Essential Anatomy & Physiology

Digestive System Summary

 The digestive system is responsible for the ingestion, digestion, absorption and elimination of
food.

 The process begins in the mouth, where food is ingested and then broken down mechanically
by the teeth and tongue, and chemically by saliva.

 Salivary amylase begins to break down starches (polysaccharides).

 The bolus leaves the mouth and passes through the pharynx and oesophagus into the
stomach.

 In the stomach, acidic gastric juices are secreted to break down the food.

 The gastric enzyme pepsin begins to break down proteins into peptides.

 The food, now called chyme, passes through the pyloric sphincter into the small intestine. The
small intestine produces alkaline intestinal juice to continue digestion.

 The first part of the small intestine is the duodenum. Here, bile (produced in the liver and
stored in the gall bladder) and pancreatic secretions further aid the digestive process.

 Bile emulsifies lipids.

 Pancreatic amylase digests carbohydrates by breaking down polysaccharides into

disaccharides.

 Trypsin and chymotrypsin continue to break down proteins into peptides.

 Lipase breaks lipids down into glycerol and fatty acids.

 The brush border enzymes maltase, sucrase and lactase complete the digestion of
carbohydrates by breaking them down into monosaccharides.

 The brush border peptidases complete the digestion of proteins by breaking the peptides down
into amino acids.

 As the food passes through the duodenum, jejunum and ileum, nutrients and about 90% of the
water are absorbed.

 The chyme passes through the ileocaecal sphincter into the large intestine.

 The large intestine continues the absorption of water and nutrients, and prepares undigested
food for expulsion as faeces.

 The faeces are expelled through the anus to complete the digestive process.
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