Anatomy & Physiology - Laboratory

STUDENT ACTIVITY SHEET BS NURSING / FIRST YEAR

Session # 39

LESSON TITLE: DIGESTIVE SYSTEM (Part 1) Materials:

Pen and notebook
LEARNING TARGETS:

Upon completion of this lesson, you can:

1. Describe the structure of digestive organs;
2. Locate digestive organs in the models and charts;
3. Identify the principal function of each major digestive
organ; and,
4. Describe the basic histology of the gastrointestinal wall.
Reference:
VanPutte, C., Regan, J., & Russo, A. (2019).
Seeley’s essentials of anatomy & physiology
(10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

LESSON PREVIEW/ REVIEW

Answer the following questions based on what you have learned from the previous session:

1. What conditions affect the respiratory system?

2. How can I keep my respiratory system healthy?

MAIN LESSON
You will study and read their book, if available, about this lesson.

THE DIGESTION PROCESS PARTS, ORGANS, AND FUNCTIONS

What is the digestive system?

● The energy required for all the processes and activities that take place in our bodies is derived from the foods we
ingest.
● The digestive system allows us to utilize food from such diverse sources as meat from an animal and the roots of
a plant, and utilize them as an energy source.
● Whether it is the ability to coordinate the chewing of the food without injuring our tongue and lips or the propulsion
of the food from the stomach into the duodenum while releasing the appropriate enzymes, our digestive system
allows us to manage the process without much thought and often while performing other tasks.

What are the 9 parts and functions of the digestive system? What does it look like?
▪ The process of digestion is a fascinating and complex one that takes the food we place in our mouth and turns it
into energy and waste products.

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 ▪ This process takes place in the gastrointestinal tract, a long, connected, tubular structure that starts with the
mouth and ends with the anus.
▪ The food is propelled forward within the system, altered by enzymes and hormones into usable particles and
absorbed along the way.
▪ Other organs that support the digestive process are the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
▪ The time it takes for food to travel from entering the mouth to be excreted as waste is around 30 to 40 hours.

The mouth

● The mouth is the entry point for food, but the digestive system often gets ready before the first piece of food even
enters our mouth.
● Saliva is released by the salivary glands into our oral cavity when we smell food. Once the food enters the mouth,
chewing (mastication) breaks food into smaller particles that can be more easily attacked by the enzymes in
saliva.
● Our teeth can perform a cutting as well as grinding function to accomplish this task.
● The tongue assists in mixing the food with the saliva and then the tongue and roof of the mouth (soft palate) help
move the food along to the pharynx and esophagus.

The pharynx and esophagus

● The pharynx (throat) is the transition area from the mouth to the esophagus.
● From the pharynx there are two paths that the food bolus can take;
1) the wrong path, which is down the windpipe into the lungs, or
2) the correct path into the esophagus and then the stomach.

● The act of swallowing is a complex process that closes the windpipe (to protect our lungs) and moves food into
the esophagus. This process is mostly automatic (reflex) but it is also partially under our direct control.
● Once it enters the esophagus, food is moved down the esophagus and into our stomach.
● The esophagus is a muscular tube that contracts in a synchronized fashion (peristalsis) to move food down
towards the stomach.
● While the muscles behind the food product contract, the muscles ahead of the food relax, causing the forward
propulsion of the food. Peristalsis is the main mechanism by which food moves through our digestive system.
● Once the food approaches the stomach, a muscular valve (the lower esophageal sphincter) relaxes and lets the
food pass into the stomach.
● This sphincter has the important function of closing the stomach so no food or stomach acid reenters the
esophagus (and therefore avoiding heartburn or regurgitation).

The stomach and small intestine

● From glands that line the stomach, acid and enzymes are secreted that continue the breakdown process of the
food.
● The stomach muscles further mix the food. At the end of this process, the food you placed in your mouth has
been transformed to a thick creamy fluid called chyme.
o This thick fluid is then pushed into the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). With the help of
enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver, further breakdown of the food occurs in the small
intestine.
● The small intestine has three segments.
>The first segment is the duodenum where further breakdown of the food takes place.
>The next two parts of the small intestine (jejunum and ileum) are mostly responsible for the absorption of
nutrients from the processed food into the bloodstream through the walls of the intestine.
● After the small intestine, the leftover waste leaves the upper gastrointestinal tract (upper GI tract) which is made
up of everything above the large intestine, and moves into the large intestine or colon (the beginning of
the lower GI tract).

THE COLON, RECTUM, AND ANUS

The role of the lower GI tract is to solidify the waste product (by absorbing water), store the waste product until it can be
evacuated (going to the bathroom) and help with the evacuation process.
The large intestine (colon) has four parts:

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 1. ascending colon,
2. transverse colon,
3. descending colon and
4. sigmoid colon.

● All together the colon is approximately 7 feet long and connects to the rectum. Here as in most other parts of the
GI system, the waste product is moved along by peristalsis. As the waste product passes through the colon, water
is absorbed and stool is formed.
● The stool from the colon is stored in the rectum. The anal sphincter provides the control over releasing stool or
holding it. Once stool arrives in the rectum, a feedback to the brain makes the person aware of the need for a
bowel movement. Voluntary control over the anal sphincter lets us hold the stool until we go to the toilet.

THREE ACCESSORY DIGESTIVE ORGANS (PANCREAS, LIVER, GALLBLADDER)

1. Pancreas: Although the pancreas is mostly known for its blood sugar regulatory function with the production
of insulin (as part of the endocrine system -- he insulin goes directly from the gland into the bloodstream), it is the
main producer of digestive enzymes as part of the exocrine system (the enzymes produced by the gland pass
through a duct into the intestines). These enzymes are released into the duodenum and help with the digestion
of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates.

2. Liver: The liver produces bile for fat digestion and elimination. In addition, nutrients are stored in the liver, and
toxins and chemicals are filtered by the liver.

3. Gallbladder: Bile is stored and released from the gallbladder.

FUNCTION OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The function of the digestive system is digestion and absorption. Digestion is the breakdown of food into small molecules,
which are then absorbed into the body. 

The digestive system is divided into two major parts:

● The digestive tract (alimentary canal) is a continuous tube with two openings: the mouth and the anus. It includes
the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. Food passing through the internal
cavity, or lumen, of the digestive tract does not technically enter the body until it is absorbed through the walls of
the digestive tract and passes into blood or lymphatic vessels.
● Accessory organs include the teeth and tongue, salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

The treatment of food in the digestive system involves the following seven processes:

1. Ingestion is the process of eating.

2. Propulsion is the movement of food along the digestive tract. The major means of propulsion is peristalsis, a
series of alternating contractions and relaxations of smooth muscle that lines the walls of the digestive organs and
that forces food to move forward.
3. Secretion of digestive enzymes and other substances liquefies, adjusts the pH of, and chemically breaks down
the food.
4. Mechanical digestion is the process of physically breaking down food into smaller pieces. This process begins
with the chewing of food and continues with the muscular churning of the stomach. Additional churning occurs in
the small intestine through muscular constriction of the intestinal wall. This process, called segmentation, is
similar to peristalsis, except that the rhythmic timing of the muscle constrictions forces the food backward and
forward rather than forward only.
5. Chemical digestion is the process of chemically breaking down food into simpler molecules. The process is
carried out by enzymes in the stomach and small intestines.
6. Absorption is the movement of molecules (by passive diffusion or active transport) from the digestive tract to
adjacent blood and lymphatic vessels. Absorption is the entrance of the digested food (now called nutrients) into
the body.
7. Defecation is the process of eliminating undigested material through the anus.

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CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING
You will answer and rationalize this by yourself. This will be recorded as your quiz. One (1) point will be given to the
correct answer and another one (1) point for the correct ratio. Superimpositions or erasures in your answer/ratio is not
allowed.

1. The major functions of the digestive system are to digest food and to absorb nutrients into the __________.
a. Stomach c. small intestine
b. Bloodstream d. Liver
ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. Which of the following is considered to be an accessory organ of digestion?

a. Pancreas c. stomach
b. small intestine d. large intestine
ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

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 3. Secretion is an important process of digestion. Which of the following best describes one concept of secretion in
reference to the digestive system?
a. Secretion is the release of waste products from the action of digestion.
b. Secretion is the movement of food through the gastrointestinal tract.
c. Secretion is the release of digestive enzymes from various organs to digest food.
d. a and c
ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Which of the following is the term that refers to the movement of food through the digestive system via the action of
smooth muscles?
a. Peristalsis c. ingestion
b. Defecation d. Absorption
ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. The majority of digestion occurs in the:

a. large intestine c. small intestine
b. ulcer d. rectum
ANSWER: ________
RATIO:___________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

RATIONALIZATION ACTIVITY
The instructor will now provide you the rationalization to these questions. You can now ask questions and debate among
yourselves. Write the correct answer and correct/additional ratio in the space provided.
1. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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5. ANSWER: ________
RATIO:________________________________________________________________________________________
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LESSON WRAP-UP

You will now mark (encircle) the session you have finished today in the tracker below. This is simply a visual to help you
track how much work you have accomplished and how much work there is left to do.

You are done with the session! Let’s track your progress.

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AL STRATEGY: SUCCESS CRITERIA

You will write 3 or more statements (“I can" statements) based on the learning targets stated above. This will assess your
ability to familiarize and master this session’s topic.

1. I can_________________________________________________________________________________

2. I can_________________________________________________________________________________

3. I can_________________________________________________________________________________

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