key parts of the

digestive system

Role of the
large intestine

primary role is water re-absorption

·

· Also some absorption of nutrients

·

originally thought to
play a minimal role in
digestions
Home to many
microorganisms
·

Traditionally thought to only be important in

suppressing the
growth of toxic basteria

colonic bacteria are

present in all animals
· all
organisms
have bacteria in the
large intestine (-500
species of basteria in humans)
·
Bacterial cells out number human cells about 10-fold
by
·
Symbiotic relationship
Repress growth
the pa thogenic microbes
· of

nutrients into forms that can be absorbed

Digest
·
.

Fecal transplant
->
currently in use as a treatment for dostridium difficile infection
feces from a patient are extracted and transferred to patient with the
->
healthy a

disease
-> Doctors
working on
pill form .

summary of human digestion

How is cellulose digested ?
·
cellulose is one of the abundant organic molecules on earth
most

polymer of
glucose found in plant cell walls
·
it is a

cellulose is difficult to digest

cellulose contains connected b
glucose
·

Y
beta-acetyl links (different from
and
starch
glycogen)
No animalexpresses the cellulase enzymes
·

needed to break these bonds

·
commensal bacteria digest thecellulose

wher are the basteria found ?

found in the
·
In most animals ,
these bacteria are
large intestine
·
Particularly in the cecum (and appendix in humans)
·
Human cecum is small
Mans herbivores have that forms intestine
a
large cecum
outpocketing of the
large
·
an
very .

some herbivores have a

large cecum
·
these
organisms are termed "hindgut fermenters" because their large cecum acts as a fermentation
chumber for digestion of cellulose .

Body size effects

-

smaller animals e large small colon

resum ,

-larger animals large crecum and very large color

small
hindgut fermenters
·
small
hindgut fermenters have a
large cecum
·
"home" for commensal basteria that
digest cellulose

Large hindgut fermenters

and
·

large hindgut fermenters have a

large colon
, may or
may
not have a
large cecum
· "home" for commensal bacteric that
digest cellulose
·

large colon allows absorption of nutrients

Foregut fermenters
·
some
organisms have a packet of the ch that houses
specialized bacteria
and acts as a fermentation chamber to cellulose digest
 ·
Ruminants
-
Bacteria
cellulose
in
specialized chambers associated with the stomach digest
-
Bacterial waste
the intestine
products and dead basteria are
digested in the rest of

- Provides nutrients for animals

· other
foregut fermenters

Nutrition in animals

I .
ingestion
2 .

Digestion into
component molecules
.
3 absorption of molecules by intestive

·
Most nutrient absorption occurs in the infestive

small intestine
·

-g Folded surface
surface for of nutrients
increase area absorption
-
 How are nutrients absorbed ?

small intestine

carbohydrate absorption example glucose

-
:

secondary active transport

your moving from the intestine
->

in to
your
blood
have a lot of
-> cells
glucose in
them so
you are
moving glucose
against its concentration
gradient
Remember when
moving something
->

from low to
high , you
need
energy
-> We use ATP as our
energy
-> The directly used isn't
energy
associated with the
glucose
Ihence secondary active transport .

sodium
glucose
co-transporter

↓ 1 . Sodium potassium ATPase

pumps Nat out and k in
↳ now we have low sodium in the cell

Now you have sodium

* you can always couple
potential energy
potential energy
gradient
gradients across membrances

moves in via channel

to transport against concentration
gradients .

because its moving

with its concentration
sodium to cell down
gradient
z .

Sodium-glucose co-transport
and
:
moves in
its
·
Sodium potassium its concentration gradient in
brings glucose against
ATPase

↳The -e
concentration
gradient .

active part
glucose gues through channel in to blood
· almost exclusively an .
3
animal associated protein
· not in plants , few protists
enzyme probably
· as an
uses

the most ATP out of any

other part of body
·

very important in nervous

system
I
K in both
Nat out
going
·

, ,

against gradients .
 Absorption of Amino Acids
lumen
acid transport is conceptually similar to
of intestine amino
glucose
·

transp ort

cell

blood

feature
creature
Feeding in Pythons
:

pythons
large
·
are shakes
·
eat
large meals very infrequently
a
swallow the food whole
How does the
digestive system regulate water
why water important
regulation is
·

in the intestine
water absorption/loss
·
occurs

of water
The colon is the important intestinal region for the
regulation
~

most

water movement is passive

water pores called aquaporins and
moves
through spaces between cells through
·

is driven
net movement of water by the relative concentrations of solutes
various terms to describe the solute/water
gradients
·

sodium uptake drives water movement

Nat reabsorbed
by secondary active transport
·
is

the cells)
water follows passively via paracellular pathway /between
·
a

Allows the water content of the stools

regulation of
·

ECF =
extracellular fluid

ICF has
higher sodium, so water moves toward
concentration of
ECF .
Stools will become harder due reabsorption of water
to

in to the body .

Diarrhea something causing higher solutes in intestinal

·

-> is

lumen ,
 osmotic diarrhea

of non-absorbable
·

ingestion solute
↓
increases molarity intestive
as in
large
↓
Fluid enter into lumen of intestine
↓
diarrhea

common diarrhea causes

·
lactose
and
·
Sorbital Isugar free candy
gum)
fructose soft drinks too much fruit (fructose not as easy to absorb as glucose)
High
·

Magnesium containing antacids (redon't absorb magnesium very well)

·
Some laxatives Inon-absorbable solutes)
· cholera

cholera
human disease for
devastating centuries
·

·
vibrio cholerae basteria releases a toxin
Binds to receptor the surface iiis intestine
in
large
·
a on of

·
causes them to secrete ins into intestine
·
water follows , causes diarrhea

what is lactase persitance?

·
lastose intolerance
·
lactose is the
primary sugar milk in
·
broken down by the enzyme lactose
lactose
Most mammals cun only
digest when they
very young
·
are
·
Lose this ability as adults
·
some humans retain the ability to
digest lastose as adults /lactose tolerant)
luctose intolerance
->
unpleasant symptoms if dairy ingested
·
nausea,
vomiting, diarutea,gas
and
bloating , pain abdomen)
caused by loss of lactuse active y
,

·
lactase an wall of small intestine Breaks
.
lactose down

Hosel
into
ginuose and galactoselwe can absorb

·
with no lactose ,
lactose
goes into large intestine,
drawswater in
,
diarrhea

·
Intestinal cells cannot uptake lastoge, can anly take up its breakdown products

undigested
-
lactose travels
osmotic diarrhea
to the colon

broken down by bacteria in colon

-
release methane, CO2 and hy drogengas
-
causes
bloating , abdominal pain and flatulance .

Lactase persistance only present in same

populations
lactase persistence mutations

why did lactose persistence evolves

-> associated or rise
Cherding animals)
of pastoralism
↳ for lactase persifence
althoughdrink
/fley pastor
not all
fermen k at sett gene
·

bacteria fermentation process breaks down lactose