Digestive System

Objective :

1. Distinguish the parts involved in

digestive system

2. Explain the process of digestive

and absorption of carbohydrates,
lipid and protein to human body.
Parts of Human Digestive System

Main Parts Accessory Parts

 Mouth & Teeth  Liver
 Esophagus  Pancreas
 Stomach  Gallbladder
 Small Intestine  Salivary Gland
 Large Intestine
 Colon
 Rectum and Anus
Main Parts of Digestive System
 Mouth & Teeth

The mouth is where digestion first begins. Food starts in

your mouth and you begin digestion by chewing with your
teeth. Food mixes with your salvia to make a soft ball of
food. Next the ball of food moves into the esophagus.
 Mouth
There two major processes which take place:
• Mastication (Chewing):
- Breaks down large food molecules.
- Increases surface area of food particles.

• Secretion of Saliva:
- Contains salivary amylase (ptyalin) that
digests starch to maltose.
- Provides an alkaline medium.
- Lubricants and moistens food.
 Esophagus
Food moves through
your esophagus
which is a tube that
is about 25 cm long.
It takes 4 to 10
seconds for your
food to move
through the
esophagus.
Your smooth
muscles then move
the food down
toward the stomach.
 Stomach
The stomach is a
muscular bag that
can grow and
shrink.
Chemicals are
mixed in with the
food in your
stomach in order
to break it down.
Food digests in
your stomach for 2
to 4 hours until it
becomes a liquid
called “chyme”
 Stomach
The stomach is a hollow, muscular
holding pouch for food. The stomach
has three main regions:

The fundus
The body
The pylorus

In humans, the
stomach has a relaxed
volume of about 45 ml, it
generally expands to hold
about 1 litre of food, but
can hold as much as 4
liters.
Small Intestines
Your small intestines is 4
to 7 meters in length.
Most digestion takes place
in the small intestines.
Different chemicals are
released into the small
intestines to break down
fats, carbohydrates, and
proteins.
The absorption of
nutrients into your body
also takes place in the
small intestines.
 Liver & Pancreas
The liver gives off a greenish fluid called bile which breaks up
the fat in the food you eat.
Fats are broken down in the small intestines.
Your pancreas gives off chemicals that make a digestive
solution which helps break down food in the small intestines. It
also gives off insulin which lets sugar go into your blood stream

Pancreas

Liver
Large Intestines
Your large intestine’s
main job is to absorb
water from the mass
of food that has not
been digested. This
keeps water inside
your body so that you
do not dehydrate.
 Colon
Your colon is part of your large intestines.
The colon forms waste material that is
going to be sent out of your body.
 Rectum & Anus

The rectum and anus are part of your

large intestines. They release your
waste material from the body.
Accessory Parts
 Liver
• It is the largest organ in the mammalian body.
• It secretes bile which is stored in the gall bladder.
Bile breaks down fats into tiny droplets through
emulsification.

Roles:
• Regulates sugar/glucose
• Breaks down excess RBC
• Storage of blood
• Detoxification
• Generation of heat
 Pancreas
• It is an endocrine gland because it secretes Insulin hormone
- converts excess glucose into glycogen for storage.

• It is also an exocrine gland because it secretes pancreatic

juice in the duodenum
- pancreatic juice contains lipase, trypsin and
pancreatic amylase for digestion of lipids,
proteins and starch.
 Salivary Glands

 The salivary glands are

located near the mouth
 They produce and secrete
saliva, a substance that helps
with chewing and swallowing
by moistening the food
Digestion
 All organisms are composed of four complex
biological molecules: lipids (or fats), proteins,
carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.
 For consumers such as humans, these molecules
must be broken down into their component
parts.
◦ Lipids to fatty acids, proteins to individual amino acids,
and carbohydrates into simple sugars
 The chemical breakdown of complex biological
molecules into their component parts is the
process of digestion.
The digestive system
 In most animals the digestive system is made up
of a tube (alimentary canal) that runs more or
less the length of the body.
 Generally the food moves in one direction and
different parts are responsible for doing
different jobs in the digestive process.
 There are also accessory organs that are
important in digestion that connect to the
alimentary canal via ducts.
Principle Parts of Alimentary Canal
 Mouth- mechanical breakdown of food; tasting; secretion of
salivary glands (salivary amylase)
 Esophagus- muscular tube that connects the mouth with
the stomach
 Stomach- large muscular storage organ; functions in
storage, mixing, some secretions (acid and pepsinogen)
 Small intestine (3 parts)
◦ Duodenum, jejunum, ileum
◦ Receives bile, pancreatic amylase, other secretions;
absorption of nutrients (most sugars absorbed here)
 Large intestine- reabsorption of water; bacteria in colon
produce Vit. K
 Anus- external opening surrounded by sphincter muscle
Accessory Organs Connected to
Digestive System
 Liver- has many functions including
regulation of amino acids in blood,
production of glycogen (a storage
molecule) and bile, converting ammonia
to urea
 Pancreas- secretion of amylase and insulin
(lack on insulin may cause diabetes)
 Gall Bladder- storage of bile
A. Salivary Glands
B. Esophagus
C. Stomach
D. Pancreas
E. Large Intestine
F. Appendix
G. Small intestine
H. Gall Bladder
I. Liver
 Enzymes
 They are biological catalysts which greatly increase
the rate of a chemical reaction but are not
themselves changed during the process
 Enzymes are central in the digestion of many
substances including carbohydrates, fats and
proteins.
 In most animals, the digestive enzymes are
secreted into a special extracellular (outside of
the cells) cavity called a gut where digestion
actually takes place
◦ These smaller molecules can then be absorbed by the
circulatory system and distributed to cells throughout
the body.
Importance of Proteins
 Proteins are important as a structural
element in bones, cartilage, hair, feathers,
nails, and cell membranes.
◦ They are also important as enzymes,
hormones, antibodies, and in oxygen
transport in red blood cells.
 Proteins are formed by the linkage of
amino acids into polypeptides.
 Digestion of Proteins
 Any enzyme that digests proteins is called a
protease
 Chemical digestion of proteins begins in the
stomach
◦ The stomach is very acidic (has a low pH, 1.5 - 7)
 Pepsin is the primary digestive enzyme in the
stomach
 The small intestine carries out further digestion
with trypsin, which is secreted by the pancreas
 As proteins are digested, the polypeptide chains
unravel and break up into small chains of amino
acids called peptides
 Importance of Lipids

 They are fats and oils which are a fundamental

component of cell membranes and may be used
for energy storage or insulation
 A characteristic feature is that they do not
dissolve in water
 Digestion of Lipids
 It begins in the small intestine by making the molecules more
compatible with water so that the digestive enzymes can
access them.
◦ This is accomplished by breaking up the lipid into small droplets which
can be distributed in the water of the small intestine
 This process is referred to as emulsification
◦ Bile which is produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder and
pumped into the small intestine when lipids are present is responsible
for emulsification
 Once emulsified, they may be digested into their subunits
(glycerol and fatty acids) by digestive enzymes called lipases.
◦ They are produced in the pancreas and secreted into the small
intestine
 Importance of Carbohydrates
 These include simple sugars such as glucose and sucrose
and polysaccharides such as starch and cellulose
 They are important as structural compounds and as a
source of energy that can be used as ATP
 Starch is a complex polysaccharide made in plants cells for
the storage of energy
◦ Foods such as potatoes and pumpkins are rich in starch
and can be good sources of energy
 Cellulose is one of the most common carbohydrates and
can be found in the cell walls of plants
◦ Human digestive system is unable to break down
cellulose and is the largest component of dietary fiber
Digestion of carbohydrates
 The digestion begins by converting
polysaccharides (long chains of simple sugars)
and disaccharides (two sugars linked together)
into monosaccharides (simple sugar units) that
can be absorbed by body cells
◦ It begins in the mouth and is completed in the small
intestine (they are not digested in the stomach)
 Amylase is the enzyme responsible for digesting
starch
◦ It can be found in the mouth in one’s saliva as well as
in the small intestine secreted by the pancreas
THANK YOU