Chapter 5- Life Process Notes Class- 10

Digestion in Humans

Alimentary Canal
  The alimentary canal in humans is approximately 30 feet (9m) long. It is also called the gastrointestinal tract.

 It starts with the mouth and ends with the anus.

Organs of the Alimentary Canal Accessory organs/glands

The main organs of the alimentary canal are: Accessory organs aid in digestion process by producing

The Mouth and Oral cavity. Digestive juices and enzymes but are not the part of alimentary canal

 Oesophagus. Salivary glands

 Stomach. Liver

 Small intestine. Gall bladder

 Large intestine. Pancreas

Mouth

 It is the opening of the alimentary canal and helps in the ingestion of food.

 The buccal cavity, which is present behind the mouth, is also commonly referred to as the mouth.

 The buccal cavity has teeth and a tongue.

 The set of teeth helps in the mastication of food.

 The tongue has taste buds on it and thus helps in tasting the food.

 The salivary glands also open in the buccal cavity and pour saliva, which initiates the process of digestion.

Teeth

 Teeth are the hard structures present in the buccal cavity.

 They help us to cut, shear and masticate the food we eat.

 Enamel is the outermost, shiny, highly mineralized and hardest part of the human body.

 There are four types of teeth in humans, Incisors, canines, molars and premolars, each with a specific function.

 Incisors cut the food, canines tear the food while molars and premolars crush it.

 The dental formula in adult humans is [Link].

Salivary Glands

 Salivary glands are the exocrine glands that secrete saliva, and through a system of ducts, it is poured into the mouth.

 In healthy individuals, between 0.5 to 1.5 litres of saliva is produced per day.

 Saliva serves the following functions in the oral cavity:

1. It lubricates and protects the soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity

2. It also gives protection from dental caries

 3. Saliva prevents microbial growth in the oral cavity.

4. Saliva can encourage soft tissue repair by decreasing clotting time and increasing wound contraction.

5. Saliva contains the enzyme amylase that hydrolyses starch into maltose and dextrin. Hence saliva allows digestion to occur
before the food reaches the stomach.

6. Saliva acts as a solvent in which solid particles can dissolve and enter the taste buds located on the tongue.

Oesophagus

 The swallowed food passes into the oesophagus.

 It is a muscular tube, about 25 cm long, with a sphincter (valve/opening) at each end.

 The oral cavity leads into a short pharynx which serves as a common passage for food and air. The oesophagus and the trachea (wind
pipe) open into the pharynx.

 A cartilaginous flap called epiglottis prevents the entry of food into the glottis during swallowing. [Glottis == opening of the wind pipe].

 Its function is to transport food and fluid, after being swallowed, from the mouth to the stomach.

 Food is pushed down by peristaltic movements.

Peristalsis

A constant wave-like movement of the alimentary canal right from the oesophagus to the small intestine is called as peristalsis.

 Muscles present in the wall of the alimentary canal are responsible for peristalsis.

 This movement helps to push the food through the alimentary canal.

 Reverse Peristalsis: - Reverse peristalsis is the opposite movement, where the muscles contract in the reverse direction, pushing the

contents upward instead of downward occurs as a precursor to the action of vomiting. In such cases, when there is no peristalsis, a

person faces diarrhoea or constipation.

Stomach

 The stomach is a thick-walled bag-like structure.

 It receives food from the oesophagus at one end and opens into the small intestine at the other end.

 The inner lining of the stomach secretes mucous, hydrochloric acid and digestive juices.

 Food is churned into a semi-solid mass in the stomach and is called chyme.

 Enzyme pepsin present in gastric juice break down complex protein.

 Hydrochloric acid helps in the partial digestion of proteins by providing acidic medium to pepsin and also kills harmful bacteria.
  The mucus secreted by the wall of the stomach resists the action of HCl on itself.

Small Intestine

 The small intestine is the longest part of the alimentary canal, about 20 feet long in humans.

 It has regions, the duodenum, the region which follows the stomach; the jejunum is the middle part; and the ileum is the later region which
continues further into the large intestine.

 The internal surface of the small intestine is folded into finger-like projections called villi.

 A common pancreatic duct from the pancreas and liver opens into the duodenum.

 Most of the chemical digestion and absorption takes place in the small intestine.

Villi and Micro Villi

 Complete digestion and absorption of food take place in the small intestine.

 Pancreatic juice coming from the pancreas, bile from the liver and intestinal juice secreted by the intestinal glands complet e the digestion
of food material.

 All the digested nutrients are absorbed by the long finger-like projections present in the ileum of the small intestine.

 These small finger-like projections of the inner wall of the intestine are called villi (singular: villus).

 Each villus has its cell membrane of the lumen side again folded into microscopic processes called microvilli.

 Villi increase the internal surface area of the intestinal walls making available a greater surface area for absorption.

 Villi are supplied with a network of capillaries and a large lymph (a colourless fluid containing white blood cells) vessel called the lacteal.

 Digested nutrients pass into the semipermeable villi through diffusion.

 Villi also help in the chemical digestion of food by secreting digestive enzymes.

Large Intestine

 The large intestine in humans is about 5 feet long.

 It has two regions, the colon ( about 1.5 m) and the rectum (10 cm in length in the adult).

 The region of the large intestine after the ileum is called the colon, while the last part is called the rectum.

 Colon has three regions, ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon.

 At the base of the ascending colon, a small finger-like out-growth is seen and is called an appendix.
  It houses many useful bacteria required for the digestion of food.

 Water, electrolytes and vitamins are absorbed by the large intestine and the waste is defecated

 The innermost layer of the large intestine also acts as a barrier and protects from microbial infections and invasions.

 Rectum stores the undigested food temporarily until defecation.

 Rectum opens to the outside by the anus.

 The anus has internal and external anal sphincters.

ACCESSORY GLANDS

Pancreas

 The pancreas is a long, flat gland present behind the stomach in humans.

 It is one of the major digestive glands and is of mixed nature, i.e. endocrine as well as exocrine.

 As an endocrine organ, it secretes two hormones called insulin and glucagon which maintain the blood sugar level.

 As an exocrine gland, it secretes pancreatic juice, which is nothing but a mixture of many digestive enzymes.

 The digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas include trypsin and chymotrypsin, and proteases which digest proteins.

 It also includes amylase, which digests the starch content of the food.

 Pancreatic lipases are the pancreatic enzymes that help in the digestion of fats.

Liver
The liver is a roughly triangular, reddish-brown accessory organ of the digestive system located to the right of the stomach. It produces bile, which

helps in the digestion of fat in the small intestine. The bile is stored and recycled in the gallbladder. It is a small, pear-shaped organ which is located

just next to the liver.

 The liver is the largest and major digestive gland of humans

 The liver, in humans, is located in the upper right-hand portion of the abdomen.
 This organ is dark reddish-brown in colour due to an extensive blood supply.
 Bile is a yellow-green alkaline liquid stored in the gallbladder.
 Bile does not contain enzymes, but helps in:

1. Emulsification of fats:
→ Bile breaks large fat globules into smaller droplets.
→ This increases the surface area for enzymes to act on fats.
2. Neutralizing stomach acid:
→ Bile is alkaline and neutralizes the acidic chyme (food + acid) from the stomach before it enters the small intestine.

 The liver secretes bile which is stored in the gallbladder. Bile helps in the digestion of fats.

Disorders of Human Digestive System

Vomiting: It is the ejection of stomach contents through the mouth.

Diarrhoea: It is the abnormal watery bowel movement. Prolonged diarrhoea eventually leads to dehydration.

Constipation: A condition in which the faeces are clutched within the rectum due to an irregular bowel movement.

Indigestion: A pain or discomfort in the stomach which is caused when food is not digested properly, resulting in the feeling of fullness. Indigestion

is mainly caused due to inadequate enzyme secretion, food poisoning, anxiety, overeating and eating spicy foods.

Digestive System in Other Animals

 Digestive systems in different animals vary in structure and function.

 The structure of the digestive system depends on the food habits of the animal.

 The alimentary canal in herbivores is long as the cellulose content of their plant-based diet takes a long time to digest. On the other hand,
the alimentary canal of carnivorous animals is comparatively shorter

Respiration
Introduction to Respiration
  Respiration broadly means the exchange of gases.

 Animals and plants have different means of exchange of gases.

 At a cellular level, respiration means the burning of food to generate the energy needed for other life processes.

 Cellular respiration may take place in the presence or absence of oxygen.

Respiration in Humans

 The human respiratory system is more complex and involves breathing, the exchange of gases and cellular respiration.

 A well-defined respiratory system helps with breathing and the exchange of gases.

 Breathing involves the inhalation of oxygen and the exhalation of carbon dioxide.

 The gaseous exchange takes place in the lungs, and oxygen is supplied to all cells of the body.

 Cellular respiration takes place in each and every cell.

Respiratory System

 The human respiratory system involves the nose, nasal cavities, pharynx, larynx, trachea/windpipe, bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli.

 Bronchioles and alveoli are enclosed in a pair of lungs.

 The rib cage, muscles associated with the rib cage and diaphragm all help in the inhalation and exhalation of gases.

 The exchange of gases takes place between an alveolar surface and surrounding blood vessels.

 Alveoli provide a large surface area for the exchange of gases.

Physiology of Respiration

 Breathing in humans is facilitated by the action of internal intercostal and external intercostal muscles attached to the ribs and the
diaphragm.

 When the dome-shaped diaphragm contracts and becomes flattened and the rib cage is expanded due to the action of intercostal
muscles, the volume of the lungs increases, pressure there drops down and the air from outside gushes in. This is inhalation.

 To exhale, the diaphragm relaxes and becomes dome-shaped again; the chest cavity contracts due to the action of intercostal muscles,
the volume inside the lungs decreases, pressure increases and the air is forced out of the lungs.

 Inhaled air increases the concentration of oxygen in the alveoli, so oxygen simply diffuses into the surrounding blood vessels.

 Blood coming from cells has more concentration of carbon dioxide than outside air, and thus carbon dioxide simply diffuses out of the
blood vessels into the alveoli.

 Thus, breathing takes place due to the combined action of intercostal muscles and the diaphragm, while the exchange of gases takes
place due to simple diffusion.
 
Inhalation and Exhalation

 The process of taking in air rich in oxygen is called inhalation.

 Similarly, the process of giving out air rich in carbon dioxide is called exhalation.

 One breath comprises one inhalation and one exhalation.

 A person breathes several times a day.

 The number of times a person breathes in one minute is termed as his/her breathing rate.

Diffusion

Diffusion is the movement of molecules from high concentration area to the low concentration area without spending any energy.

Cellular Respiration

Cellular respiration is set of metabolic reactions occurring inside the cells to convert biochemical energy obtained from the food into a chemical
compound called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

 Metabolism refers to a set of chemical reactions carried out to maintain the living state of the cells in an organism. These can be divided
into two categories:

 Catabolism – the process of breaking molecules to obtain energy.

 Anabolism – the process of synthesizing all compounds required by the cells.

 Therefore, respiration is a catabolic process which breaks large molecules into smaller ones, releasing energy to fuel cellular activities..
Anaerobic Respiration

It occurs in the absence of the oxygen. Pyruvic acid converts into ethyl alcohol or lactic acid. Ethyl alcohol typically forms in microbes such as yeast
or bacteria during anaerobic respiration. Lactic acid is produced in certain microbes and muscles cells during this process

Aerobic Respiration

Aerobic respiration is a process in which the food i.e. glucose is converted into energy in the presence of oxygen.

 The general equation of aerobic respiration as a whole is given below-

Glucose + oxygen ⇒ Carbon dioxide + Water + Energy

 This type of respiration takes place in animals, plants and other living organisms.

Respiration in Lower Animals

  Lower animals lack a sophisticated respiratory system like lungs, alveoli etc.

 Respiration in them takes place by simple exchange mechanisms.

 Animals like earthworms take in gases through their skin.

 Fishes have gills for gaseous exchange.

 Insects have a tracheal system, which is a network of tubes through which air circulates and gaseous exchange takes place.

 Frogs breathe through their skin when in water and through their lungs when on land.

Respiration in Muscles

 Respiration in muscles can be anaerobic when there is not enough oxygen.

 Glucose gets broken down into carbon dioxide and lactic acid.

 This results in the accumulation of lactic acid that makes the muscles sore and leads to cramps.

 This type of anaerobic respiration is also known as lactic acid fermentation.

ATP

 It is the energy currency of the cell.

 ATP stands for Adenosine Tri-Phosphate.

 This molecule is created.; as a result, reactions like photosynthesis, respiration etc.

 The three phosphate bonds present in the molecule are high-energy bonds, and when they are broken, a large amount of energy is
released around 35kj/mol.

 Such released energy is then used for other metabolic reactions.

 Respiration in Plants

 Unlike animals and humans, plants do not have any specialized structures for gaseous exchange.

 They have stomata (present in leaves) and lenticels (present in stems), which are involved in the exchange of gases.

 Compared to animals, plant roots, stems, and leaves respire at a very lower rate.

Transpiration

 Transpiration is a biological process in which water is lost in the form of water vapour from the aerial parts of the plants.

 This process occurs mainly through the stomata, where the exchange of gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) occurs.

 Transpiration helps in the transportation of water from roots to the upper parts of plants, and this is explained by the ‘transpirational pull
theory’.

 Loss of water, especially from leaves, acts as a straw effect and pulls water upwards from roots.

 Transpiration also acts as an excretory mechanism in plants as it helps to get rid of excess water.

 In unicellular organisms like amoeba exchange of gases takes place through a general body surface by osmosis.

Why Do We Need Lungs?

 In lower animals like an earthworm, the gaseous exchange takes place through their moist skin.

 The requirement for oxygen is sufficiently met in these ways.

 But as the animal starts becoming more and more complex, for example, humans, the requirement for oxygen cannot be met alone by
diffusion.

 Moreover, diffusion will not be able to supply oxygen to the deep-seated cells.

 This difficulty has led to the evolution of a more complex mechanism of gaseous exchange, and that is the development of lungs.

 The alveoli present in the lungs provide a large surface area required for the necessary gas exchange.

Transportation

Transportation in Human Beings

 All living organisms need a few necessary components like air, water, and food for their survival.
 On a regular basis, animals ensure these elements by breathing, drinking and eating.

 The required elements are transported to their body cells and tissues by a transportation system.

 In plants, the vascular tissue is responsible for transporting the substances.

Transportation in Humans

 Transportation in humans is done by the circulatory system.

 The circulatory system in humans mainly consists of blood, blood vessels and the heart.

 It is responsible for the supply of oxygen and nutrients and the removal of carbon dioxide and other excretory products.

 It also helps to fight infections.

Heart

 The muscular organ which is located near the chest, slightly towards the left in the thoracic region.

 The heart is the main pumping organ of the body.

 The human heart is divided into four chambers which are involved in the transportation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.

 The upper two chambers are called atria, whereas the lower two chambers are called ventricles.

Blood Vessels

 Blood vessels carry blood throughout the body.

 These three types of blood vessels are arteries, veins and blood capillaries.

 Arteries carry oxygenated blood, and veins carry deoxygenated blood.

 Gaseous exchange takes place between blood and cells at capillaries.

Difference between arteries and veins

Blood Pressure

The pressure exerted by the blood when it flows through the blood vessels is called blood pressure.

 There are two different variants of blood pressure; systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

 The pressure exerted on the walls of arteries when the heart is filling with blood is called diastolic pressure. It constitutes
the minimum pressure on arteries.

 The normal range of diastolic blood pressure should be 60 – 80 mm Hg.

 The pressure exerted on the walls of arteries when the heart is pumping the blood is called systolic pressure. It constitutes
the maximum pressure applied to the arteries.

 The normal range of systolic blood pressure should be 90 – 120 mm Hg.

Bleeding

 Bleeding occurs when the blood vessels rupture.

 Bleeding is stopped by the platelets that help in the clotting of blood at the site of the injury.

 Blood Clotting is the process of forming a clot in order to prevent excess loss of blood from the body.

 It is a gel-like mass which is formed by the platelets and a fibre-like protein in the blood.

Double Circulation

 In the human body, blood circulates through the heart twice.

 Once it goes through the heart during pulmonary circulation and a second time during systemic circulation.

 Hence, circulation in human beings is called double circulation.

 Block Diagram
Types of Circulation:

1. Pulmonary Circulation:

Blood from the right ventricle of the heart is pumped into the pulmonary artery, which carries it to the lungs.

In the lungs, the blood undergoes oxygenation (picks up oxygen and releases carbon dioxide) and returns to the heart through the pulmonary veins
into the left atrium.

2. Systemic Circulation:

Oxygenated blood from the left atrium is pumped into the left ventricle, and from there, it is pumped through the aorta to th e rest of the body.

This blood supplies oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and organs. The deoxygenated blood then returns to the heart through the superior and
inferior vena cava, entering the right atrium.

Lymphatic System

 Lymph is a fluid that gathers excess tissue fluid and returns it to the bloodstream.

 It also transports digested fats from the intestine and aids in the immune response
Circulation in other animals

Transportation in Plants

 Transportation is a vital process in plants.

 The process involves the transportation of water and necessary nutrients to all parts of the plant for its survival.

 Food and water transportation takes place separately in plants.

 Xylem transports water, and phloem transports food.

Phloem

 The phloem is responsible for the translocation of nutrients and sugar, like carbohydrates, produced by t he leaves to areas of the plant
that are metabolically active.

 Sieve tubes, companion cells, phloem fibres, and phloem parenchyma cells are the components of this tissue.

 The flow of material through the phloem is bidirectional.

Translocation

 The transport of food in the plant through phloem via a process such as mass flow is called translocation.

 Photosynthates, i.e. sugars and organic molecules such as amino acids, organic acids, proteins and inorganic solutes like pot assium,
magnesium, nitrate, calcium, sulphur and iron from source tissues (mature leaves) to the sink cells (areas of growth and storage) are
transported through the phloem.

 Material like sucrose is loaded from leaves to phloem using the energy of ATP.

 Such a transfer increases the osmotic pressure causing the movement of water from nearby cells into phloem tissue, and the material
gets transported through the phloem.

 The same pressure is also responsible for the transfer of substances from the phloem to tissues where food is required.

 Thus the bulk flow of material through phloem takes place in response to an osmotically generated pressure difference.

Xylem

 Xylem tissue transports water in plants from the root to all other parts of the plant.

 Xylem tissue is made up of tracheids, vessels, xylem fibres and xylem parenchyma.

 The flow of water and minerals through the xylem is always unidirectional.
Root Pressure

 Conduction of water through the xylem, from roots to upper parts of plants, is due to many forces acting together.

 One of the forces responsible for this is root pressure.

 Root pressure is osmotic pressure within the cells of a root system that causes sap to rise through a plant stem to the leaves.

 Root pressure helps in the initial transport of water up the roots.

Transport of Water

 Water is absorbed by the roots and is transported by the xylem to the upper parts of the plant.

Imbibition, osmosis, root pressure and transpiration are the forces that contribute towards the upward movement of water, even in the tallest plants.

 Imbibition is a process in which water is absorbed by solids. E.g. seeds take up water when soaked.

 Osmosis is a process where water moves from the area of its lower concentration to the area of its higher concentration.

 At the roots, the cells take up ions by an active process, and this results in the difference in concentration of these ions.

 It leads to the movement of water, in the root cells, by osmosis.

 This creates a continuous column of water that gets pushed upwards. This is root pressure.

 Transpiration contributes to the upward movement of water by creating a staw effect.

 It pulls the water column upwards as there is a continuous loss of water from leaves.

 All these forces act together for water transport through the xylem
Excretion

Excretion in Humans

Excretion is the process of removal of metabolic waste material and other non-useful substances.

 Organisms like animals have an advanced and specialized system for excretion.

 But plants lack a well-developed excretory system like that in animals.

 They do not have special organs for excretion, and thus excretion in plants is not so complex.

Excretion in Unicellular Organisms

 In unicellular organisms such as amoeba and bacteria, the waste product is removed by simple diffusion through the general body
surface.

 Unicellular organisms like the amoeba and paramecium excrete excess through tiny organelles called contractile vacuoles.

 Undigested food in unicellular animals is excreted when the food vacuole merges with the general body surface and opens to the outside.

Excretory System of Humans

 The excretory system in humans includes

 a pair of kidneys,

 a pair of ureters,

 a urinary bladder and

 urethra.

 It produces urine as a waste product.

Kidneys

 Paired kidneys are the main excretory organs of the body.

 They are basically the filtration units of the human body.

 Each kidney is made up of many tiny filtration units called nephrons.

 Kidneys perform crucial functions like:

1. Filtering waste materials, medications, and toxic substances from the blood.

2. Regulation of osmolarity, i.e. the fluid balance of the body.

3. Regulation of ion concentration in the body.

4. Regulation of pH.

5. Regulation of extracellular fluid volume.

6. Secreting hormones that help produce red blood cells promotes bone health and regulates blood pressure.
Nephron

Nephrons are the structural and functional unit of kidney.

 Each kidney has millions of nephrons, and it forms the basic structural and functional unit of the kidney.

 Each nephron has two parts: The malpighian body and the renal tubule.

 The malpighian body is made up of a cup-like structure called Bowman’s capsule, which encloses a bunch of capillaries called the
glomerulus.

 These regions absorb useful substances back into the blood and also filter the remaining waste substances

 They together filter waste materials along with many useful substances.

 A narrow tube called the ureter runs from the inner side of each kidney.

 The ureters, in turn, are connected to a large sac called the urinary bladder. Urine passes from the kidney through two ureters into the
urinary bladder. Urine is collected and stored here.

 Leading from the bladder is another tube called the urethra. Urethra works as the outlet passage for urine. .

 The output from nephrons is called urine.

Haemodialysis
  When the kidneys fail, it results in a lot of complications, and to compensate for this situation, a technology called dialys is has been
developed.

 It uses a machine filter called a dialyzer or artificial kidney.

 This is to remove excess water and salt, balance other electrolytes in the body and remove waste products of metabolism.

 Blood from the body is removed and flows through a series of tubes made up of a semipermeable membrane.

 A dialysate flows on the other side of the membrane, which draws impurities through the membrane.

Excretion in Plants

 Cellular respiration, photosynthesis, and other metabolic reactions produce a lot of excretory products in plants.

 Carbon dioxide, excess water produced during respiration and nitrogenous compounds produced during protein metabolism are the major
excretory products in plants.

 Plants produce two gaseous waste products, i.e. oxygen during photosynthesis and carbon dioxide during respiration.

 The excretion of gaseous waste in plants takes place through stomatal pores on leaves.

 Oxygen released during photosynthesis is used for respiration, while carbon dioxide released during respiration is used for
photosynthesis.

 Excess water is excreted by transpiration.

 Organic by-products generated by the plant are stored in different forms in different parts.

 The gums, oils, latex, resins, etc., are some waste products stored in plant parts like bark, stems, leaves, etc.

 Eventually, plants shed off these parts.

 A few examples of the excretory products of plants are oil produced from oranges, eucalyptus, jasmine, latex from the rubber tree,
papaya tree, and gums from acacia.

 Sometimes plants even excrete into the soil.