1.

ALIMENTARY CANAL
- performs the whole menu of digestive functions
it propels the foodstuffs along its length
➢ ingests
➢ digests
➢ absorbs
➢ defecates

2. ACCESSORY ORGANS
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM ➢ Teeth
- breaks down the food you eat into nutrients ➢ Tongue
needed for metabolic processes, such as ➢ Several large digestive glands
making ATP - assist digestion in various ways
- rids the body of materials that cannot be
used, such as fiber
- essential for providing the body with the ORGANS OF THE ALIMENTARY CANAL
energy and building blocks it requires to - also called the gastrointestinal (GI) tract or gut
maintain life - a continuous, coiled, hollow muscular tube that
winds through the ventral body cavity from
mouth to anus
- food material within this tube is technically
outside the body, because it has contact only
with cells lining the tract and the tube is open to
the external environment at both ends
- its organs are:
➢ Mouth
➢ Pharynx
➢ Esophagus
➢ Stomach
➢ Small int estine
➢ Large intestine

1. MOUTH
- or oral cavity
- where food enters
- a mucous membrane–lined cavity
- as food enters the mouth, it is mixed with saliva
and masticated (chewed)
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE DIGESTIVE - cheeks and closed lips hold the food between
SYSTEM the teeth during chewing.
- nimble tongue continuously mixes food with
ANATOMY saliva and initiates swallowing
- two main groups:
➢ Alimentary canal LIPS/LABIA
➢ Accessory digestive organs - protect its anterior opening

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CHEEKS
- form its lateral walls
HARD PALATE
- forms its anterior roof
SOFT PALATE
- forms its posterior roof
- Uvula - a fleshy fingerlike projection of the soft
palate, which dangles from the posterior edge
of the soft palate
VESTIBULE
- space between the lips and cheeks externally
and the teeth and gums internally
ORAL CAVITY PROPER
- area contained by the teeth
TONGUE
- occupies the floor of the mouth.
- has several bony attachments:
➢ to the hyoid bone
➢ the styloid processes of the skull
LINGUAL FRENULUM
- a fold of mucous membrane
- secures the tongue to the floor of the mouth
and limits its posterior movements
PALATINE TONSILS
- paired masses of lymphatic tissue at the
posterior end of the oral cavity
LINGUAL TONSIL
- covers the base of the tongue just beyond
- tonsils, along with other lymphatic tissues, are
part of the body’s defense system
2. PHARYNX
- from the mouth, food passes posteriorly into
the oropharynx and laryngopharynx
- is subdivided into:
➢ Nasopharynx - part of the respiratory
passageway
➢ Oropharynx - posterior to the oral
cavity
➢ Laryngopharynx - continuous with the
esophagus inferiorly
- its walls contain two skeletal muscle layers
➢ cells of the outer layer run
longitudinally
➢ inner layer run around the wall in a
circular fashion
- alternating contractions muscle layers propel
food through the pharynx inferiorly into the
esophagus
3. ESOPHAGUS
- or gullet
- runs from the pharynx through the diaphragm
to the stomach
- is essentially a passageway that conducts food
to the stomach
- walls of the alimentary canal organs from the
esophagus to the large intestine are made up of
the same four tissue layers, or tunics:
A. MUCOSA
- innermost layer
- a moist mucous membrane that lines the
hollow cavity of the organ
- it consists primarily of surface epithelium
plus a small amount of connective tissue
and a scanty smooth muscle layer
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B. SUBMUCOSA A. CARDIAL REGION
- is found just beneath the mucosa - or cardia
- soft connective tissue containing blood vessels, - surrounds the cardioesophageal sphincter,
nerve endings, mucosa-associated lymphoid through which food enters the stomach from
tissue (MALT), and lymphatic vessels the esophagus

C. MUSCULARIS EXTERNA B. FUNDUS

- a muscle layer typically made up of an inner - the expanded part of the stomach lateral to the
circular layer and an outer longitudinal layer of cardial region
smooth muscle cells
C. BODY
D. SEROSA - the midportion of the stomach
- the outermost layer of the wall - convex lateral surface = greater curvature
- visceral peritoneum concave medial surface = lesser curvature
- consists of a single layer of flat, serous fluid–
producing cells D. PYLORIC ANTRUM
- alimentary canal wall contains two important - lower part
intrinsic nerve plexuses
E. PYLORUS
➢ submucosal nerve plexus - funnel-shaped
➢ myenteric nerve plexus - the terminal part of the stomach
- help regulate the mobility and secretory - is continuous with the small intestine through
activity of GI tract organs the pyloric sphincter, or pyloric valve

- stomach varies from 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10

inches) in length, but its diameter and volume
depend on how much food it contains
- when it is full, it can hold about 4 liters (1
gallon) of food
- When it is empty, it collapses inward on itself,
and its mucosa is thrown into large folds called
rugae
- Lesser omentum - double layer of peritoneum,
extends from the liver to the lesser curvature of
the stomach
- Greater omentum, - extension of peritoneum,
drapes downward and covers the abdominal
organs before attaching to the posterior body
4. STOMACH wall
- c -shaped stomach is on the left side of the ➢ is riddled with fat, which helps to insulate,
abdominal cavity, nearly hidden by the liver and cushion, and protect the abdominal organs
diaphragm ➢ also has large collections of lymphoid
- different regions of the stomach: follicles containing macrophages and
defensive cells of the immune system
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- stomach acts as a temporary “storage tank” for
food as well as a site for food breakdown.
- its wall contains a third, obliquely arranged
layer in the muscularis externa = allows the
stomach to move food along the tract and to
churn, mix, and pummel the food, physically
breaking it down into smaller fragments
- chief cells produce inactive protein-digesting
enzymes, mostly pepsinogens
- parietal cells produce corrosive hydrochloric
acid (HCl), which makes the stomach contents
acidic and activates the enzymes, as in the
conversion of pepsinogen to pepsin
- most digestive activity occurs in the pyloric
region of the stomach

CHYME
- a thick heavy cream-like happens after food has
been processed in the stomach
- enters the small intestine through the pyloric
sphincter

5. SMALL INTESTINE
- the body’s major digestive organ
- within its twisted passageways, usable nutrients
are prepared for their way into the cells of the
body
- a muscular tube extending from the pyloric
sphincter to the large intestine
- the longest section of the alimentary tube
- except for the initial part of the small intestine,
it hangs in sausagelike coils in the abdominal
cavity, suspended from the posterior abdominal
wall by the fan-shaped mesentery
- large intestine encircles and frames it in the
abdominal cavity
- has three subdivisions:

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 ➢ Duodenum - some enzymes are produced - do not disappear when food fills the small
by the intestinal cells. Enzymes that are intestine
produced by the pancreas and then - they form an internal “corkscrew slide” to
delivered to the duodenum through the increase surface area and force chyme to travel
pancreatic ducts, where they complete the slowly through the small intestine so nutrients
chemical breakdown of foods in the small can be absorbed efficiently
intestine
- Bile enters the duodenum through the
bile duct in the same area
- main pancreatic and bile ducts join at
the duodenum to form the flasklike
hepatopancreatic ampulla
➢ Jejunum
➢ Ileum - joins the large intestine at the
ileocecal valve

- Pyloric Sphinter - controls the movement of

chyme into the small intestine from the
stomach and prevents the small intestine from
being overwhelmed
- small intestine is able to process only a small
amount of food at one time.
- nearly all nutrient absorption occurs here
- its wall has three structures that increase the
absorptive surface tremendously:

A. VILLI
- are fingerlike projections of the mucosa that
give it a velvety appearance and feel, much like
the soft nap of a towel
- within each is a rich capillary bed and a
modified lymphatic capillary called a lacteal

B. MICROVILLI
- are tiny projections of the plasma membrane of
appearance
- sometimes referred to as the brush border
-
C. CIRCULAR FOLDS

- also called plicae circulares

- deep folds of both mucosa and submucosa
layers

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6. LARGE INTESTINE defecation, when feces are eliminated
- leads to the terminal opening, or anus from the body
- much larger in diameter than the small intestine
but shorter in length - there are numbers of goblet cells in its mucosa
- major functions: that produce alkaline (bicarbonate-rich) mucus
➢ dry out the indigestible food residue by - mucus lubricates the passage of feces to the
absorbing water end of the digestive tract
➢ to eliminate these residues from the body - longitudinal layer of the muscularis externa is
as feces reduced to three bands of muscle called Teniae
- the small intestine on three sides and has these coli
subdivisions:

A. CECUM
- saclike; first part of the large intestine
-
B. APPENDIX
- wormlike; hanging from the cecum because it is
usually twisted, it is an ideal location for
bacteria to accumulate and multiply
- Appendicitis - inflammation of the appendix

C. COLON
- divided into several distinct regions
➢ Ascending colon
➢ Transverse colon
➢ Descending colon
➢ Sigmoid colon

D. RECTUM
- sigmoid colon, rectum, and anal canal lie in the
pelvis ACCESSORY DIGESTIVE ORGANS

E. ANAL CANAL 1. TEETH

- anal canal ends at the anus, which opens to the
exterior
- has two valves:
➢ External anal sphincter - composed of
skeletal muscle; is voluntary
➢ Internal anal sphincter - formed by smooth
muscle; is involuntary
- sphincters, which act rather like purse
strings to open and close the anus, are
ordinarily closed except during
- tears and grinds the food, breaking it down into
smaller fragments
- by the age of 21, two sets of teeth have been
formed:
A. DECIDUOUS TEETH
- also called baby teeth or milk teeth
- begin to erupt around 6 months
- first teeth to appear are the lower central
incisors

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- a baby has a full set (20 teeth) by the age of 2 - the hardest substance in the body and is fairly
years brittle

B. PERMANENT TEETH
- the roots of the milk teeth are reabsorbed, and B. ROOT
between the ages of 6 and 12 years they loosen - portion of the tooth embedded in the jawbone
and fall out - root and crown are connected by a region called
- all of the permanent teeth but the third molars the neck
have erupted by the end of adolescence - outer surface is covered by a substance called
- third molars (wisdom teeth) - emerge between cement, which attaches the tooth to the
the ages of 17 and 25 periodontal membrane (ligament). This
- although there are 32 permanent teeth in a full ligament holds the tooth in place in the bony
set, the wisdom teeth often fail to erupt; jaw
sometimes they are completely absent
DENTIN
CLASSIFICATION OF THE TEETH ACCORDING TO - a bonelike material, underlies the enamel and
SHAPE AND FUNCTION forms the bulk of the tooth
- surrounds a central pulp cavity, which contains
A. INCISORS a number of structures collectively called pulp
- chisel-shaped
- are adapted for cutting PULP
- supplies nutrients to the tooth tissues and
B. CANINES provides for tooth sensations
- eyeteeth - where the pulp cavity extends into the root, it
- the fanglike becomes the root canal, which provides a route
- for tearing or piercing for blood vessels, nerves, and other pulp
structures to enter the pulp cavity of the tooth
C. PREMOLARS
- Bicuspids
- have broad crowns with rounded cusps (tips)
and are best suited for crushing and grinding

D. MOLARS
- have broad crowns with rounded cusps (tips)
and are best suited for crushing and grinding

TWO MAJOR REGIONS OF A TOOTH

A. CROWN
- exposed part of the tooth above the gingiva
(gum)
- covered with enamel, a ceramic-like substance,
that directly bears the force of chewing
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2. SALIVARY GLANDS
- three pairs of salivary glands empty their
secretions into the mouth
➢ Large parotid glands - lie anterior to the
ears
➢ Submandibular glands - empty their
secretions into the floor of the mouth
through tiny ducts
➢ Small sublingual glands - empty their
secretions into the floor of the mouth
through tiny ducts
SALIVA
- the product of the salivary glands
- is a mixture of mucus and serous fluids
- mucus moistens and helps to bind food
together into a mass called a bolus which makes
chewing and swallowing easier
- contains substances such as lysozyme and
antibodies (IgA) that inhibit bacteria; therefore,
it has a protective function as well
- dissolves food chemicals so they can be tasted
3. PANCREAS
- a soft, pink, triangular gland that extends across
the abdomen from the spleen to the duodenum
- most of the pancreas lies posterior to the
parietal peritoneum; hence its location is
referred to as retroperitoneal
- produces enzymes that break down all
categories of digestible foods
- pancreatic enzymes are secreted into the
duodenum in an alkaline fluid that neutralizes
the acidic chyme coming in from the stomach
- has an endocrine function; it produces the
hormones insulin and glucagon
4. LIVER AND GALLBLADDER
LIVER
- the largest gland in the body
- located under the diaphragm, more to the right
side of the body, it overlies and almost
completely covers the stomach
- has four lobes and is suspended from the
diaphragm and abdominal wall by the falciform
ligament
- Falciform ligament - delicate mesentery cord
- has many critical metabolic and regulatory roles
- its digestive function is to produce bile
BILE
- leaves the liver through the common hepatic
duct and enters the duodenum through the bile
- a yellow-to-green, watery solution containing
bile salts, bile pigments, cholesterol,
phospholipids, and a variety of electrolytes
- does not contain enzymes, but its bile salts
emulsify fats by physically breaking large fat
globules into smaller ones, thus providing more
surface area for the fat-digesting enzymes to
work on
- acts like a detergent to emulsify, or
mechanically separate, large fat globules into
thousands of tiny ones, providing a much
greater surface area for the pancreatic lipases
to work on
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- necessary for absorption of fats—and the fat-
soluble vitamins (K, D, E, and A) that are
absorbed along with them—from the intestinal
tract
GALLBLADDER
- a small, thin-walled green sac that snuggles in a
shallow fossa in the inferior surface of the liver
- when food digestion is not occurring, bile backs
up the cystic duct and enters the gallbladder to
be stored
- in here, bile is concentrated by the removal of
water
- when fatty food enters the duodenum, a
hormonal stimulus prompts the gallbladder to
contract and spurt out stored bile, making it
available to the duodenum
FUNCTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
OVERVIEW OF GASTROINTESTINAL PROCESSES
AND CONTROLS
- major functions of the digestive tract
summarized in:
➢ Digestion
➢ Absorption
- essential activities of the GI tract include the
following six processes
1. INGESTION
- food must be placed into the mouth before it
can be acted on
- an active, voluntary process
2. PROPULSION
- to be processed by more than one digestive
organ
- foods must be propelled from one organ to the
next
- Swallowing - example of food movement that
depends largely on the propulsive process
called peristalsis
- Peristalsis - involuntary and involves alternating
waves of contraction and relaxation of the
longitudinal muscles in the organ wall
- net effect is to squeeze the food along the tract
3. FOOD BREAKDOWN: MECHANICAL
BREAKDOWN
- physically fragments food into smaller particles,
increasing surface area and preparing food for
further degradation by enzymes
- Chewing and mixing of food in the mouth by the
teeth and tongue, and churning of food in the
stomach
- Segmentation in the small intestine moves food
back and forth across the internal wall of the
organ, mixing it with the digestive juices
➢ may also help to propel foodstuffs through
the small intestine
4. FOOD BREAKDOWN: DIGESTION
- the sequence of steps in which large food
molecules are chemically broken down to their
building blocks by enzymes
5. ABSORPTION
- the transport of digestive end products from
the lumen of the GI tract to the blood or lymph
- to occur, the digested foods must first enter the
mucosal cells by active or passive transport
processes
- small intestine is the major absorptive site
6. DEFECATION
- the elimination of indigestible residues from the
GI tract via the anus in the form of feces
- some of these processes are the job of a single
organ
- most digestive system activities occur bit by bit
as food is moved along the tract
- digestive tract can be viewed as a “disassembly
line” in which food is carried from one stage of
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 its processing to the next and its nutrients are
made available to the cells in the body along the
way
- Digestive system creates an optimal
environment for itself to function in the lumen
(cavity) of the alimentary canal, an area that is
actually outside the body. Conditions in that
lumen are controlled so that digestive processes
occur efficiently
- digestive activity is mostly controlled by reflexes
via the parasympathetic division of the
autonomic nervous system
- sensors (mechanoreceptors, chemoreceptors)
involved in these reflexes are located in the
walls of the alimentary canal organs and
respond to a number of stimuli, the most
important being stretch of the organ by food in
its lumen, pH of the contents, and presence of
certain breakdown products of digestion. When
these receptors are activated, they trigger
reflexes that activate or inhibit
➢ the glands that secrete digestive juices into
the lumen or hormones into the blood
➢ the smooth muscles of the muscularis that
mix and propel the food along the tract
ACTIVITIES OCCURRING IN THE MOUTH, PHARYNX,
AND ESOPHAGUS
FOOD INGESTION AND BREAKDOWN
- once food has been placed in the mouth, both
mechanical and digestive (chemical) processing
begins
- the food is physically broken down into smaller
particles by chewing
- as the food is mixed with saliva, salivary
amylase begins the digestion of starch,
chemically breaking it down into maltose
- Saliva is normally secreted continuously to keep
the mouth moist, but when food enters the
mouth, much larger amounts of saliva pour out
- no food absorption occurs in the mouth
- Pharynx and esophagus have no digestive
function; they simply provide passageways to
carry food to the next processing site, the
stomach
FOOD PROPULSION—SWALLOWING AND
PERISTALSIS
- Deglutition or swallowing - a complex process
that involves the coordinated activity of several
structures (tongue, soft palate, pharynx, and
esophagus)
- has two major phases
➢ Buccal
- voluntary
- occurs in the mouth
- once the food has been chewed and
well mixed with saliva, the bolus (food
mass) is forced into the pharynx by the
tongue
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 - as food enters the pharynx, it passes
out of our control and into the realm of
reflex activity
➢ Pharyngeal-esophageal
- involuntary
- transports food through the pharynx
and esophagus
- parasympathetic division of the
autonomic nervous system controls this
phase and promotes the mobility of the
digestive organs from this point on
- tongue blocks off the mouth, and the
soft palate closes off the nasal passages
- larynx rises so that its opening is
covered by the flaplike epiglottis
- food is moved through the pharynx and
then into the esophagus inferiorly by
wavelike peristaltic contractions of their
muscular walls—first the longitudinal
muscles contract, and then the circular
muscles contract
- once food reaches the distal end of the
esophagus, it presses against the
cardioesophageal sphincter, causing it to open,
and the food enters the stomach
ACTIVITIES OF THE STOMACH
FOOD BREAKDOWN
- secretion of gastric juice is regulated by both
neural and hormonal factors
- the sight, smell, and taste of food stimulate
parasympathetic nervous system reflexes,
which increase the secretion of gastric juice by
the gastric (stomach) glands
- the presence of food and a rising pH in the
stomach stimulate the stomach cells to release
the hormone gastrin
- Gastrin - prods the gastric glands to produce
still more of the proteindigesting enzymes (such
as pepsinogen), mucus, and hydrochloric acid
- the extremely acidic environment that
hydrochloric acid provides is necessary, because
it activates pepsinogen to pepsin, the active
protein-digesting enzyme
- Rennin - second protein-digesting enzyme
produced by the stomach, works primarily on
milk protein and converts it to a substance that
looks like sour milk
FOOD PROPULSION
1. Once the food has been well mixed, a rippling
peristalsis begins in the upper half of the
stomach
- contractions increase in force as the food
approaches the pyloric valve, grinding the food
into chyme
- the pylorus of the stomach, which holds about
30 ml of chyme, acts like a meter that allows
only liquids and very small particles to pass
through the pyloric sphincter
2. Because the pyloric sphincter barely opens,
each contraction of the stomach muscle squirts
3 ml or less of chyme into the small intestine
3. The contraction also closes the valve, so the rest
of the chyme (about 27 ml) is propelled
backward into the stomach for more mixing, a
process called retropulsion
- when the duodenum is filled with chyme and its
wall is stretched, a nervous reflex, the
enterogastric reflex occurs
- this reflex “puts the brakes on” gastric activity
- it slows the emptying of the stomach by
inhibiting the vagus nerve and tightening the
pyloric sphincter, thus allowing time for
intestinal processing to catch up
ACTIVITIES OF THE SMALL INTESTINE
CHYME BREAKDOWN AND ABSORPTION
- chyme reaching the small intestine is only
partially digested
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- Carbohydrate and protein digestion has begun,
but virtually no fats or nucleic acids have been
digested up to this point
- process of chemical digestion is accelerated as
the food takes a 3- to 6-hour journey through
the looping coils and twists of the small
intestine
- by the time the food reaches the end of the
small intestine, digestion will be complete, and
nearly all food absorption will have occurred
- Intestinal juice - is relatively enzyme poor, and
protective mucus is probably the most
important intestinal gland secretion
- foods entering the small intestine are deluged
with enzyme-rich pancreatic juice delivered via
a duct from the pancreas, as well as bile from
the liver
- Pancreatic juice contains enzymes that:
➢ along with brush border enzymes, complete
the digestion of starch (pancreatic amylase
➢ carry out about half of protein digestion (via
the action of trypsin, chymotrypsin,
carboxypeptidase, and others)
➢ are totally responsible for fat digestion,
because the pancreas is essentially the only
source of lipases
➢ digest nucleic acids (nucleases)
➢ contains a rich supply of bicarbonate ions,
which makes it very basic (about pH 8)
- when pancreatic juice reaches the small
intestine, it neutralizes the acidic chyme coming
in from the stomach and provides the proper
environment for activation and activity of
intestinal and pancreatic digestive enzymes
- release of pancreatic juice into the duodenum is
stimulated by both the vagus nerve and local
hormones
- when chyme enters the small intestine, it
stimulates the mucosa cells to produce several
hormones
- hormones enter the blood and circulate to their
target organs, the pancreas, liver, and gall
bladder
- both hormones work together to stimulate the
pancreas to release its enzyme- and
bicarbonate-rich product
SECRETIN
- together with Cholecystokinin (CCK), influences
the release of pancreatic juice and bile
- causes the liver to increase its output of bile,
and cholecystokinin causes the gallbladder to
contract and release stored bile into the bile
duct so that bile and pancreatic juice enter the
small intestine together
- absorption of water and of the end products of
digestion occurs all along the length of the small
intestine
- most substances are absorbed through the
intestinal cell plasma membranes by the
process of active transport
- they enter the capillary beds in the villi to be
transported in the blood to the liver via the
hepatic portal vein; exception seems to be
lipids, or fats, which are absorbed passively by
the process of diffusion
- Lipid breakdown products enter both the
capillary beds and the lacteals in the villi and are
carried to the liver by both blood and lymphatic
fluids
- at the end of the ileum, all that remains is some
water, indigestible food materials (plant fibers
such as cellulose), and large amounts of
bacteria
- this debris enters the large intestine through
the ileocecal valve
CHYME PROPULSION
- Peristalsis - is the major means of propelling
chyme through the digestive tract
- -it involves waves of contraction that move
along the length of the intestine, followed by
waves of relaxation
- food is moved through the small intestine in
much the same way that toothpaste is squeezed
from a tube
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- rhythmic segmental movements produce local
constrictions of the that mix the chyme with the
digestive juices and help to propel food through
the intestine
ACTIVITIES OF THE LARGE INTESTINE
NUTRIENT BREAKDOWN AND ABSORPTION
- what is finally delivered to the large intestine
contains few nutrients, but that residue still has
12 to 24 hours more to spend there.
- Colon itself produces no digestive enzymes
- “resident” bacteria that live in its lumen
metabolize some of the remaining nutrients,
releasing gases (methane and hydrogen sulfide)
that contribute to flatulence and the odor of
feces
- Bacteria residing in the large intestine also
make some vitamins (vitamin K and some B
vitamins)
- absorption by the large intestine is limited to
the absorption of these vitamins, some ions,
and most of the remaining water
- Feces - the more or less solid product delivered
to the rectum, contains undigested food
residues, mucus, millions of bacteria, and just
enough water to allow its smooth passage
PROPULSION OF FOOD RESIDUE AND DEFECATION
- when presented with food residue, the colon
begins contractions, but they are sluggish or
short-lived
HAUSTRAL CONTRACTIONS
➢ movements most seen in the colon
➢ slow segmenting movements lasting about
1 minute that occur every 30 minutes or so
➢ as a haustrum fills with food residue, the
distension stimulates its muscle to contract,
which propels the luminal contents into the
next haustrum
➢ movements also mix the residue, which aids
in water absorption
MASS MOVEMENTS
- are long, slow-moving but powerful contractile
waves that move over large areas of the colon
three or four times daily and force the contents
toward the rectum
- occur during or just after eating, when food
begins to fill the stomach and small intestine
- bulk, or fiber, in the diet increases the strength
of colon contractions and softens the stool,
allowing the colon to perform its function more
effectively
- rectum is generally empty, but when feces are
forced into it by mass movements and its wall is
stretched, the defecation reflex is initiated
- Defecation reflex - a spinal (sacral region) reflex
that causes the walls of the sigmoid colon and
the rectum to contract and the anal sphincters
to relax
- as the feces are forced through the anal canal,
messages reach the brain giving us time to
decide whether the external voluntary sphincter
should remain open or be constricted to stop
passage of feces
- if it is not convenient, defecation (bowel
movement) can be delayed temporarily. Within
a few seconds, the reflex contractions end, and
the rectal walls relax. With the next mass
movement, the defecation reflex is initiated
again
REFERENCE:
Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology 12th
Edition. Marieb, E.N & Keller, 2016. S.M. Boston:
Pearson. (PDF)
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