

Teeth Tear, rip and grind the food into

pieces small enough to swallow.
Tongue Pushes the food round the mouth and
down the throat
Salivary glands Produce saliva to moisten food and
make it easy to swallow
Physical breakdown in the stomach

Food enters the stomach via the sphincter muscle at the top. Strong muscular
waves move the food around and help to break it down and mix it with gastric
juices and mucus produced in the stomach. The broken down food is referred
to as chyme.

Chemical breakdown

During digestion, a variety of chemicals or digestive juices are produced. These

contain enzymes which speed up chemical reactions.

Protein

Stage Chemical breakdown

Mouth None
Stomach Pepsin breakdown proteins into small
chains of amino acids called peptides
Renin clots milk so that the pepsin can
act on it more efficiently
Duodenum Trypsin breakdown proteins to
peptones
Ileum Erepsin converts peptones to amino
acids to complete protein digestion
Absorption: amino acids are absorbed in the villi, into the blood capillaries
then into the circulatory system.

Fat

Stage Chemical breakdown

Mouth None
Stomach None
Duodenum Bile emulsifies fats to disperse them in
small droplets.
Lipase changes fat to fatty acid and
glycerol
Ileum Lipase continues to break down fat
into fatty acid and glycerol
Absorption: in the small intestine the villi contains lacteal which absorbs the
fatty acids and glycerol and are then recombined to form fats. They then pass
into the lymphatic system, then into the bloodstream.

Carbohydrates

Stage Chemical breakdown

Mouth Salivary amylase converts starch to
maltose
Stomach None
Duodenum Pancreatic amylase breaks down
undigested starch to maltose
Ileum Maltase beaks down maltose to
glucose
Invertase breaks down sucrose to
glucose and fructose
Lactase breaks down lactose to
glucose and galactose
Absorption: glucose is absorbed by the blood capillaries in the villi

Absorption
Absorption takes place mainly in the small intestine. The broken down food
products of food are absorbed through its walls and into the bloodstream.
Food takes about 2-3 hours to reach the large intestines allowing for plenty of
time for absorption to take place. The walls of the intestine are lined with
thousands of tiny finger-like projections called villi. Each villus is surrounded by
a wall of cells, through which the nutrients pass to reach the centre. In the
centre is the lacteal which is connected to the lymphatic system. The lacteal is
surrounded by tiny blood capillaries, which are connected to larger blood
vessels. Absorption of various nutrients occurs: monosaccharides, amino acids,
water soluble vitamins and minerals are all absorbed into the blood capillaries
where they dissolve in the blood.

Glucose is either used immediately or converted to glycogen and stored in the

liver and muscles.

Glycerol and fatty acids are absorbed into the lacteal where they are
recombined to form fats, which mix with the lymphatic fluid. They are
converted to soluble fat in the liver. The fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed with
the fats and are taken to liver as well.