Structure and Function of The Digestive System

The Digestive Tract

As you may recall from your previous Biology classes, the digestive system contains a set of
organs that function simultaneously to break food down into nutrients, convert them into energy for the
human body, and eliminate the excess products. It consists of the gastrointestinal tract, or digestive
tract, which is a sequence of tubular, muscular digestive organs beginning from the mouth and
extending down to the anus. When food is swallowed after being chewed, it undergoes several physical
and chemical processes as it passes through the various organs of the digestive tract. The figure displays
the organs that make up the digestive tract.

Mouth (Oral Cavity)

The whole digestive process begins when you take food into your mouth. The mouth, also called
the oral cavity, is enclosed by your cheeks and lip. Inside, it is composed of your teeth, tongue, gums
and salivary glands.

The salivary glands produce saliva, a secretion that softens the food through moisture and
assists the teeth during mastication. Saliva enables the chemical break-down of the starch molecules
into smaller and simplified carbohydrate particles.

The tongue, on the other hand, rolls the food into a slimy, slippery ball-shaped mass of food
called bolus. When you are about to swallow, the tongue pushes the bolus further towards your
pharynx.

Pharynx
The pharynx is located at the back of your mouth and
around the throat area. It is a short tubular structure that further
lubricates the bolus and diverges into two paths: one leads down
to the larynx of the respiratory system and the other leads down
to the esophagus, the proper path of the food.
When food is swallowed, a thin piece of cartilage known
as epiglottis covers the windpipe in order to prevent food from
entering the lungs. It guides the bolus down to the esophagus
after passing through the pharynx.
Esophagus
The esophagus is a muscular pipe that carries food from the pharynx to the stomach. It
undergoes muscular contractions known as peristalsis, which enables the involuntary passage of food
down to the pipe. The esophagus also has a mucus lining that lubricates the bolus to make its passage
easier. From the esophagus, the bolus transfers to the stomach for temporary storage and further
digestion.
Stomach
The stomach usually stores up to 2 liters of partially digested food. It is subdivided into pylorus,
fundus and cardiac; three regions that contract to break down food particles. Attached to the muscular
walls of these regions are gastric glands that secrete gastric juices, such as hydrochloric acid and pepsin.
These substances combine with the bolus of food as the stomach churns and contracts to form chyme, a
partially fluid mass of food transported by the stomach to the small intestine.
The Accessory Organs
a. Liver
The liver is an extremely important digestive organ with many key roles. As the largest organ in
the digestive system, the liver takes part in converting food into energy and producing bile, an
alkaline fluid consisting of water, electrolytes and other nutrient molecules that are vital for the
digestion of lipids, such as fats and oils. The liver also helps in the production of blood proteins
and the purification of poisonous content from the blood.
b. Gallbladder
The gallbladder is a small organ located beneath the liver where the bile is produced. Bile passes
through the bile ducts and moves into the gallbladder where it is temporarily stored. Once
ready, it is transported from the gallbladder to the small intestine where digestion and
absorption of nutrient take place.
c. Pancreas
The pancreas makes the necessary enzymes that aid digestion of food. Lipase, amylase, and
protease are the enzymes secreted into the small intestine to digest chemically the lipids,
carbohydrates and proteins respectively.
Large Intestine
The large intestine includes the cecum, the appendix, the colon and the rectum. The mass of
undigested food molecules and liquid substances released by the ileum of the small intestine are
transported first to the cecum, a pouch at the lower right side of the large intestine which mixes the
food particles with bacteria and absorbs salts and electrolytes from the liquids. Hanging below the
cecum as the appendix which does not necessarily serve a significant function in the digestive process
but has a tendency to undergo inflammation and cause appendicitis.
Food particles ascend the colon from the cecum. It is in here that water and other essential
nutrients remaining in the food mass may be reabsorbed into your body. Bacteria living in this part of
the digestive system manufacture Vitamin D, while the cellulose from plants, which is also referred to as
fiber, accumulates here and add bulk to the undigested food mass. The rectum is the final part of the
large intestine. After the food particles have been digested and the nutrients have been absorbed, their
remnants are converted into feces and stored temporarily in the rectum.
Anus
The rectum connects the large intestine with the anus, the end of the gastrointestinal tract. This
is the canal where the feces that have been stored in the rectum are released during defecation.

Physical and Chemical Changes during the Digestive Process

No matter how healthy and nutritious your food is, its nutrients will not be of any use to you in
its natural state. As food is processed in the digestive system, it undergoes physical and chemical
changes that separate the important nutrients from the wastes. Naturally, food is digested first so that
the nutrients from its particles will be small enough to be absorbed by your bodies.
The digestive system prepared nutrients for utilization of the body cells through five steps:
ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation and elimination or egestion.
1. Ingestion
Ingestion is the first step of the digestive process – you take food products, beverages or
medicines into your mouth and swallow them. During ingestion, the food undergoes both physical and
chemical changes. This step involves the mastication of food by the teeth and tongue, which changes its
physical state by reducing the size of food into smaller, more digestible pieces and rolling them into
bolus.
Chemical change occurs when the enzymes from saliva chemically breaks down the carbohydrates in the
food as you chew.
As food is swallowed after mastication, it moves from the mouth to the pharynx, then into the
esophagus. This is called deglutition. The epiglottis enables this by covering the opening into the
trachea. When food enters the esophagus, the rhythmic contraction of the gut wall or peristalsis begins.
2. Digestion
There are two main types of digestion that take place along the digestive tract. These are
mechanical digestion and chemical digestion.
a. Mechanical Digestion
Mechanical digestion begins during the ingestion of food in the oral cavity. The teeth break
the food down into tinier pieces by chewing, or mastication. During mastication, as food
mixes with the saliva, mechanical digestion continues in the stomach through peristalsis,
wherein the muscular walls chum the bolus and combine it with digestive enzymes.
b. Chemical Digestion
Chemical digestion also begins during ingestion, when enzymes from the saliva extract and process the
carbohydrates in food. The enzyme called ptyalin is released by the saliva to break down nutrients and
other complex substances by adding a water molecule. This process is called hydrolysis.
Chemical digestion continues in the stomach as the food is further mixed with gastric juices, which
dissolve it into chyme. As chyme is transported into the small intestine, the nutrient molecules that it
contains are further digested through hydrolysis. The pancreas and other accessory organs produce
amylase, protease and lipase, which chemically convert large nutrient molecules into smaller particle.
Amylase specifically turns the starches into glucose, the necessary sugar component that the body
needs for energy. Protease, on the other hand, breaks down protein molecules into amino acids, aided
by another enzyme known as peptidase, which chemically simplifies the amino acids called peptides. All
of these protein molecules are used for repairing and producing cells. Lastly, the enzyme lipase
chemically breaks down fats into fatty acids, which are also sources of energy.
3. Absorption
Absorption takes place within the small intestine. The lining of the small intestines contains villi
folds which enclose the capillaries and other lymphatic nerves. The process of absorption begins
when the simplified molecules that resulted from chemical digestion transfer to the cell
membrane of the intestinal lining and get absorbed into the blood or lymph capillaries.
The outer covering of the villi, known as columnar epithelium, wraps around and protects the
capillaries and lymphatic nerves within the small folds. The main function of these folds is to
expand the surface area during nutrient absorption so that more nutrients are taken in by the
blood vessels. The blood capillaries surround a lymphatic vessel called lacteal, which absorbs the
fat molecules passing through the intestines. These fat molecules are too large to fit the blood
capillaries, so they move into the lacteals, which have wider diameters. The fat molecules that
enter the lacteals have been processed with enzymes from the accessory glands and the lymph
from the lacteals themselves. They enable fatty acids like Vitamins A, D, E and K to enter the
bloodstream and pass through the bigger blood vessels like arteries and veins. These vessels
deliver the nutrients to the rest of the body.
4. Assimilation
Assimilation is a chemical process that refers to the movement of digested food molecules and
nutrients into the cells of the body, which utilize them for energy and maintenance of the entire
body. For example, once starch is converted into glucose, it is used in respiration to provide
energy. On the other hand, when proteins are broken down into amino acids, they renew cells,
tissues, and muscles and keep the body structure intact.
5. Elimination or Egestion
Elimination, egestion or defecation, is the final step of the digestive process. In this step, the
molecules that cannot be digested or absorbed are discharged from the body through the anus.
In normal circumstances, the elimination of waste products from the body occurs daily, but
certain digestive issues can interfere with a healthy bowel movement.