Chemical Digestion

and Absorption
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Chemical digestion converts large insoluble molecules of food into small

soluble molecules,
which can be absorbed into the blood.
 WHICH PARTS
WILL FOOD
TRAVEL
THROUGH?

WHICH ORGANS
ARE ACCESSORIES
TO DIGESTION?
 Mouth:
◦ Teeth physically break down the
food so there is a larger surface
area for the enzymes to work on
◦ Salivary glands contain:
◦ Amylase - catalyses the
breakdown of starch to maltose
◦ Mucus - slimy substance that
lubricates the passage of food
down the throat

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Events during
swallowing
The movement of
food down the
esophagus occurs
by waves of
muscular
contractions
called peristalsis
Stomach
◦ Can usually hold about 1 L of food but
can stretch for more
◦ Stomach walls secrete gastric juices that
contain pepsin and hydrochloric acid
◦ Hydrochloric acid kills bacteria and
creates optimum pH for pepsin to work
◦ Pepsin breaks down protein

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Quick definitions
Bolus - ball of chewed up food, moistened by saliva and rolled by
the tongue
Gullet - another name for esophagus
Peristalsis - wave of muscular contractions that moves the food
down the esophagus and to a lesser extent in the intestines
Chyme - mixture of food, gastric juice, and hydrochloric acid that
is churned up by the muscular walls of the stomach
Duodenum
◦ First part of the small
intestine
◦ Pancreatic juice contains
amylase, trypsin, lipase
◦ Bile from the liver is stored
in the gallbladder and
passes through the bile
ducts to the duodenum
Contents of the
pancreatic juice
◦ amylase - breaks down
starch to maltose
◦ trypsin - a protease that
breaks down proteins and
polypeptides to peptides
◦ lipase - breaks down fats to
fatty acids and glycerol
◦ sodium hydrogencarbonate
to neutralize acidic food so
that the enzymes can work
Bile
◦ Not an enzyme
◦ Yellow green fluid that is
made in the liver
◦ alkaline, to neutralize the
acid of the food coming
from the stomach
◦ emulsifies fats, breaks
down large globules of fats
into smaller globules or
droplets (mechanical
digestion)
The small intestine
● duodenum is the first part that leads
to the ileum
● Cells lining the ileum make enzymes
to complete the digestion of food
○ Protease - breaks down
peptides to amino acids
○ Sucrase - breaks down sucrose
to glucose and fructose
○ Maltose - breaks down maltose
to glucose
Absorption is the movement of digested food
molecules through the wall of the intestines
into the blood or lymph
Ileum
◦ Food molecules are
absorbed into the
blood
◦ Villi and microvilli
give the ileum a very
high surface area for
absorption
◦ Each villus has a
network of blood
vessels and a lacteal
 The villi
◦ Food molecules absorbed in the
blood go to the liver first
◦ Lacteals absorb products of fat
digestion and goes to the
lymphatic system
◦ Food molecules are transported
in the blood to the tissues
where they get assimilated into
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cells
Large
Intestine
◦ Colon absorbs
water
◦ Mostly fiber is left,
to be partially eaten
by good bacteria
◦ Stored in the
rectum, expelled in
the anus
◦ Called egestion
The End.