digestive system part 1. digestive function the digestive system has one goal only: to put nutrients...
TRANSCRIPT
Digestive System Part 1
Digestive Function• The digestive system has
one goal only: to put nutrients into the bloodstream so that all our cells can access those nutrients– Many excess nutrients
can be stored• The digestive system has
many “preparation steps” to prepare food for this process
The Most Vital Organ• Only one organ performs
almost all the absorption of nutrients (excepting water): the small intestine– So called because it has a
small diameter, though it is several meters long
• If we drank liquids containing only single molecules of nutrients, we would need no other digestive organ!– This is what they inject into
your blood when you’re in a coma
Digestive Organs
• The digestive system is divided into two types of organs:– The alimentary organs that
make up the alimentary canal– Accessory organs that do not
make up the alimentary canal
• The alimentary canal is the tube running through your body
Alimentary Organs
• Mouth• Pharynx• Esophagus• Stomach• Small intestine• Large intestine• Anus
Movement
• Organs are moved from one to the next through a process called peristalsis (the pushing of food through the alimentary canal by smooth muscle)– In the esophagus, swallowing is
initiated by skeletal muscle but completed by smooth muscle and qualifies as peristalsis
– The stomach, small and large intestine all have peristalsis but it is much slower
Mouth and Esophagus• The mouth uses the teeth and
tongue to grind up food before swallowing it by pushing it back to the pharynx– Teeth are made with a lot of calcium
phosphate, which can be dissolved with acid (such as in soda or bacterial waste products)
• Swallowing is initiated voluntarily but is completed by reflex to get the food through the esophagus to the stomach
The Stomach• The stomach is a highly
muscular grinding chamber• The stomach produces gastric
juice, which contains the enzyme pepsin for protein digestion as well as other chemicals– This includes hydrochloric acid,
which makes the stomach environment very acid
• The acid itself is not for digesting the food– Kills bacteria– Enables pepsin to work
Stomach Ulcers
• Stomach ulcers were once thought to be caused by stress but are now known to be a bacterial infection (but stress does block the immune system)
• The scientist who discovered the bacterium that causes ulcers was eventually awarded the Nobel Prize– No one had believed him initially so
he drank a flask of the bacterium to gain ulcers
Gastric Juice
• Gastric juice is the secretion of the stomach• Gastric juice is very acidic and can damage
tissues other than the stomach lining– Repeated vomiting can cause gastric juice to
erode the enamel of the teeth– If gastric juice is produced in excess it can
overflow into the esophagus, causing “heartburn”• Once gastric juice mixes with and digests food
it is called chyme
Processing of Chyme
• Chyme is the partially digested food of the stomach mixed with acid
• Chyme is delivered into the small intestine very slowly through the pyloric sphincter at the bottom– Excess acid could damage the
small intestine– Helps the intestine absorb all the
nutrients
Accessory Organs
• The small intestine has enzymes on its absorptive cells but also receives digestive juices from two accessory organs
• The pancreas produces a massive battery of digestive enzymes to finish all digestion of food
• The liver produces bile, which is stored in the gallbladder until chyme enters the small intestine
Bile• Bile does not contain
digestive enzymes and does not directly perform chemical digestion
• Bile is instead an emulsifying agent, much like a detergent– To emulsify is to allow oil and
water to mix• Bile is therefore vital for
digesting and absorbing fats from food
Anatomy of Small Intestine• The lead part of the small
intestine is the duodenum, which accepts chyme from the stomach as well as the bile and the pancreatic juices
• The duodenum becomes the jejunum which then becomes the longest part, the ileum
• The entire small intestine is typically 10-15 feet long– Has enormous surface area so it
can absorb all the nutrients
Anatomy of Large Intestine
• Any indigestible materials pass from the ileum to the large intestine
• Most of large intestine is the colon (three parts are ascending, transverse and descending)– Also consists of the appendix and
the rectum– The rectum stores feces, and as it
swells it stimulates the brain to want to defecate
Hopefully that wasn’t too much to digest…
• Next Monday is digestion part 2: chemical digestion and absorption!