Digestive System Notes

• Quiz Friday!
 4 main functions:

• 1. Ingestion—food material taken into mouth

• 2. Digestion—food is broken down, mechanically

and chemically, as it travels through the
gastrointestinal tract.
 Digestive enzymes aid the breakdown of complex
nutrients.
• Proteins → amino acids
• Sugars → glucose
• Fats → fatty acids or triglycerides
 3. Absorption 4. Elimination

*The body eliminates

• Digested food passes
solid waste materials that
into the bloodstream
cannot be absorbed into
through lining cells of
bloodstream.
the small intestine.
• Nutrients travel to all *The large intestine
cells of the body. concentrates feces.
• Cells burn nutrients to
*The wastes pass out of
release the energy
stored in food. the body through the
anus.
 Small Intestine
Villi in the lining of the small intestine help absorb
nutrients into the bloodstream.
Epiglottis- Flap leading to two tubes. The
esophagus & Trachea
Diagram on
Quiz- With
Word Bank

The Digestive Tract

 Parts of the Stomach
Food travels through the digestive tract by peristalsis
(wave like movements)
Stomach Continued

What is the function of

a sphincter?
Opens to allow for food
to travel through when
peristalsis passes by.
 Parts of the small intestine: Extends from Ilium to anus

Function: Major digestive

organ. Usable food is
prepared for journey into
cells of the body.

Length? 6-13 feet long

3 parts: D-J-I
Duodenum (10 inches)
Jejunum (8 feet)
Ileum (12 feet)- joins the
large intestines
 Large Intestines (AKA colon)
• Function: Receives fluid waste from digestion
and stores until it can be released form the
body.
• Size? Larger in width then small intestines,
but shorter in length (5 feet)
• Made up of? Ascending, Transverse &
Descending, Sigmoid colon and Anus.
• Subdivisions of L.I.? Cecum, appendix, colon,
rectum and anal canal.
Large Intestines Continued
Function of
appendix? No
real function, not
needed!
Function Pancreas? Converts food into fuel & helps assist in
regulating blood sugar.
Function of Gall Bladder? Store & concentrates bile (help in
breakdown of fats & food)
 Functions of the Liver…
Besides producing bile, the
liver also…
• Helps maintain normal blood
glucose levels
• Manufactures blood proteins
necessary for clotting
• Releases bilirubin, a pigment
in bile
• Removes toxins and poisons
from the blood
 Food Pathway through the GI Tract

Food enters
through the
oral cavity and
exits through
the anus
 Abnormal Conditions

• Hernia – protrusion of an organ or

part through the muscle normally
containing it
 Abnormal Conditions Continued
• Anal fistula – abnormal
tube-like passageway near
the anus
• Colonic polyposis – polyps
(out pouching) protrude
from the mucous
membrane of the colon
• Diverticulosis – abnormal
side pockets (outpouchings)
in the intestinal wall
 Abnormal Conditions Continued
• Dysentery – painful, inflamed
intestines
• Hemorrhoids – swollen,
twisted, varicose veins in the
rectal region
• Cirrhosis – chronic
degenerative disease of the
liver
• Viral hepatitis –
inflammation of the liver
caused by a virus
• Cholelithiasis – gallstones in
the gallbladder