APY 121: Anatomy and Physiology II

- Digestive system
- Urinary system
- Endocrine system
APY 121: Anatomy and Physiology II

DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
 Learning Objectives
• Describe the functions of the digestive system

• List the different anatomical components of the digestive system

• Name and state the functions of different parts of the digestive system

• Distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic salivary glands.

• List and give the functions of various types of cells in the stomach.

• Describe the different means by which the stomach prevent self-digestion.

• Describe the pathway of a protein meal, carbohydrate meal and lipid meal from the
mouth to the large intestine and state the enzymes involved in the process.
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 INTRODUCTION
• The digestive system is essentially a disassembly line and its primary purpose is to break nutrients
down into forms that can be used by the body, and to absorb them so they can be distributed to the
tissues.

• Most of what we eat cannot be used in the form found in the food.

• Nutrients must be broken down into smaller components, such as amino acids and monosaccharides,
that are universal to all species.

• Consider what happens if you eat a piece of cow meat, for example.

• The myosin of cow meat differs very little from that of human muscles, but the two are not identical,
and even if they were, cow meat myosin could not be absorbed, transported in the blood, and
incorporated into our muscles.

• Like any other dietary protein, it must be broken down into amino acids before it can be used. Since
cow meat and human proteins are made of the same 20 amino acids, those of cow meat proteins
might indeed become part of our myosin but could equally well wind up in our insulin, fibrinogen,
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collagen, or any other protein.
 FUNCTIONS OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
• The digestive system is the organ system that processes food, extracts nutrients from
it, and eliminates the residue.
• It does this in five stages:

• 1. ingestion, the selective intake of food;

• 2. digestion, the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into a form usable by
the body;

• 3. absorption, the uptake of nutrients into the blood and lymph;

• 4. compaction, absorbing water and consolidating the indigestible residue into

feces; and finally

• 5.02/06/2024
defecation, the elimination of feces. 5
 Anatomy of the Digestive System
• The digestive system has two anatomical subdivisions, the digestive tract and the
accessory organs.

• The digestive tract is a muscular tube extending from mouth to anus, measuring about 9 m
long in a death body. It is also known as the alimentary canal or gut.
• It includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine.
• The gastrointestinal (GI) tract = the stomach and intestines.

• The accessory organs are the teeth, tongue, salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, and
pancreas.

• Most of the digestive tract follows a basic structural plan, with a wall composed of the
following tissue layers, in order from the inner to the outer surface:
• Mucosa,
• submucosa
• Muscularis externa and
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• serosa (serous membrane).
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Nerve supply to the digestive tract

• Intrinsic: (Local): Short reflex

- Submucosal nerve plexus: regulates glands & mucosal muscle

- Myenteric plexus: controls GI wall & GI motility

• Extrinsic: (CNS): Long reflex

- Parasympathetic NS: enhances gut motility & secretion

- Sympathetic Nervous System: inhibits gut motility & secretion
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 THE MOUTH
• It is known as the oral or buccal cavity.

• Its functions include ingestion, taste and other sensory responses to food, chewing,
chemical digestion, swallowing, speech and respiration.

• It is enclosed by the cheeks, lips, palate and tongue.

• Its anterior opening between lips is the oral fissure and its posterior opening into the
throat is the fauces.
• Lined with stratified squamous epithelium.

• The cheeks and lips retain food and push it between the teeth for mastication, and are
essentially
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for articulate speech and for sucking and blowing 9
 The Tongue
• A muscular and bulky organ,
• Agile and sensitive organ with several functions:
- Food intake
- Has sensory receptors for taste, texture and temperature that are
important in the acceptance or rejection of food
- Compresses and breaks up food
-Mixes food between teeth for mastication
- Secretes mucus and enzymes
- Compresses the chewed food into a bolus, that is easier to swallow
- Initiates swallowing

• Its surface is covered with non-keratinized stratified squamous

epithelium and exhibits bumps and projections called lingual
papillae, the site of the taste buds.

• They include;
• filiform papillae: rough surface
• foliate papillae: posterolateral, house taste buds
• Fungiform: house taste buds
• vallate (circumvallate) papillae: house taste buds
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 The Palate
• It separates the oral cavity and makes it
possible to breathe while chewing food.

• Anterior portion, the hard (bony) palate

• Posterior portion, the soft palate

• The uvula helps to retain food in the mouth

until one is ready to swallow.

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 The Teeth
• Collectively called dentition.

• They serve to masticate food, breaking it into smaller pieces. This is not
just to make the food easier to swallow, but to expose more surface area to
the action of digestive enzymes and thus speeds up chemical digestion.

• Incisors are chisel-like cutting teeth used to bite off a piece of food.
• The canines are more pointed and act to puncture and shred it.
• The premolars and molars have relatively broad surfaces adapted for crushing and
grinding.

• Parts of teeth: Crown, neck and root.

- Dentine (hard yellowish tissue)
- Enamel (tissue covering of the tooth)
- Cementum (living connective tissue)
- Pulp (mass of loose connective tissue, blood and lymphatic vessels, nerves)
- Apical foramen (a pore through which nerves and vessels enter the tooth)

• Primary (decidious): 2I 1C 2M x 2 = 20
2I 1C 2M
• Permanent: 2I 1C 2PM 3M x 2 = 32
2I 1C 2PM 3M

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 The Salivary Glands
• There are two kinds of salivary glands, intrinsic and extrinsic.

• Intrinsic salivary glands

-They are an indefinite number of small glands scattered throughout the
buccal cavity mucosa

- They include lingual glands in the tongue, labial glands on the

inside of the lips, and buccal glands on the inside of the cheeks.
- They secrete saliva at a fairly constant rate whether we are eating or
not, but in relatively small amounts.
- This saliva keeps the mouth moist and inhibits bacterial growth.

• Extrinsic salivary glands

- They are three pairs of larger, more discrete organs located outside of
the buccal cavity.
- They supply most of the saliva
- They communicate with the oral cavity by way of ducts.
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They include: parotid gland, submandibular gland and 13
sublingual gland
 Saliva
Functions of saliva
- Moistens the mouth and food, - Inhibits bacterial growth,
- Digests a small amount of starch and fat, - Dissolves molecules so they can
stimulate the taste buds,
- Cleanses the teeth, - Binds particles together to aid in
swallowing.
Composition of saliva (pH 6.75-7.0)
- 97-99.5% water
- Electrolytes and mineral salts including sodium, potassium, chloride, phosphate, and
bicarbonate salts.
- mucus, which binds and lubricates the food mass and aids in swallowing
- Salivary Amylase, an enzyme that begins starch digestion in the mouth
- Lysozyme, an enzyme that kills bacteria.
- Immunoglobulin A (IgA), an antibody that inhibits bacterial growth
- lingual lipase, an enzyme that is activated by stomach acid and digests fat after the food is
swallowed; 14
 THE PHARYNX
• The pharynx is part of the throat situated immediately inferior to the mouth
and nasal cavities, and superior to the larynx and esophagus.

• It is conventionally divided into 3 sections; nasopharynx, oropharynx,

and laryngopharynx.

• The first is exclusively respiratory; the last two are shared by the respiratory
and digestive tracts

• The nasopharynx: It is the portion of the pharynx most closer to the

head.

• The oropharynx: It lies behind the oral cavity and extends from the uvula
to the level of the hyoid bone. Because both food and air pass through the
pharynx, a flap of connective tissue called the epiglottis closes over the
glottis (tracheal opening) when food is swallowed to prevent accidental
inhalation.

• The hypopharynx or laryngopharynx: It is the caudal (most inferior)

part of the pharynx; it is the part that connects to the esophagus. It lies
inferior to the epiglottis and extends to the location where this common
pathway diverges into the respiratory (larynx) and digestive (esophagus)
pathway.
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 THE ESOPHAGUS
• The esophagus is a 25-cm long muscular tube that
connects the pharynx to the stomach.

• Its opening into the stomach is called the cardiac

orifice (for its proximity to the heart).

• Food pauses briefly at this point before entering the

stomach because of a constriction called the lower
esophageal sphincter (LES).

• The LES is also a physiological rather than an

anatomical sphincter, and thus is not found in the
cadaver.

• The LES prevents stomach contents from regurgitating

into the esophagus, thus protecting the esophageal
mucosa
02/06/2024from the corrosive effect of the stomach acid. 16
 STOMACH

• The stomach is a muscular sac in the upper left abdominal cavity

immediately inferior to the diaphragm.
• It functions primarily as a food storage organ, with an internal volume
of about 50 mL when empty and 1.0 to 1.5 L after a typical meal.

• When extremely full, it may hold up to 4 L and extend nearly as far as

the pelvis.
• The stomach mechanically breaks up food particles, liquefies the food,
and begins the chemical digestion of proteins and a small amount of
fat. This produces a soupy or pasty mixture of semi-digested food called
chyme.
• Most digestion occurs after the chyme passes on to the small intestine.

• The stomach is somewhat J-shaped and vertical in tall people, whereas

in short people it is more nearly horizontal.

• The lesser curvature of the stomach extends the short distance

(about 10 cm) from esophagus to duodenum along the medial to
superior aspect, facing the liver, and the greater curvature extends
the longer distance (about 40 cm) from esophagus to duodenum on the
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lateral to inferior aspect.
 STOMACH

• The stomach is divided into four regions:

• (1) The cardiac region (cardia) is the small area within about 3 cm of
the cardiac orifice.

• (2) The fundic region (fundus) is the dome-shaped portion superior to

the esophageal attachment.

• (3) The body (corpus) makes up the greatest part of the stomach distal
to the cardiac orifice.

• (4) The pyloric region is a slightly narrower pouch at the distal end; it is
subdivided into a funnel-like antrum and a narrower pyloric canal.
• The latter terminates at the pylorus, a narrow passage into the
duodenum. The pylorus is surrounded by a thick ring of smooth muscle,
the pyloric (gastroduodenal) sphincter, which regulates the passage
of chyme into the duodenum.
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 CELLS OF THE STOMACH
• Collectively, the glands have the following cell types:
• Mucous cells: They secrete mucus and predominate in the cardiac and pyloric glands. In gastric glands, they are
called mucous neck cells and are concentrated in the neck of the gland.

• Regenerative (stem) cells: They are found in the base of the pit and neck of the gland. They divide rapidly and form
a continual supply of new cells. Newly generated cells migrate upward into the glands to replace cells that die and fall off
into the lumen of the stomach.

• Parietal cells: They are found mostly in the upper half of the gland, secrete hydrochloric acid and intrinsic factor.
They are found mostly in the gastric glands, but a few occur in the pyloric glands.

• Chief cells: They are the most numerous, secrete chymosin (formerly called rennin) and lipase in infancy and
pepsinogen throughout life. They dominate the lower half of the gastric glands but are absent from cardiac and pyloric
glands.

• Enteroendocrine cells: They are concentrated especially in the lower end of a gland; secrete hormones and paracrine
messengers that regulate digestion. They are found in all regions of the stomach, but are most numerous in the gastric
and pyloric glands. These are at least 8 different kinds in the stomach, each of which produces a different chemical
messenger. G cells for example, secrete a hormone gastrin which stimulates the exocrine cells of the gastric glands to
secrete acid and enzymes.

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• In general, the cardiac and pyloric glands secrete mainly mucus; acid and enzymes secretions occur predominantly in the
 MECHANISM OF PREVENTION OF STOMACH SELF-DIGESTION

• With the numbers of chemicals secreted in the stomach, it could easily be digested itself;
but it is protected from self digestion in 3 ways:

• Mucous coat: A tick, highly alkaline mucus resists the action of acid and enzymes.

• Tight junctions: The epithelial cells are joined by tight junctions which prevent gastric
juice from seeping between them digesting the connective tissue of the lamina propria or
beyond.

• Epithelial cell replacement: In spite of these other projections, the stomach’s

epithelial cells live only 3 to 6 days and are then sloughed off into the chime and
digested with the food. They are replaced just as rapidly, however, by the division of
stem cells in the gastric pits.

• The 02/06/2024
breakdown of these protective mechanisms can result in inflammation and peptic
20
ulcer.
 SMALL INTESTINE
• The stomach sends about 3 ml of chyme at a time into the small intestine.

• In the small intestine the chemical digestion of food is completed and absorption of
most nutrients takes place. To perform these roles efficiently, the small intestine must
have a large surface area exposed to the chyme. This surface area is imparted to it by
extensive folding of the mucosa, and by the great length of the small intestine.

• The small intestine comprises of three continuous parts.

• The duodenum
• The jejunum
• The ileum and ends at the ileocaecal valve, which controls the flow of material from
the ileum to the caecum, and prevents regurgitation.

• The walls of the small intestine are composed of the four layers of tissue with some
modifications of the peritoneum (mesenteries) and the mucosa (villi, microvilli
etc…).
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 Functions of the small intestine

• Secretion of intestinal juice, also increased by parasympathetic

stimulation.
• Completion of chemical digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in
the enterocytes of the villi.
• Protection against infection by microbes that have survived the
antimicrobial action of hydrochloric acid in the stomach.
• Secretion of hormones cholecystokinine (CCK) and secretin.
• Absorption of nutrients
• When the acid chime passes into the small intestine, it is mixed with
pancreatic juice, bile and intestinal juice and is in contact with the
enterocytes of the villi.

• In the small intestine, digestion of all nutrients is completed:

- Carbohydrates are broken down to monosaccharides
- Proteins are broken down to amino acids
- Fats are broken down to fatty acids and glycerol.
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 THE LARGE INTESTINE

• The large intestine receives about 500ml of

indigestible food residue per day, reduces it to
about 150 ml of faeces by absorbing water and
salts and eliminates the feaces by defaecation.

• It begins with the caecum and terminates at the

rectum and anal canal deep in the pelvis.
•
• For descriptive purposes the large intestine is
divided into the caecum, colon, sigmoid colon,
rectum and anal canal.

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 Functions of the large intestine
• Absorption: In the large intestine, absorption of water by osmosis continues until the familiar
semisolid consistency of faeces is achieved.

• Microbial activity: The large intestine is heavily colonized by certains types of bacteria which
synthesize vitamin K and folic acid. They include Escherichia coli, Streptococcus faecalis.

• Mass movement: The large intestine does not exhibit peristaltic movement as in other parts of
the tract. Only at fairly long intervals (about twice an hour) does a wave of strong peristalsis
sweep along the transverse colon forcing its contents into the descending and sigmoid colons. This
is known as mass movement.

• Defaecation: Usually the rectum is empty, but when a mass movement forces the contents of the
sigmoid colon into the rectum the nerve in its walls are stimulated by stretch. In infants,
defaecation occurs by reflex (involuntary) action.
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 Accessory Organs
• The liver
• It is a reddish brown gland located immediately inferior to the
diaphragm

• It has numerous functions in digestion

• Has four lobes. The two most obvious are the large right lobe
and the smaller left lobe. The other two, the caudate and
quadrate lobes, are areas on the posterior surface.

- Portal fissure: point of entry for the hepatic portal vein and
hepatic arteries and a point of exit of the bile duct.
- Lobules: Tiny functional units of the liver
- Hepatocytes: Cubical-shaped cells of the liver.
- Kupffer
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cells: Hepatic macrophages. 25
 Functions of the liver
• Carbohydrate metabolism: Maintaining plamsa glucose levels i.e. produce and store
glucose.

• Protein metabolism: Deamination of a.a (removal of the nitrogenous portion from the
a.as), transamination (removal of the nitrogenous portion of the a.as and attachment of a
carbohydrate molecule), synthesis of plasma proteins and most of the blood clotting
factors.

• Fat metabolism: Convert fat molecules to provide energy.

• Defense: Clearing out worned-out cells and foreing microorganisms.

• Detoxification of drugs and toxic substances.
• Inactivation of hormones
• Main heat-producing organ
• Bile secretion
• Storage organ e.g glycogen, vitamins etc…
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 Pancreas
- Pancreatic enzymes carry out most digestion
- Pancreas is a pale-grey spongy digestive gland posterior to the greater curvature of the
stomach.
- It is both an endocrine and exocrine gland.

- Exocrine function is to produce produce pancreatic juice containing enzymes that

digest carbohydrates, protein and fat.

- Parasympathetic stimulation increases secretion of the pancreatic juice and

sympathetic stimulation depresses it.

- The pancreatic juice consists of water, mineral salts, enzymes, inactive enzyme
precursors (trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen).

- Pancreatic juice has Ph=8, pancreatic enzymes, amylase and lipase act more
effectively at this Ph.
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 Gall bladder

• It is a pear-shaped sac attached to the posterior surface of the

liver.

• Functions
- Bile reservoir
- Concentrates bile
- Release bile when needed.

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 Carbohydrates
• The digestion of carbohydrates begins in the mouth.

• The salivary enzyme amylase begins the breakdown of food starches into maltose, a
disaccharide.

• As the bolus of food travels through the esophagus to the stomach, no significant digestion of
carbohydrates takes place. The esophagus produces no digestive enzymes but does produce
mucous for lubrication.

• The acidic environment in the stomach stops the action of the amylase enzyme.

• The next step of carbohydrate digestion takes place in the duodenum.

• Recall that the chyme from the stomach enters the duodenum and mixes with the digestive
secretion from the pancreas, liver, and gallbladder.

• Pancreatic juices also contain amylase, which continues the breakdown of starch and glycogen
into maltose, a disaccharide.
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 Carbohydrates Digestion

• The disaccharides are broken down into monosaccharides by enzymes

called maltases, sucrases, and lactases, which are also present in the
brush border of the small intestinal wall.

• Maltase breaks down maltose into glucose.

• Other disaccharides, such as sucrose and lactose are broken down by sucrase
and lactase, respectively. Sucrase breaks down sucrose (or “table sugar”) into
glucose and fructose, and lactase breaks down lactose (or “milk sugar”) into
glucose and galactose.

• The monosaccharides (glucose) thus produced are absorbed and then can be
used in metabolic pathways to harness energy. The monosaccharides are
transported across the intestinal epithelium into the bloodstream to be
transported to the different cells in the body.
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 Digestion of carbohydrates is performed by several enzymes.

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 Protein Digestion
• A large part of protein digestion takes place in the stomach.

• The enzyme pepsin plays an important role in the digestion of proteins by breaking down the intact
protein to peptides, which are short chains of four to nine amino acids.

• In the duodenum, other enzymes— trypsin, elastase, and chymotrypsin—act on the peptides
reducing them to smaller peptides.

• Trypsin, elastase, carboxypeptidase, and chymotrypsin are produced by the pancreas and released
into the duodenum where they act on the chyme.

• Further breakdown of peptides to single amino acids is aided by enzymes called peptidases (those
that break down peptides).

• Specifically, carboxypeptidase, dipeptidase, and aminopeptidase play important roles in

reducing the peptides to free amino acids. The amino acids are absorbed into the bloodstream
through the small intestines.
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Digestion of Protein
Substrate Acting
Enzyme Produced By Site of Action End Products
On

Stomach chief
Pepsin Stomach Proteins Peptides
cells

•Trypsin
•Elastase Pancreas Small intestine Proteins Peptides
Chymotrypsin

Amino acids and

Carboxypeptidase Pancreas Small intestine Peptides
peptides

•Aminopeptidase Lining of
Small intestine Peptides Amino acids
•Dipeptidase intestine

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 Lipids Digestion
• Lipid digestion begins in the stomach with the aid of lingual lipase and gastric
lipase.

• However, the bulk of lipid digestion occurs in the small intestine due to pancreatic
lipase.

• When chyme enters the duodenum, the hormonal responses trigger the release of bile,
which is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder.

• Bile aids in the digestion of lipids, primarily triglycerides by emulsification.

• Emulsification is a process in which large lipid globules are broken down into several
small lipid globules. These small globules are more widely distributed in the chyme
rather than forming large aggregates. Lipids are hydrophobic substances: in the
presence of water, they will aggregate to form globules to minimize exposure to water.

• By 02/06/2024
forming an emulsion, bile salts increase the available surface area of the lipids many34