Digestive system

Digestion Hydrolysis

THE BREAKDOWN OF LARGE FOOD

Using water and digestive enzymes to break
(POLYMERS) MOLECULES INTO
down the complex molecules
SMALLER ONES (MONOMERS)

Aim: _____________________________
FOOD HAS TO BE BROKEN DOWN BEFORE IT CAN

BE TRANSPORTED TO THE CELLS THAT NEED IT

_________________________________

Chemical digestion Physical Digestion Internal Digestion External Digestion

The food is physically Food particles are Large food

Using water and
broken down to smaller taken into the cells by moelcules(polymers) are
digestive enzymes
pieces without an processes known as broken down into
to break down the
enzyme phagocytosis or monomers by enzymes
complex
pinocytosis, and they secreted out of the cell &
molecules(polymers
are broken into smaller they are taken into the
to monomers);
units by hydrolytic cell by diffusion or active
Hydrolysis
enzymes. transport.

HUMAN DIGESTIVE TRACT

1
 Processes in digestive system;

Ingestion Digestion Absorption Egestion

PARTS OF HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Mouth

Three major pairs of salivary glands; the parotid glands, sublingual glands, submandibular glands
Content of saliva; Includes digestive enzymes(amylase) for carbohydrates, water, antibacterials
Tongue; Tastes and shapes the food into a ball called bolus and moves it towards the pharynx
Teeth; Parts of teeth: Enamel, dentin, pulp, cementum, periodontal ligament. // Types of teeth: Incisors, canines, premolars, molars, wisdom teeth // Food
is broken into smaller pieces by teeth it provides a larger surface area.
Bolus; Ball-like mixture of food and saliva

The Pharynx and the Esophagus

Peristalsis; Wave like motion that move food along the

digestive tract

Peristalsis in the digestive tract. These three drawings show how a peristaltic wave moves through a single section of the
esophagus over time. The arrows point to areas of contraction.

Stomach
• Gastric juice:Converts a meal to acid chyme

Establishes optimum ph around ph 2 - activates pepsin(starts the chem digestion of proteins)

• HCl:
and rennin enzymes - antibacterial activity - denaturates protein - breaks down nucleoproteins
into protein and nucleic acid.

• Mucus: helps protect the stomach lining against HCl and pepsin

• Pepsinogen: Made by cells in the stomach. Acid changes pepsinogen to pepsin which breaks down
proteins during food digestion

Chyme; Acidic fluid which passes from the stomach to the small intestine, consisting of
gastric juices and partly digested food.

2
 Anatomy of the stomach. a. The
stomach, which has thick walls,
expands as it fills with food. b. The
mucous membrane layer of its walls
secretes mucus and contains gastric
glands, which secrete a gastric juice
active in the digestion of protein.

The Small Intestine

Villi; The structure of the small intestine that is designed for absorption of nutrients. It provides a larger surface area

Microvilli; The hairlike structres that line the surface of villi. They increase the surface of each individual cell so that each cell can absorb more nutrients.
Lacteal; During digestion lacteals absorb large molecules of fats and lipids form the small intestine

Capillary:They allow small intestines to absorb vitamins and minerals from foods you eat.

Anatomy of the small intestine. The wall of the small intestine has folds that bear fingerlike
projections called villi. The products of digestion are absorbed into the blood capillaries and the lacteals
of the villi by microvilli, which project from the villi.
Large Intestine
No digestion. Undigested and unabsorbed materials pass from the small intestines through a sphincter into the large intestine.

3
Three Accessory Organs

Liver, gallbladder, and pancreas. a. The liver makes

bile, which is stored in the gallbladder and sent (black
arrow) to the small intestine by way of the common bile
duct. The pancreas produces digestive enzymes that are
sent (black arrows) to the small intestine by way of the
pancreatic duct. b. The liver contains over 100,000
lobules. Each lobule contains many cells that perform the
various functions of the liver. They remove and add
materials to the blood and deposit bile in a duct.

liver pancreas gall bladder

The..................., ........................, and ..................... ............. are accessory digestive
organs. Figure shows how the pancreatic duct from the pancreas and the common bile duct from the
liver and gallbladder enter the duodenum.

The Pancreas
The pancreas lies deep in the abdominal cavity, resting on the posterior abdominal wall. It is an
endocrine
elongated and somewhat flattened organ that has both an ....................... and an
exocrine insulin glucagon
............................ function. As an endocrine gland, it secretes .............. and .........................,
sugar
hormones that help keep the blood.......................... level within normal limits. Most pancreatic cells
produce pancreatic juice, which contains sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and digestive enzymes for all
types of food. Sodium bicarbonate neutralizes acid chyme from the stomach. Pancreatic amylase
carbohydrates proteins lipids
digests ..................., trypsin digests ................, and lipase digests .....................

The Liver

bile gall bladder

The liver produces ........................., which is stored in the ........................... Bile has a yellowish
green color because it contains the bile pigment bilirubin, derived from the breakdown of hemoglobin,
the red pigment of red blood cells. Bile also contains bile salts. Bile salts are derived from cholesterol,
and they emulsify fat in the small intestine. When fat is emulsified, it breaks up into droplets, providing
a much larger surface area, which can be acted upon by a digestive enzyme from the pancreas.

4
The Gallbladder

Produces bile, which is responsible for emulsification of lipids, mechanical digestion of fats, neutralization of
stomach acid, destroying microbes and helping the absorption of fat-soluble substances.

Digestive Enzymes

The various digestive enzymes present in the digestive juices, mentioned earlier, help break down
carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and fats, the major nutritional components of food. Starch is a
mouth
polysaccharide, and its digestion begins in the ......................... Saliva from the salivary glands has a
amylase
neutral pH and contains salivary ............, the first enzyme to act on starch.

Maltose molecules cannot be absorbed by the intestine; additional digestive action in the small
intestine converts maltose to glucose, which can be absorbed.

Protein digestion begins in the ............................

stomach Gastric juice secreted by gastric glands has a very
low pH—about 2.0—because it contains ...................................
HCl Pepsinogen, a precursor that is
pepsin
converted to .................. when exposed to HCl, is also present in gastric juice. Pepsin acts on protein
polypeptides
to produce ...................................

Peptides are usually too large to be absorbed by the intestinal lining, but later they are broken down to
............ ..................... in the small intestine.
amino acids

small
Starch, proteins, nucleic acids, and fats are all enzymatically broken down in the ............
intestine small intestine
.......................... Pancreatic juice, which enters the ....................., has a basic pH because it
contains sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). One pancreatic enzyme, pancreatic amylase, digests starch.

gall bladder

Digestion and absorption of nutrients. a. Starch is digested to glucose, which is actively

transported into the epithelial cells of intestinal villi. From there, glucose moves into the
bloodstream. b. Proteins are digested to amino acids, which are actively transported into the epithelial
5
cells of intestinal villi. From there, amino acids move into the bloodstream. c. Fats are emulsified by
bile and digested to monoglycerides and fatty acids. These diffuse into epithelial cells, where they
recombine and join with proteins to form lipoproteins, called chylomicrons. Chylomicrons enter a
lacteal.

Another pancreatic enzyme, trypsin, digests protein.

Trypsin is secreted as trypsinogen, which is converted to trypsin in the duodenum.

Maltase and peptidases, enzymes produced by the small intestine, complete the digestion of starch to
glucose and protein to amino acids, respectively. Glucose and amino acids are small molecules that
cross into the cells of the villi and enter the blood.

Maltose, a disaccharide that results from the first step in starch digestion, is digested to glucose
by maltase.

The brush border of the small intestine produces other enzymes for digestion of specific disaccharides.
The absence of any one of these enzymes can cause illness. For example, approximately 75% of the
world's adult human population is estimated to be lactose intolerant, because of a decreased
expression of the enzyme lactase beyond the age of childhood. When such a person ingests milk or
other products containing lactose, the undigested sugar is fermented by intestinal bacteria, resulting in
a variety of unpleasant intestinal symptoms.

Peptides, which result from the first step in protein digestion, are digested to amino acids
by peptidases.

Lipase, a third pancreatic enzyme, digests fat molecules in fat droplets after they have been
emulsified by bile salts.

Specifically, the end products of lipase digestion are monoglycerides (glycerol + one fatty acid) and
fatty acids. These enter the cells of the villi, and within these cells, they are rejoined and packaged as
lipoprotein droplets, called chylomicrons. Chylomicrons enter the lacteals.
6
his section of the chapter discusses the components of a balanced human diet, as well as some
problems that may arise from consuming a poor diet.
DIGESTION of NUTRIENTS
CARBOHYDRATES
Mouth: Amylase enzyme in saliva
breaks down starch and glycogen
molecules into maltose and small
polypeptide chains called dextrin.
Small intestine: Pancreatic amylase
found in pancreatic juice released
from pancreas, continues break
down of carbohydrate digestion.
The digestion is completed in the
small intestine by maltase, sucrose,
lactase and dextrinase enzymes.
LIPIDS
Bile salts in bile break fats apart
into droplets so that they can be
attacked by lipases.
7
PROTEINS
Stomach: Pepsin enzyme is
secreted from stomach epithelial
cells in a passive form called
pepsinogen and activated by HCl
present in stomach.
Small intestine: Acidic chyme enters
small intestine and protein digesting
enzymes in pancreatic juice
released from pancreas into small
intestine. Trypsin and chymotrypsin
enzymes further breaks down small
polypeptides to much more smaller
polypeptides. Smaller polypeptides
are broken down into tripeptides,
dipeptides and amino acids by
aminopeptidase enzyme secreted
from small intestine and
carboxypeptidase enzyme secreted
from pancreas. Tripeptides and
dipeptides are broken down into
amino acids by tripeptidase and
dipeptidase enzymes.
ABSORPTION

__________________________________________________________________________________
Absorption is done with the help of the small intestine having a huge surface area, due to villi and microvilli that are exposed to the intestinal lumen.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Carbohydrate monomers Lipid monemers Protein monomers

Monosaccharides move to blood
capillaries with active transport and
diffusion. They then move to hepatic
portal vein, liver, hepatic vein, inferior
vena cava and to the right atrium of
heart.
Monosaccharides move to lacteals with
active transport and diffusion. They then
move to lymph vessels, lymph reservior,
thoracic duct, left subclavian vein,
superior vena cava and right atrium of
heart.
Amino acids move to blood capillaries
with active transport and diffusion. They
then move to hepatic portal vein, liver,
hepatic vein, inferior vena cava and to
the right atrium of heart.

8
Evolution of Digestive System
Incomplete Tract
he simplest example is that of a gastrovascular cavity and
is found in organisms with only one opening for digestion.
This type of digestive system is also called an incomplete
digestive tract. Platyhelminthes (flatworms), Ctenophora
(comb jellies), and Cnidaria (coral, jelly fish, and sea
anemones) use this type of digestion. Gastrovascular
cavities are typically a blind tube or cavity with only one
opening, the “mouth”, which also serves as an “anus”.
Ingested material enters the mouth and passes through a
hollow, tubular cavity. Cells within the cavity secrete
digestive enzymes that break down the food. The food
particles are engulfed by the cells lining the
gastrovascular cavity.
Continous Feeders
That must "eat" constantly because the food is taken in and then
pushed out soon afterwards are called continuous feeders. Most of
these animals either are permanently attached to something (such as
clams or mussels) or are very slow moving.
Evolutionary differences in digestive systems
9
Complete Tract
The alimentary canal is a more advanced system: it consists of
one tube with a mouth at one end and an anus at the other. This
type of digestive system is also called a complete digestive tract.
Earthworms are an example of an animal with an alimentary canal.
Once the food is ingested through the mouth, it passes through the
esophagus and is stored in an organ called the crop; then it
passes into the gizzard where it is churned and digested. From the
gizzard, the food passes through the intestine, the nutrients are
absorbed, and the waste is eliminated as feces, called castings,
through the anus.
Discontinous Feeders
Consume larger meals and store the ingested food for later
digestion. These animals generally are more active and can
avoid predators. Hence, the animals that feed discontinuously
must have digestive tracts that permit storage and are able to
avoid predators by limiting their feeding time.
Adaptations in Diet
Herbivores
...............................................................................................................................................
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the
main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthparts adapted to rasping or grinding.
...............................................................................................................................................

Carnivores
...............................................................................................................................................
A carnivore, or meat-eater, is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal
tissues whether through hunting or scavenging.
...............................................................................................................................................
GENERAL OVERVIEW OF DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

10
NOTES

11