14

PART A
The Digestive System
and Body Metabolism
PowerPoint® Lecture Slide Presentation by Jerry L. Cook, Sam Houston University

ESSENTIALS
OF HUMAN
ANATOMY
& PHYSIOLOGY
EIGHTH EDITION

ELAINE N. MARIEB

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The Digestive System and Body
Metabolism
 Digestion
 Breakdown of ingested food
 Absorption of nutrients into the blood
 Metabolism
 Production of cellular energy (ATP)
 Constructive and degradative cellular
activities

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Organs of the Digestive System
 Two main groups
 Alimentary canal – continuous coiled
hollow tube
 Accessory digestive organs

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Organs of the Digestive System

Figure 14.1
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Organs of the Alimentary Canal
 Mouth
 Pharynx
 Esophagus
 Stomach
 Small intestine
 Large intestine
 Anus

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Mouth (Oral Cavity) Anatomy
 Lips (labia) – protect
the anterior opening
 Cheeks – form the
lateral walls
 Hard palate – forms
the anterior roof
 Soft palate – forms
the posterior roof
 Uvula – fleshy
projection of the
soft palate

Figure 14.2a
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Mouth (Oral Cavity) Anatomy
 Vestibule – space
between lips
externally and teeth
and gums internally
 Oral cavity – area
contained by the teeth
 Tongue – attached at
hyoid and styloid
processes of the skull,
and by the lingual
frenulum
Figure 14.2a
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Mouth (Oral Cavity) Anatomy
 Tonsils
 Palatine tonsils
 Lingual tonsil

Figure 14.2a
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Processes of the Mouth
 Mastication (chewing) of food
 Mixing masticated food with saliva
 Initiation of swallowing by the tongue
 Allowing for the sense of taste

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Pharynx Anatomy
 Nasopharynx –
not part of the
digestive system
 Oropharynx –
posterior to oral
cavity
 Laryngopharynx –
below the oropharynx
and connected to
the esophagus

Figure 14.2a
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Pharynx Function
 Serves as a passageway for air and food
 Food is propelled to the esophagus by two
muscle layers
 Longitudinal inner layer
 Circular outer layer
 Food movement is by alternating contractions
of the muscle layers (peristalsis)

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Esophagus
 Runs from pharynx to stomach through the
diaphragm
 Conducts food by peristalsis
(slow rhythmic squeezing)
 Passageway for food only (respiratory system
branches off after the pharynx)

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Layers of Alimentary Canal Organs
 Mucosa
 Innermost layer
 Moist membrane
 Surface epithelium
 Small amount of connective tissue
(lamina propria)
 Small smooth muscle layer

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Layers of Alimentary Canal Organs
 Submucosa
 Just beneath the mucosa
 Soft connective tissue with blood vessels,
nerve endings, and lymphatics

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Layers of Alimentary Canal Organs
 Muscularis externa – smooth muscle
 Inner circular layer
 Outer longitudinal layer
 Serosa
 Outermost layer – visceral peritoneum
 Layer of serous fluid-producing cells

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Layers of Alimentary Canal Organs

Figure 14.3
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Alimentary Canal Nerve Plexuses
 All are part of the autonomic nervous system
 Three separate networks of nerve fibers
 Submucosal nerve plexus
 Myenteric nerve plexus
 Subserous plexus

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Stomach Anatomy
 Located on the left side of the abdominal
cavity
 Food enters at the cardioesophageal sphincter

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Stomach Anatomy
 Regions of the stomach
 Cardiac region – near the heart
 Fundus
 Body
 Phylorus – funnel-shaped terminal end
 Food empties into the small intestine at the
pyloric sphincter

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Stomach Anatomy
 Rugae – internal folds of the mucosa
 External regions
 Lesser curvature
 Greater curvature

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Stomach Anatomy
 Layers of peritoneum attached to the stomach
 Lesser omentum – attaches the liver to the
lesser curvature
 Greater omentum – attaches the greater
curvature to the posterior body wall
 Contains fat to insulate, cushion, and
protect abdominal organs

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Stomach Anatomy

Figure 14.4a
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Stomach Functions
 Acts as a storage tank for food
 Site of food breakdown
 Chemical breakdown of protein begins
 Delivers chyme (processed food) to the small
intestine

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Specialized Mucosa of the Stomach
 Simple columnar epithelium
 Mucous neck cells – produce a sticky
alkaline mucus
 Gastric glands – secrete gastric juice
 Chief cells – produce protein-digesting
enzymes (pepsinogens)
 Parietal cells – produce hydrochloric acid
 Endocrine cells – produce gastrin

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Structure of the Stomach Mucosa
 Gastric pits formed by folded mucosa
 Glands and specialized cells are in the gastric
gland region

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Structure of the Stomach Mucosa

Figure 14.4b–c
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Small Intestine
 The body’s major digestive organ
 Site of nutrient absorption into the blood
 Muscular tube extending form the pyloric
sphincter to the ileocecal valve
 Suspended from the posterior abdominal wall
by the mesentery

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Subdivisions of the Small Intestine
 Duodenum
 Attached to the stomach
 Curves around the head of the pancreas
 Jejunum
 Attaches anteriorly to the duodenum
 Ileum
 Extends from jejunum to large intestine

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Chemical Digestion in the Small Intestine
 Source of enzymes that are mixed with
chyme
 Intestinal cells
 Pancreas
 Bile enters from the gall bladder

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Chemical Digestion in the Small Intestine

Figure 14.6
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Villi of the Small Intestine
 Fingerlike structures
formed by the mucosa
 Give the small
intestine more surface
area

Figure 14.7a
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Microvilli of the Small Intestine
 Small projections of
the plasma membrane
 Found on absorptive
cells

Figure 14.7c
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Structures Involved in Absorption of
Nutrients
 Absorptive cells
 Blood capillaries
 Lacteals (specialized
lymphatic capillaries)

Figure 14.7b
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Folds of the Small Intestine
 Called circular folds or plicae circulares
 Deep folds of the mucosa and submucosa
 Do not disappear when filled with food
 The submucosa has Peyer’s patches
(collections of lymphatic tissue)

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Large Intestine
 Larger in diameter, but shorter than the small
intestine
 Frames the internal abdomen

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Large Intestine

Figure 14.8
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Functions of the Large Intestine
 Absorption of water
 Eliminates indigestible food from the body as
feces
 Does not participate in digestion of food
 Goblet cells produce mucus to act as a
lubricant

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Structures of the Large Intestine
 Cecum – saclike first part of the large
intestine
 Appendix
 Accumulation of lymphatic tissue that
sometimes becomes inflamed
(appendicitis)
 Hangs from the cecum

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Structures of the Large Intestine
 Colon
 Ascending
 Transverse
 Descending
 S-shaped sigmoidal
 Rectum
 Anus – external body opening

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Modifications to the Muscularis Externa in
the Large Intestine
 Smooth muscle is reduced to three bands
(teniae coli)
 Muscle bands have some degree of tone
 Walls are formed into pocketlike sacs called
haustra

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Accessory Digestive Organs
 Salivary glands
 Teeth
 Pancreas
 Liver
 Gall bladder

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Salivary Glands
 Saliva-producing glands
 Parotid glands – located anterior to ears
 Submandibular glands
 Sublingual glands

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Saliva
 Mixture of mucus and serous fluids
 Helps to form a food bolus
 Contains salivary amylase to begin starch
digestion
 Dissolves chemicals so they can be tasted

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Teeth
 The role is to masticate (chew) food
 Humans have two sets of teeth
 Deciduous (baby or milk) teeth
 20 teeth are fully formed by age two

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Teeth
 Permanent teeth
 Replace deciduous teeth beginning
between the ages of 6 to 12
 A full set is 32 teeth, but some people do
not have wisdom teeth

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Classification of Teeth
 Incisors
 Canines
 Premolars
 Molars

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Classification of Teeth

Figure 14.9
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Regions of a Tooth
 Crown – exposed part
 Outer enamel
 Dentin
 Pulp cavity
 Neck
 Region in contact
with the gum
 Connects crown to
root

Figure 14.10
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Regions of a Tooth
 Root
 Periodontal
membrane
attached to the
bone
 Root canal
carrying blood
vessels and nerves

Figure 14.10
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Pancreas
 Produces a wide spectrum of digestive
enzymes that break down all categories of
food
 Enzymes are secreted into the duodenum
 Alkaline fluid introduced with enzymes
neutralizes acidic chyme
 Endocrine products of pancreas
 Insulin
 Glucagons

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Liver
 Largest gland in the body
 Located on the right side of the body under
the diaphragm
 Consists of four lobes suspended from the
diaphragm and abdominal wall by the
falciform ligament
 Connected to the gall bladder via the
common hepatic duct

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Bile
 Produced by cells in the liver
 Composition
 Bile salts
 Bile pigment (mostly bilirubin from the
breakdown of hemoglobin)
 Cholesterol
 Phospholipids
 Electrolytes
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Gall Bladder
 Sac found in hollow fossa of liver
 Stores bile from the liver by way of the cystic
duct
 Bile is introduced into the duodenum in the
presence of fatty food
 Gallstones can cause blockages

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Processes of the Digestive System
 Ingestion – getting food into the mouth
 Propulsion – moving foods from one region
of the digestive system to another

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Processes of the Digestive System
 Peristalsis – alternating
waves of contraction

 Segmentation – moving
materials back and forth
to aid in mixing

Figure 14.12
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Processes of the Digestive System
 Mechanical digestion
 Mixing of food in the mouth by the tongue
 Churning of food in the stomach
 Segmentation in the small intestine

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Processes of the Digestive System
 Chemical Digestion
 Enzymes break down food molecules into
their building blocks
 Each major food group uses different
enzymes
 Carbohydrates are broken to simple sugars
 Proteins are broken to amino acids
 Fats are broken to fatty acids and alcohols

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Processes of the Digestive System
 Absorption
 End products of digestion are absorbed in
the blood or lymph
 Food must enter mucosal cells and then
into blood or lymph capillaries
 Defecation
 Elimination of indigestible substances as
feces

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Processes of the Digestive System

Figure 14.11
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Control of Digestive Activity
 Mostly controlled by reflexes via the
parasympathetic division
 Chemical and mechanical receptors are
located in organ walls that trigger reflexes

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Control of Digestive Activity
 Stimuli include:
 Stretch of the organ
 pH of the contents
 Presence of breakdown products
 Reflexes include:
 Activation or inhibition of glandular
secretions
 Smooth muscle activity

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Digestive Activities of the Mouth
 Mechanical breakdown
 Food is physically broken down by
chewing
 Chemical digestion
 Food is mixed with saliva
 Breaking of starch into maltose by
salivary amylase

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Activities of the Pharynx and Esophagus
 These organs have no digestive function
 Serve as passageways to the stomach

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Deglutition (Swallowing)
 Buccal phase
 Voluntary
 Occurs in the mouth
 Food is formed into a bolus
 The bolus is forced into the pharynx by
the tongue

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Deglutition (Swallowing)
 Pharyngeal-esophageal phase
 Involuntary transport of the bolus
 All passageways except to the stomach are
blocked
 Tongue blocks off the mouth
 Soft palate (uvula) blocks the nasopharynx
 Epiglottis blocks the larynx

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Deglutition (Swallowing)
 Pharyngeal-esophogeal phase (continued)
 Peristalsis moves the bolus toward the
stomach
 The cardioesophageal sphincter is opened
when food presses against it

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Deglutition (Swallowing)

Figure 14.14
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Food Breakdown in the Stomach
 Gastric juice is regulated by neural and
hormonal factors
 Presence of food or falling pH causes the
release of gastrin
 Gastrin causes stomach glands to produce
protein-digesting enzymes
 Hydrocholoric acid makes the stomach
contents very acidic

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Necessity of an Extremely Acid
Environment in the Stomach
 Activates pepsinogen to pepsin for protein
digestion
 Provides a hostile environment for
microorganisms

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Digestion and Absorption in the Stomach
 Protein digestion enzymes
 Pepsin – an active protein digesting
enzyme
 Rennin – works on digesting milk protein
 The only absorption that occurs in the
stomach is of alcohol and aspirin

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Propulsion in the Stomach
 Food must first be well mixed
 Rippling peristalsis occurs in the lower
stomach

Figure 14.15
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Propulsion in the Stomach
 The pylorus meters out chyme into the small
intestine (30 ml at a time)
 The stomach empties in four to six hours

Figure 14.15
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Digestion in the Small Intestine
 Enzymes from the brush border
 Break double sugars into simple sugars
 Complete some protein digestion
 Pancreatic enzymes play the major digestive
function
 Help complete digestion of starch
(pancreatic amylase)
 Carry out about half of all protein
digestion (trypsin, etc.)

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Digestion in the Small Intestine
 Pancreatic enzymes play the major digestive
function (continued)
 Responsible for fat digestion (lipase)
 Digest nucleic acids (nucleases)
 Alkaline content neutralizes acidic chyme

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Stimulation of the Release of Pancreatic
Juice
 Vagus nerve
 Local hormones
 Secretin
 Cholecystokinin

Figure 14.16
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Absorption in the Small Intestine
 Water is absorbed along the length of the
small intestine
 End products of digestion
 Most substances are absorbed by active
transport through cell membranes
 Lipids are absorbed by diffusion
 Substances are transported to the liver by the
hepatic portal vein or lymph

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Propulsion in the Small Intestine
 Peristalsis is the major means of moving food
 Segmental movements
 Mix chyme with digestive juices
 Aid in propelling food

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Food Breakdown and Absorption in the
Large Intestine
 No digestive enzymes are produced
 Resident bacteria digest remaining nutrients
 Produce some vitamin K and B
 Release gases
 Water and vitamins K and B are absorbed
 Remaining materials are eliminated via feces

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Propulsion in the Large Intestine
 Sluggish peristalsis
 Mass movements
 Slow, powerful movements
 Occur three to four times per day
 Presence of feces in the rectum causes a defecation
reflex
 Internal anal sphincter is relaxed
 Defecation occurs with relaxation of the
voluntary (external) anal sphincter

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