DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Basic anatomy of the Digestive system

Two groups of organs compose the digestive system:

● Gastrointestinal (GI) tract or alimentary canal

- a continuous tube that extends from the mouth to the anus through
the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities. Organs of the gastrointestinal tract
include the mouth, most of the pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine,
and large intestine.

-The length of the GI tract is about 5–7 meters (16.5–23 ft)

Basic anatomy of the Digestive system
Two groups of organs compose the digestive system:

● The gastrointestinal tract (also called the GI tract) is a series of hollow organs
that form a long continuous passage from our mouth to our anus. The organs
that make up our GI tract are our mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine,
large intestine, and anus.
● Accessory digestive organs

-include the teeth, tongue, salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
Teeth aid in the physical breakdown of food, and the tongue assists in
chewing and swallowing. The other accessory digestive organs, however,
never come into direct contact with food. They produce or store secretions
that flow into the GI tract through ducts; the secretions aid in the chemical
breakdown of food.
Functions of the Digestive system

1. Ingestion: Taking food into the mouth

2. Secretion: release of water, acid, buffers, and enzymes into lumen of the GI
tract.
3. Mixing and propulsion: churning and propulsion of food through GI tract.
4. Digestion: mechanical and chemical breakdown of food.
5. Absorption: passage of digested products from GI tract into blood and lymph.
6. Defecation: elimination of feces from the GI tract.
Organs of the digestive system
Gastrointestinal (GI) tract
● Mouth
● Pharynx
● Esophagus
● Stomach
● Small intestine
● Large intestine
Accessory digestive organs
● Teeth
● Tongue
● Salivary glands
● Liver
● Gallbladder
● Pancreas
Layers of the gastrointestinal tract and its layers of tissue
The long continuous tube that is the digestive tract is about 9 meters in length.
The wall of the digestive tract has four layers or tunics:

Mucosa
Submucosa
Muscular layer
Serous layer or serosa
Peritoneum
The peritoneum is the serous
membrane that forms the lining of
the abdominal cavity or coelom.
It covers most of the
intra-abdominal (or coelomic)
organs and is composed of a layer
of mesothelium supported by a
thin layer of connective tissue
The outer layer: Parietal peritoneum
Inner layer: Visceral Peritoneum
Potential Space: Peritoneal Cavity
The serous membrane forming the
peritoneum is transparent and is
made of mesothelium and connective
tissue.
The Folds of the Peritoneum consists of:

1. Greater Omentum
2. Falciform Ligament
3. Lesser Omentum
4. Mesentery
5. Mesocolon
The Mouth
● It is referred to as oral or buccal cavity
● palates, and tongue formed by the cheeks, hard and soft
palates and tongue
The Pharynx
The Pharynx
- The pharynx is situated behind the nasal cavities, the mouth, and the larynx
and may be divided into nasal, oral, and laryngeal parts. The pharynx is
funnel shaped, its upper, wider end lying under the skull and its lower, narrow
end becoming continuous with the esophagus opposite the 6th cervical
vertebra. The pharynx has a musculomembranous wall, which is deficient
anteriorly.
Nasal Pharynx
- This lies above the soft palate and behind the nasal cavities. In the
submucosa of the roof is a collection of lymphoid tissue called the
pharyngeal tonsil. The pharyngeal isthmus is the opening in the floor
between the soft palate and the posterior pharyngeal wall. On the lateral wall
is the opening of the auditory tube, the elevated ridge of which is called the
tubal elevation.
Oral Pharynx
- This lies behind the oral cavity. The floor is formed by the posterior one third of the
tongue and the interval between the tongue and epiglottis. In the midline is the
median glossoepiglottic fold, and on each side the lateral glossoepiglottic
fold. The depression on each side of the median glossoepiglottic fold is called the
vallecula.
- The palatoglossal arch is a fold of mucous membrane covering the palatoglossus
muscle. The interval between the two palatoglossal arches is called the
oropharyngeal isthmus and marks the boundary between the mouth and
pharynx. The palatopharyngeal arch is a fold of mucous membrane covering the
palatopharyngeus muscle. The recess between the palatoglossal and
palatopharyngeal arches is occupied by the palatine tonsil.
Laryngeal Pharynx
- This lies behind the opening into the larynx. The lateral wall is formed by the
thyroid cartilage and the thyrohyoid membrane. The piriform fossa is a
depression in the mucous membrane on each side of the laryngeal inlet.
Blood Supply of the Pharynx
- Ascending pharyngeal, tonsillar branches of facial arteries, and branches of
maxillary and lingual arteries
The Esophagus
ESOPHAGUS

● Collapsible muscular tube

● 25cm long
● Lies posterior to the
trachea
● Inferior aspect of the neck
○ Mediastinum
○ Vertebral column
● Esophageal hiatus
○ Ends in the superior
portion of the stomach
● Hiatus Hernia
ESOPHAGUS

● Pharynx to the stomach

● pierces the diaphragm
○ slightly to the left of the
midline
○ “Short” 0.5 in (1.25cm)
○ enters the stomach on
its right side
● Deeply placed
● Lying behind the left lobe
of the liver
The Stomach
Stomach
Is divided into 4 sections:

Cardiac region: Esophagus

empties into stomach

Fundus: Curvature of the upper

organ

Body: Central region

Pylorus or atrium: stomach to

small intestine
Stomach
Cardia/ esophageal sphincter:
divides stomach from esophagus

Pyloric sphincter: Stomach from

small intestine

Serosa muscularis:

Circular layer: Middle layer of

stomach, thickest

Oblique layer: Innermost layer of the

stomach

Rugae of mucosa: Gastric folds to

make stomach stretchable
Small Intestine
Small Intestine
The small

intestine begins at the pyloric sphincter of the

stomach, coils

through the central and inferior part of the

abdominal cavity, and

eventually opens into the large intestine. It

averages 2.5 cm (1 in.)

in diameter; its length is about 3 m (10 ft) in a

living person and

about 6.5 m (21 ft) in a cadaver due to the loss

of smooth muscle

tone after death.

Anatomy of the Small Intestine
The small intestine is divided into three regions.

The duodenum, the shortest

region, is retroperitoneal. It starts at the pyloric

sphincter of the

stomach and is in the form of a C-shaped tube

that extends about

25 cm (10 in.) until it merges with the jejunum.

Anatomy of the Small Intestine
The jejunum is about 1 m (3 ft) long

and extends to the ileum. Jejunum means

“empty,” which is how it

is found at death.
Anatomy of the Small Intestine
The final and longest region of the small
intestine,

the ileum, measures about 2 m (6 ft) and

joins the large intestine at a smooth muscle

sphincter called the

ileocecal sphincter (valve).

Large Intestine
Large Intestine
The large intestine is the terminal portion of the
GI tract.

The large intestine, which is about 1.5 m (5 ft)

long and 6.5 cm

(2.5 in.) in diameter, extends from the ileum to

the anus.

Structurally, the four major regions of the large

intestine are the

cecum, colon, rectum, and anal canal.

Anatomy of the Large Intestine
The opening from the ileum into the large
intestine is guarded

by a fold of mucous membrane called the

ileocecal sphincter (valve).
Anatomy of the Large Intestine
Hanging inferior to the ileocecal valve is

the cecum, a small pouch about 6 cm (2.4 in.)

Attached to

the cecum is a twisted, coiled tube, measuring

about 8 cm (3 in.)

in length, called the appendix or vermiform

appendix.
Anatomy of the Large Intestine
The open end of the cecum merges with a long
tube called the

colon ( food passage), which is divided into

ascending, transverse,

descending, and sigmoid portions.

Both the ascending and

descending colon are retroperitoneal; the

transverse and sigmoid

colon are not.

Anatomy of the Large Intestine
True to its name, the ascending colon ascends
on

the right side of the abdomen, reaches the

inferior surface of the

liver, and turns abruptly to the left to form the

right colic (hepatic)

flexure.
Anatomy of the Large Intestine
The colon continues across the abdomen to the
left

side as the transverse colon. It curves beneath

the inferior end of

the spleen on the left side as the left colic

(splenic) flexure and

passes inferiorly to the level of the iliac crest as

the descending

colon.
Anatomy of the Large Intestine
The sigmoid colon (sigm- S-shaped) begins
near the left

iliac crest, projects medially to the midline, and

terminates as the

rectum at about the level of the third sacral

vertebra.
Anatomy of the Large Intestine
The sigmoid colon (sigm- S-shaped) begins
near the left

iliac crest, projects medially to the midline, and

terminates as the

rectum at about the level of the third sacral

vertebra.
Anatomy of the Large Intestine
The rectum, the last 20 cm (8 in.) of the GI tract,
lies anterior

to the sacrum and coccyx. The terminal 2–3 cm

(1 in.) of the

rectum is called the anal canal.

GALLBLADDER
The location and the gross anatomic
description of the part of the
gallbladder.
 Overview and function of Gallbladder
- The gallbladder is a gastrointestinal organ located within the right hypochondrial region of the
abdomen

- This intraperitoneal, pear-shaped sac lies within a fossa formed between the inferior aspects of
the right and quadrate lobes of the liver

- This pear-shaped sac primarily functions as a reservoir for bile that was synthesized at the level
of the hepatocytes

- gallbladder is to concentrate and store bile which is produced by the liver

Anatomical Structure
There are three anatomical parts of the
gallbladder. From lateral to medial, these are the
fundus, body and neck (infundibulum).

FUNDUS

- the rounded, distal portion of the

gallbladder. It projects into the inferior
surface of the liver in the midclavicular
line
- Medial to the fundus is the body of the
gallbladder. This is the portion of the sac
that is either embedded in, or in contact
with the gallbladder fossa of the liver.
Anatomical Structure
BODY

- the largest part of the gallbladder. It lies

adjacent to the posteroinferior aspect of
the liver, transverse colon and superior
part of the duodenum

NECK

- the gallbladder tapers to become

continuous with the cystic duct, leading
into the biliary tree
- The neck contains a mucosal fold, known
as Hartmann’s Pouch. This is a common
location for gallstones to become lodged,
causing cholestasis
The Biliary Tree
- The biliary tree is a series of gastrointestinal ducts
allowing newly synthesised bile from the liver to be
concentrated and stored in the gallbladder
- Bile is initially secreted from hepatocytes and drains
from both lobes of the liver via canaliculi, intralobular
ducts and collecting ducts into the left and right
hepatic ducts. These ducts amalgamate to form the
common hepatic duct, which runs alongside the
hepatic vein
- As the common hepatic duct descends, it is joined
by the cystic duct – which allows bile to flow in and
out of the gallbladder for storage and release
- At this point, the common hepatic duct and cystic
duct combine to form the common bile duct
- the main pancreatic duct, forming the
hepatopancreatic ampulla (commonly known as
the ampulla of Vater) – which then empties into the
duodenum via the major duodenal papilla.
 PANCREAS
The location and anatomic
description of the pancreas.
Overview and Function of the Pancreas
- A retroperitoneal gland that is about 12-15 cm long and 2.5 cm thick

- Lies posterior to the greater curvature of the stomach

- Pancreas consists of a head, a body, and a tail and usually connected to

the duodenum of the small intestine

- Delivers pancreatic juice into duodenum via pancreatic duct to assist

absorption
Anatomy of the Pancreas
HEAD

- is the expanded medial part of the pancreas

- It lies directly against the descending and
horizontal parts of the C-shaped duodenum
which wraps around the pancreatic head

NECK

- a short structure of approximately 2 cm that

connects the head with the body
- Posterior to the neck are the superior
mesenteric artery and vein and the origin of
the hepatic portal vein – formed by the union
of the superior mesenteric and splenic veins
Anatomy of the Pancreas
BODY

- consists of two surfaces (anterior and

posterior) and two borders (superior and
inferior)
- It is located anterior to the L2 vertebra, and
also forms the floor of the omental bursa
(lesser sac)
THE END