Chapter 14
Digestive System
Mr. Cyrus L. Alcala RN MN
The Digestive System Functions Anatomy of the Digestive System
• Ingestion - taking in food
• Two main groups of organs
Alimentary canal (gastrointestinal, or GI,
• Digestion - breaking food into nutrient
molecules tract)—continuous, coiled, hollow tube
• Absorption - movement of nutrients into the • These organs ingest, digest, absorb,
bloodstream defecate
• Defecation - excretes to rid the body of
Accessory digestive organs
indigestible waste • Include teeth, tongue, and several large
digestive organs
• Assist digestion in various ways
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Figure 14.1 The human digestive
system: Alimentary canal and
accessory organs. Organs of the Alimentary Canal
The alimentary canal is a continuous, coiled,
hollow tube that runs through the ventral cavity
from stomach to anus
- Mouth
- Pharynx
- Esophagus
- Stomach
- Small intestine
- Large intestine
- Anus
Mouth
• Anatomy of the mouth
Mouth (oral cavity) - mucous membrane– Oral cavity proper - area contained by
lined cavity the teeth
Lips (labia) - protect the anterior opening Tongue - attached at hyoid bone and
Cheeks - form the lateral walls styloid processes of the skull, and by
Hard palate - forms the anterior roof the lingual frenulum to the floor of the
Soft palate - forms the posterior roof mouth
Uvula - fleshy projection of the soft palate Tonsils
Vestibule - space between lips externally • Palatine—located at posterior end of oral
and teeth and gums internally cavity
• Lingual—located at the base of the tongue
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Mouth Pharynx
• Functions of the mouth • Serves as a passageway for foods, fluids,
Mastication (chewing) of food and air
Tongue mixes masticated food • Food passes from the mouth posteriorly
with saliva into the:
Tongue initiates swallowing - Oropharynx - posterior to oral cavity
Taste buds on the tongue - Laryngopharynx - below the
allow for taste oropharynx and continuous with the
esophagus
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Pharynx
• Food is propelled to the esophagus by
two skeletal muscle layers in the
pharynx
Longitudinal outer layer
Circular inner layer
• Alternating contractions of the muscle
layers (peristalsis) propel the food
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Layers of Tissue in the
Esophagus Alimentary Canal Organs
• Anatomy
About 10 inches long • Summary of the four layers
Runs from pharynx to stomach from innermost to
through the diaphragm outermost, from esophagus
• Physiology to the large intestine
Conducts food by peristalsis (slow (detailed next)
rhythmic squeezing) to the 1. Mucosa
stomach 2. Submucosa
Passageway for food only 3. Muscularis externa
(respiratory system branches off 4. Serosa
after the pharynx)
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Layers of Tissue in the Alimentary Canal Organs
1. Mucosa 2. Submucosa
Innermost, moist membrane consisting
- Just beneath the mucosa
of: - Soft connective tissue with blood
Surface epithelium that is mostly simple columnar
epithelium (except for esophagus - stratified vessels, nerve endings, mucosa-
squamous epithelium) associated lymphoid tissue, and
Small amount of connective tissue (lamina
propria) lymphatic vessels
Scanty smooth muscle layer
Lines the cavity (known as the lumen)
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Layers of Tissue in the Alimentary Canal Organs
3. Muscularis externa—smooth muscle
- Inner circular layer
- Outer longitudinal layer
4. Serosa - outermost layer of the wall; contains
fluid-producing cells
- Visceral peritoneum - innermost layer that is
continuous with the outermost layer
- Parietal peritoneum - outermost layer that
lines the abdominopelvic cavity by way of the
mesentery
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Alimentary Canal Nerve Plexuses Stomach
• Alimentary canal wall contains two • C-shaped organ located on the left
intrinsic nerve plexuses that are part side of the abdominal cavity
of the autonomic nervous system • Food enters at the cardioesophageal
- Submucosal nerve plexus sphincter from the esophagus
- Myenteric nerve plexus • Food empties into the small intestine
• Regulate mobility and secretory at the pyloric sphincter (valve)
activity of the GI tract organs
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Stomach
• Regions
- Cardial (cardia) - near the heart and
surrounds the cardioesophageal sphincter
- Fundus - expanded portion lateral to the
cardiac region
- Body - midportion
- Greater curvature is the convex lateral
surface
- Lesser curvature is the concave medial
surface
- Pylorus - funnel-shaped terminal end
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Stomach
• Stomach can stretch and hold 4 L (1 gallon) of food
when full
Rugae—internal folds of the mucosa present when the
stomach is empty
• Lesser omentum
- Double layer of the peritoneum
- Extends from liver to the lesser curvature of
stomach
• Greater omentum
- Another extension of the peritoneum
- Covers the abdominal organs
- Fat insulates, cushions, and protects abdominal
organs
Stomach
• Structure of the stomach mucosa
- Simple columnar epithelium composed almost entirely of mucous cells
- Mucous cells produce bicarbonate-rich alkaline mucus
- Dotted by gastric pits leading to gastric glands that secrete gastric juice, including:
• Intrinsic factor, which is needed for vitamin B absorption in the small intestine
12
- Chief cells—produce protein-digesting enzymes (pepsinogens)
- Parietal cells—produce hydrochloric acid that activates enzymes
- Mucous neck cells—produce thin acidic mucus (different from the mucus produced by
mucous cells of the mucosa)
- Enteroendocrine cells—produce local hormones such as gastrin
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Stomach
• Functions
- Temporary storage tank for
food
- Site of food breakdown
- Chemical breakdown of
protein begins
- Delivers chyme (processed
food) to the small intestine
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Small Intestine
• The body’s major digestive organ
• Longest portion of the alimentary tube (2–
4 m, or 7–13 feet, in a living person)
• Site of nutrient absorption into the blood
• Muscular tube extending from the pyloric
sphincter to the ileocecal valve
• Suspended from the posterior abdominal
wall by the mesentery
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Small Intestine
• Subdivisions
- Duodenum
- Jejunum
- Ileum
• Chemical digestion begins in the small intestine
- Enzymes produced by intestinal cells and
pancreas are carried to the duodenum by
pancreatic ducts
- Bile, formed by the liver, enters the duodenum
via the bile duct
- Hepatopancreatic ampulla is the location where
the main pancreatic duct and bile ducts join
Small Intestine
• Structural modifications
- Increase surface area for food absorption
- Decrease in number toward the end of the small intestine
1. Villi—fingerlike projections formed by the mucosa
- House a capillary bed and lacteal
2. Microvilli—tiny projections of the plasma membrane (brush border enzymes)
3. Circular folds (plicae circulares)—deep folds of mucosa and submucosa
• Peyer’s patches
- Collections of lymphatic tissue
- Located in submucosa
- Increase in number toward the end of the small intestine
- More are needed there because remaining
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
food residue contains much bacteria
Large Intestine
• Larger in diameter, but shorter in length at 1.5 m, than the small intestine
• Extends from the ileocecal valve to the anus
• Subdivisions (detailed next)
- Cecum
- Appendix
- Colon
- Rectum
- Anal canal
• Cecum—saclike first part of the large intestine
- Appendix
• Hangs from the cecum
• Accumulation of lymphoid© tissue that sometimes becomes inflamed (appendicitis)
2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Large Intestine
• Colon • Anal canal ends at the anus
- Ascending—travels up right side of • Anus—opening of the large intestine
abdomen and makes a turn at the right colic - External anal sphincter—formed by
(hepatic) flexure skeletal muscle and is voluntary
- Transverse—travels across the abdominal - Internal anal sphincter—formed by
cavity and turns at the left colic (splenic) smooth muscle and is involuntary
flexure - These sphincters are normally closed
- Descending—travels down the left side except during defecation
- Sigmoid—S-shaped region; enters the pelvis • The large intestine delivers indigestible
• Sigmoid colon, rectum, and anal canal are food residues to the body’s exterior
located in the pelvis
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Large Intestine Accessory Digestive Organs
• Goblet cells produce alkaline
• Teeth
mucus to lubricate the
• Salivary glands
passage of feces
• Pancreas
• Muscularis externa layer is • Liver
reduced to three bands of • Gallbladder
muscle, called teniae coli
• These bands of muscle cause
the wall to pucker into haustra
(pocketlike sacs)
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Teeth
• Teeth masticate (chew) food into smaller
fragments
• Humans have two sets of teeth during a lifetime
1. Deciduous (baby or milk) teeth
• A baby has 20 teeth by age 2
• First teeth to appear are the lower
central incisors
2. Permanent teeth
• Replace deciduous teeth between ages
6 and 12
• A full set is 32 teeth (with the wisdom
teeth)
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Teeth
• Teeth are classified according to 1. Crown - exposed part of tooth above the
shape and function gingiva (gum)
Enamel - covers the crown
- Incisors - cutting
Dentin - found deep to the enamel and
- Canines (eyeteeth) - tearing or
piercing forms the bulk of the tooth, surrounds
- Premolars (bicuspids) - the pulp cavity
Pulp cavity - contains connective
grinding
tissue, blood vessels, and nerve fibers
- Molars - grinding
(pulp)
• Two major regions of a tooth Root canal - where the pulp cavity
1. Crown extends into the root
2. Root © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Teeth
2. Root
- Cement—covers outer surface
and attaches the tooth to the
periodontal membrane
(ligament)
- Periodontal membrane holds
tooth in place in the bony jaw
Note: The neck is a connector
between the crown and root
- Region in contact with the gum
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Salivary Glands
• Three pairs of salivary glands empty
secretions into the mouth
1. Parotid glands
• Found anterior to the ears
• Mumps affect these salivary
glands
2. Submandibular glands
3. Sublingual glands
• Both submandibular and
sublingual glands empty saliva
into the floor of the mouth
through small ducts © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Salivary Glands
• Saliva
- Mixture of mucus and serous fluids
- Helps to moisten and bind food together into a mass called a bolus
- Contains:
• Salivary amylase - begins starch digestion
• Lysozymes and antibodies - inhibit bacteria
- Dissolves chemicals so they can be tasted
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Pancreas
• Soft, pink triangular gland
• Found posterior to the parietal peritoneum
- Mostly retroperitoneal
• Extends across the abdomen from spleen to
duodenum
• Produces a wide spectrum of digestive
enzymes that break down all categories of food
• Secretes enzymes into the duodenum
• Alkaline fluid introduced with enzymes
neutralizes acidic chyme coming from stomach
• Hormones produced by the pancreas
- Insulin
- Glucagon © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
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
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Liver
• Digestive role is to produce bile
- Bile leaves the liver through the common hepatic duct and enters duodenum
through the bile duct
- Bile is yellow-green, watery solution containing:
• Bile salts and bile pigments (mostly bilirubin from the breakdown of
hemoglobin)
• Cholesterol, phospholipids, and electrolytes
- Bile emulsifies (breaks down) fats
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Gallbladder
• Green sac found in a shallow fossa in the inferior
surface of the liver
- When no digestion is occurring, bile backs up
the cystic duct for storage in the gallbladder
- While in the gallbladder, bile is concentrated by
the removal of water
- When fatty food enters the duodenum, the
gallbladder spurts out stored bile
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Overview of Gastrointestinal
Processes and Controls
• Essential processes of the GI tract
1. Ingestion - placing of food into the
mouth
2. Propulsion - movement of foods from
one region of the digestive system to
another
• Peristalsis - alternating waves of
contraction and relaxation that
squeeze food along the GI tract
• Segmentation - movement of
materials back and forth to foster
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
mixing in the small intestine
Functions of the Digestive System
• Essential processes of the GI tract (continued)
3. Food breakdown: mechanical breakdown
• Examples
- Mixing of food in the mouth by the
tongue
- Churning of food in the stomach
- Segmentation in the small intestine
• Mechanical digestion prepares food for
further degradation by enzymes
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Functions of the Digestive System
• Essential processes of the GI tract (continued)
4. Food breakdown: digestion
• Digestion occurs when enzymes chemically break down large molecules into their building blocks
• Each major food group uses different enzymes
- Carbohydrates are broken down to monosaccharides (simple sugars)
- Proteins are broken down to amino acids
- Fats are broken down to fatty acids and glycerol
5. Absorption
• End products of digestion are absorbed in the blood or lymph
• Food must enter mucosal cells and then move into blood or lymph capillaries
6. Defecation
• Elimination of indigestible substances from the GI tract in the form of feces
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Activities Occurring in the Mouth, Pharynx, and Esophagus
• Food ingestion and breakdown
– Food is placed into the mouth
• Physically broken down by chewing
• Mixed with saliva, which is released in response to mechanical pressure and
psychic stimuli
• Salivary amylase begins starch digestion
– Essentially, no food absorption occurs in the mouth
• Food propulsion—swallowing and peristalsis
– Pharynx and esophagus have no digestive function
• Serve as passageways to the stomach
– Pharynx functions in swallowing (deglutition)
• Two phases of swallowing
1. Buccal phase
2. Pharyngeal-esophageal
© 2018 Pearson phase
Education, Inc.
Activities Occurring in the Mouth, Pharynx, and Esophagus
• Food propulsion—swallowing and peristalsis (continued)
1. Buccal phase
• Voluntary
• Occurs in the mouth
• Food is formed into a bolus
• The bolus is forced into the pharynx by the tongue
• Food propulsion—swallowing and peristalsis (continued)
2. Pharyngeal-esophageal phase
• Involuntary transport of the bolus by peristalsis
• Nasal and respiratory passageways are blocked
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Activities Occurring in the Mouth, Pharynx, and Esophagus
• Food propulsion—swallowing and
peristalsis (continued)
2. Pharyngeal-esophogeal phase
(continued)
• Peristalsis moves the
bolus toward the stomach
• The cardioesophageal
sphincter is opened when
food presses against it
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Activities in the Stomach
• Food breakdown
- Gastric juice is regulated by neural and hormonal factors
- Presence of food or rising pH causes the release of the hormone gastrin
- Gastrin causes stomach glands to produce:
• Protein-digesting enzymes
• Mucus
• Hydrochloric acid
• Food breakdown (continued)
- Hydrochloric acid makes the stomach contents very acidic
- Acidic pH
• Activates pepsinogen to pepsin for protein digestion
• Provides a hostile environment for microorganisms
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Activities in the Stomach
• Food breakdown (continued)
- Protein-digestion enzymes
• Pepsin - an active protein-digesting enzyme
• Rennin - works on digesting milk protein in infants; not produced in adults
- Alcohol and aspirin are virtually the only items absorbed in the stomach
• Food propulsion
1. Peristalsis: waves of peristalsis occur from the fundus to the pylorus, forcing food past
the pyloric sphincter
2. Grinding: the pylorus meters out chyme into the small intestine (3 ml at a time)
3. Retropulsion: peristaltic waves close the pyloric sphincter, forcing contents back into the
stomach; the stomach empties in 4–6 hours
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Activities of the Small Intestine
• Chyme breakdown and absorption
– Intestinal enzymes from the brush border function to:
• Break double sugars into simple sugars
• Complete some protein digestion
– Intestinal enzymes and pancreatic enzymes help to complete digestion of all food
groups
– Pancreatic enzymes play the major role in the digestion of fats, proteins, and
carbohydrates
– Alkaline content neutralizes acidic chyme and provides the proper environment for
the pancreatic enzymes to operate
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Activities of the Small Intestine
• Chyme breakdown and absorption (continued)
– Release of pancreatic juice from the pancreas into the duodenum is stimulated by:
• Vagus nerves
• Local hormones that travel via the blood to influence the release of pancreatic juice (and bile)
- Secretin
- Cholecystokinin (CCK)
• Chyme breakdown and absorption
– Hormones (secretin and CCK) also target the liver and gallbladder to release bile
• Bile
- Acts as a fat emulsifier
- Needed for fat absorption and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (K, D, E, and A)
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Activities of the Large Intestine
• Nutrient breakdown and absorption • Propulsion of food residue and defecation
- No digestive enzymes are produced - Sluggish peristalsis begins when food
- Resident bacteria digest remaining nutrients residue arrives
• Produce some vitamin K and some B vitamins - Haustral contractions are the movements
• Release gases occurring most frequently in the large
- Water, vitamins, ions, and remaining water are intestine
absorbed - Mass movements are slow, powerful
- Remaining materials are eliminated via feces movements that occur three to four times
• Nutrient breakdown and absorption (continued) per day
– Feces contains: - Presence of feces in the rectum causes a
• Undigested food residues defecation reflex
• Mucus • Internal anal sphincter is relaxed
• Bacteria • Defecation occurs with relaxation of the
• Water © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
voluntary (external) anal sphincter
Part III: Developmental Aspects of the Digestive System and
Metabolism
• The alimentary canal is a continuous, hollow tube present by the fifth week of
development
• Digestive glands bud from the mucosa of the alimentary tube
• The developing fetus receives all nutrients through the placenta
• In newborns, feeding must be frequent, peristalsis is inefficient, and vomiting is
common
• Newborn reflexes
– Rooting reflex helps the infant find the nipple
– Sucking reflex helps the infant hold on to the nipple and swallow
• Teething begins around age 6 months
© 2018 Pearson Education, Inc.
Developmental Aspects of the Digestive System and Metabolism
• Problems of the digestive system
– Gastroenteritis—inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract; can occur at any time
– Appendicitis—inflammation of the appendix; common in adolescents
• Metabolism decreases with old age
• Middle-age digestive problems
– Ulcers
– Gallbladder problems
• Later middle-age problems
– Obesity
– Diabetes mellitus
• Activity of the digestive tract in old age
– Fewer digestive juices
– Peristalsis slows
– Diverticulosis and gastrointestinal © 2018cancers are more
Pearson Education, Inc. common
