Set by Ahmedrauf A.

5.1 The Digestive System

• Food substances are broken down into small soluble
molecules as they pass through the gut.
• Because the large molecules cannot be absorbed into
bloodstream and used by your body,
• so they need to be broken down into smaller, simpler,
soluble molecules.
• The food consumed consists of protein, fat, and
complex carbohydrates.
√ The working of your digestive system is based on two
things:
① The physical (mechanical) digestion:
√ the food you eat is physically broken down into smaller
pieces in two main ways.
> your teeth bite and chew the food up in your mouth.
> your gut, which is a muscular tube, squeezes the food and
physically breaks it up, while mixing it with various digestive
juices to make it easier to move.
② The chemical breakdown of the food:
√ the large insoluble food molecules must be broken down by
hydrolysis rxn into small, soluble molecules so they can be
absorbed into your body.
• it is controlled by enzymes.
* Enzymes are proteins that speed up (catalyse) other
reactions.
 The human digestive system is composed of four digestive
processes:
1. Ingestion - the taking in of nutrients, in the mouth,
2. Digestion - the breakdown of complex organic molecules into
smaller components by enzymes step-wise, physical, and
chemical processes that begins in the oral cavity and extends to
the small intestine,
3. Absorption - the transport of digested nutrients from the small
intestine to the cells of the body though finger like projection
called villi in the small intestine, and
4. Egesting - the removal of food waste from the body.
• The distinction between excretion and egestion is based on the
type of wastes excreted by an organism.
• Undigested food that remains after digestion is expelled in
animals during the egestion process.
• Excretion is the process through which metabolic wastes are
expelled in both plants and animals.
The Oral Cavity
• both physical and chemical digestion begins.
• It is the point of entry (ingestion) of food into the digestive system.
• The process that takes place in the mouth includes:
1. the food is broken into smaller particles by mastication, the
chewing action of the teeth.
2. saliva, the watery fluid produced by the salivary glands contains
amylase enzyme, and breaks down starches into simpler molecules.
3. saliva dissolves food particles and makes it possible to taste
what is being eaten.
4. saliva lubricates the food so that it can be swallowed.
5. we detect the flavour when food particles dissolved in saliva
penetrate the cells of the taste buds located on the tongue and
cheeks.
6. the tongue, positions and mixes food and forms a ball of food
called bolus ready to be swallowed.
 Functions of the Oral
Cavity
1. Sensory analysis
• Of material before
swallowing
2. Mechanical processing
• Through actions of teeth,
tongue, and palatal surfaces
3. Lubrication
• Mixing with mucus and
salivary gland secretions
4. Limited digestion
• Of carbohydrates and
lipids (enzyme lingual lipase)
The teeth
• The teeth are important structures for physical digestion.
• There are 4 types of teeth:
 Incisors: are eight chisel-shaped teeth at the front of your
mouth specialized for cutting and biting.
 Canine: teeth that are sharp, dagger-shaped specialized for
tearing.
 Premolar: teeth that are broad flattened specialized for
grinding.
 Molars: teeth tend to be even broader and have cusps that
are even more flattened.
• They are designed for crushing and grinding food.
• The last set of molars is the wisdom teeth, so-called because
they usually do not emerge until we reach about 16 to 20 years
of age.
• Each tooth is covered with enamel, which is the hardest
substance in the human body.


 External and internal structures of teeth
• The teeth are the hardest substances in the human body.
• Besides being essential for :
 chewing,
 play an important role in speech.
 Parts of the teeth include:
 Enamel: the hardest, white outer part of the tooth.
• Enamel is mostly made of calcium phosphate, a rock-
hard mineral.
 Dentin: a layer underlying the enamel.
• It is a hard tissue that contains microscopic tubes.
• When the enamel is damaged, heat or cold can enter the
tooth through these paths and cause sensitivity or pain.
 Pulp: the softer, living inner structure of teeth.
• Blood vessels and nerves run through the pulp of the teeth.
 Periodontal ligament- tissue that helps to hold the teeth
tightly against the jaw.
 Roots - is the part of the tooth that extends into the bone
and holds the tooth in place.
• It makes up approximately two-thirds of the tooth Gums.
 Gums, also called gingiva, are the fleshy, pink connective
tissue that’s attached to the neck of the tooth and the
cementum.
 Crown: the crown of a tooth is the top portion of the tooth
that is visible.
 Human dentition
• The conventional way of expressing the total number
of teeth in the human beings are represented:
• incisor(I), canines(C), molars(M) and premolars(P).
• It gives a set like I:C:P:M.
• There are 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars and 3
molars of the upper mouth on one side.
• The dental formula of human beings (adults):
• (2123/2123) × 2 = 32(2123/2123) × 2 = 32
• (I 2/2, C 1/1, P 2/2, M 3/3)
• In a normal adult there are 32 teeth.
• In a child, there are 20 teeth present which are called
milk teeth or deciduous teeth.
• These teeth grow at the age of 6 years. i.e.
• the dental formula of a child can be written as 2120/2120
• (2120/2120)×2=20(2120/2120) × 2=20.
• These are two incisors, 1 canine and 2 molars.
• There are two types of dentition:
 temporary - are 20 teeth in the temporary dentition
 permanent - 32 teeth in the permanent dentition.
 Keeping teeth health
• your teeth can be affected by bacteria that cause dental
caries.
• There are many different bacteria that are found naturally in
your mouth.
• These bacteria, combined with food and saliva, form a thin
film known as plaque on your teeth.
• if you eat a lot of sweet, sugary food they produce a lot of
acid waste.
• This acid attacks and dissolves the tough enamel coating
of your teeth.
• Once through the enamel, the acid also dissolves away
some of the dentine and then the bacteria can get into the
inside of your tooth.
• The bacteria will then reproduce and feed, eating away at
your tooth until they reach the nerves of the pulp cavity
causing toothache.
• The same bacteria can affect your gums, causing
periodontal disease.
 The symptoms include
• tender gums, bleeding when you clean your teeth and
eventually the possible loss of all your teeth, not from tooth
decay but from gum disease.
• Taking in lots of acidic food and drink, such as fruits and cola,
can also weaken the enamel on your teeth.
• Tooth and gum disease are extremely common all over the
world.
• They cause pain, bad breath, loss of teeth and difficulty eating.
• The good news is that they can both be avoided, especially if
you have good dental care available.
• Ways to avoid tooth decay include:
 Regular brushing of your teeth and gums twice a day.
• This removes the plaque from the teeth, preventing the
build-up of a sticky, acidic film over the enamel.
 Avoiding sweet, sugary foods – if the bacteria in your
teeth are deprived of sugar, they cannot make acidic
waste and your teeth are safe.
 Have regular dental check-ups.
• A dentist can clean your teeth more thoroughly than
you can, and any early signs of decay can be treated.
• Your teeth won’t heal themselves, but any tooth decay
can be removed and replaced by a filling.
 The Esophagus
• The swallowed food travels from the mouth to the stomach by way of
the esophagus.
• The bolus of food stretches the walls of the esophagus, activating
muscles that set up waves of rhythmic contractions called peristalsis.
• Peristaltic contractions, which are involuntary, move food along the
gastrointestinal tract

Peristalsis
• Consists of waves of
muscular contractions
• Moves a bolus along the
length of the digestive tract

• Figure 5.2 Rhythmic contractions of muscle move food along the digestive tract
 The stomach
• The stomach is the site of food storage and initial
protein digestion.
• The stomach contains three layers of muscle, which
run in different directions so that the muscle
contractions can churn the food.
• The movement of food to and from the stomach is
regulated by circular muscles called sphincters.
• Contraction of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES)
closes the opening to the stomach, while its relaxation
allows food to enter.
• The lower esophageal sphincter prevents food and acid
from being regurgitated up into the esophagus.
• The pyloric sphincter, regulates the movement of food
and stomach acids into the small intestine.
• J-shaped muscular bag that can stores about 1.5L food you eat.
• Millions of cells line the inner wall of the stomach.
• Activities in the stomach:
• 1. the cells secrete the various stomach fluids, called gastric
fluids or gastric juice, that aid digestion,
• 2. contractions of the stomach mix the food with the gastric
fluids, and
• 3. it is involved in both physical (churning action if stomach wall)
and chemical digestion (e.g. digestion of proteins by the action
of enzyme pepsin).
• Approximately 500mL of the fluids in the stomach are produced
following a large meal.
• Gastric fluid includes:
1.mucus,
2.hydrochloric acid (HCl),
3.pepsinogens, and other substances.
• Hydrochloric acid kills many harmful substances that are
ingested with food.
• It also converts pepsinogen into pepsin (its active form).
• Pepsin breaks the long amino acid chains in proteins into
shorter chains, called polypeptides
• The pH inside the stomach normally ranges between 2.0 and 3.0.
• It is the high acidity of hydrochloric acid that makes it:
 effective at killing pathogens and
 allows pepsin to do its work.
• A layer of alkaline mucus protects the stomach lining from being
digested.
• The pepsin breaks down the proteins in the food,
• but not the proteins of the stomach’s cells because these
proteins are protected by the mucous layer.
• The esophagus does not have a protective mucous layer,
• so if the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is weak, stomach
acid may enter the esophagus and damage its lining.
• This causes pain known as heartburn.
• The partially digested food and gastric juice mixture are called
chyme.
• Gastric emptying occurs within two to six hours after a meal.
• Only a small amount of chyme is released into the small
intestine at a time.
• The movement of chyme from the stomach into the small
intestine is regulated by hormones, stomach distension, and
muscular reflexes that influence the pyloric sphincter.
• The low pH of the stomach will denature the amylase and lipase
that were secreted in the mouth.
• the chemical digestion of starches and fats will decrease in the
stomach and their further digestion will take place in the small
intestine.
• Absorption in the stomach
• Although the stomach absorbs few of the products of
digestion,
• it can absorb many other substances,
• including glucose and other simple sugars, amino
acids, and some fat soluble substances, water, specific
vitamins, and alcohol, etc.

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
 The small intestine
• The small intestine is up to 7 m in length, but only 2.5
cm in diameter.
• Most chemical digestion takes place in the small
intestine.
• Parts of the small intestine:
• 1. duodenum the first coiled tube which 25 cm to 30 cm
of the small intestine where the majority of digestion
occurs,
• 2. jejunum is the second component of the small
intestine which connect duodenum with ileum.
• 3. ileum the third component
• wihin the ileum all digestive processes are completed
and the soluble products are absorbed into the blood
stream.
• The small intestine secretes digestive enzymes and
moves its contents along by peristalsis.
• Most absorption takes place within the small intestine.
• Long finger like projections called villi (singular: villus)
greatly increase the surface area of the small intestine.
• The cells that make up the lining of each villus have
microvilli, which are fine, threadlike extensions of the
membrane that further increase the surface for absorption.
• Each villus is supplied with a capillary network that intertwines
with lymph vessels called lacteals that transport materials.
 Some nutrients are absorbed by diffusion,
 but some nutrients are actively transported from the digestive
tract.
 Monosaccharides and amino acids are absorbed into the
capillary networks;
 fats are absorbed into the lacteals.
 The accessory organs
• Accessory organs add secretions and enzymes that
break down food into nutrients.
• Accessory organs include:
 the salivary glands,
 the pancreas,
 the liver, and
 the gall bladder
 The liver is the largest internal organ in humans and
• it plays an important role in the digestion of fats and
detoxifying blood.
• The liver produces bile, which is a digestive juice that is
required for the breakdown of fats in the duodenum.
• The liver also processes the absorbed vitamins and fatty
acids and synthesizes many plasma proteins.
 The gallbladder is a small organ that aids the liver by storing
bile and concentrating bile salts.
 The pancreas secretes bicarbonate that neutralizes the
acidic chyme and a variety of enzymes.
• The pancreatic secretions contain enzymes that promote the
breakdown of the three major components of food:
• proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids.
• Pancreatic secretions contain the following digestive
enzymes:
1. Trypsin- a protein-digesting enzyme called trypsinogen is
released from the pancreas.
• Enterokinase converts the inactive trypsinogen into trypsin,
which acts on the partially digested proteins.
• Trypsin breaks down long-chain polypeptides into shorter-
chain peptides.
2. Erepsins - are released from the pancreas and small intestine.
• They complete protein digestion by breaking the bonds between
short chain peptides, releasing individual amino acids.
3. Amylase - continue the digestion of carbohydrates that begun in
the mouth by salivary amylase.
• The intermediate-size chains are broken down into
disaccharides.
• The small intestine releases disaccharide enzymes, called
disaccharidases, which complete the digestion of
carbohydrates.
4. Lipases - enzymes released from the pancreas that breaks
down lipids (fats).
• There are two different types of lipid-digesting enzymes:
 Pancreatic lipase, the most common lipase, breaks down fats
into fatty acids and glycerol.
 Phospholipase acts on phospholipids.
 Liver and Gallbladder
• The liver continually produces fluid called bile.
• Bile contains bile salts, which aid fat digestion.
• When the stomach is empty, bile is stored and concentrated in
the gallbladder.
• When there are fats in the small intestine, the hormones trigger
the gall bladder to release bile salts.
• Emulsify or breakdown, large fat globules into smaller
droplets is physical digestion, not chemical digestion.
• Bile also contains pigments.
• The liver breaks down haemoglobin from red blood
cells and stores the products in the gallbladder for
removal.
• Stores glycogen and vitamins A, B12, and D.
• Detoxify many harmful substances in the body.
• Harmful chemicals are made soluble and can be
dissolved in the blood and eliminated in the urine.
• One of the more common poisons is alcohol.
 Large Intestine
• is much smaller in length compared to the small intestine but
larger in diameter.(About 1.5 meters long)
• It has three parts:
 the cecum,
 the colon, and
 the rectum.
 The cecum joins the ileum to the colon and is the receiving
pouch for the waste matter.
 The colon is home to many bacteria or intestinal flora that
aid in the digestive processes.
• The colon has four regions,
 the ascending colon,
 the transverse colon,
 the descending colon and
 the sigmoid colon
 The colon:
• the largest part of the large intestine,
• must store waste long enough to reabsorb water from it.
• During this time, some inorganic salts, minerals, and
vitamins are also absorbed with the water.
• lt houses bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), which
are essential to life and
• use waste materials to synthesize vitamins B and K.
 The main functions of the colon are
• to extract the water and mineral salts from undigested food,
• to store waste material.
• cellulose cannot be broken down by humans, it serves an
important function: cellulose provides bulk.
• As wastes build up in the large intestine, receptors in the
wall of the intestine provide information to the central
nervous system, which, in turn, prompts a bowel movement.
 The rectum stores feces until defecation.
• The feces are propelled using peristaltic movements
during elimination.
 The anus is an opening at the far-end of the digestive
tract and is the exit point for the waste material.
• Two sphincters regulate the exit of feces,
 the inner sphincter is involuntary and
 the outer sphincter is voluntary.
• 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
5.2 The circulatory and lymphatic system
• The circulatory system is blood moves throughout your body.
• The circulatory system (cardiovascular system ):
 carries nutrients to cells,
 remove wastes away from cells,
 carry chemical messages from cells in one part of the body to
distant target tissues,
 distributes heat throughout the body and, along with the kidneys,
 maintain levels of body fluid,
 provide oxygen for the cellular respiration and
 transport of immune cells throughout the body to defend against
invading organisms.
• your circulatory system has 96 000 km of blood vessels to
sustain your 100 trillion cells.
• The human circulatory system consists of blood, heart, blood
vessels, and lymph.
• The heart beats about 70 times/min from the beginning of your
life until death.
• Every minute, 5L of blood cycles from the heart to the lungs,
picks up oxygen, and returns to the heart.
 The heart is a muscular organ that pumps blood to circulate
throughout the body.
• A field of study about the heart is called cardiology and the
scientists, cardiologists.
• The heart wall consists of three layers:
1. The myocardium is the middle layer of the heart.
• It is the heart muscle and is the thickest layer of the heart, and
2. The epicardium is a thin layer on the surface of the heart in
which the coronary arteries lie.
3. The pericardium is a thin sac the heart sits in, often filled with a
small amount of fluid, which separates the heart from the other
structures in the chest such as the lungs.
 Valves
• In the cardiovascular system of the heart four valves prohibit the
backflow of blood:
a. Tri-cuspid valve (Right atrioventricular RAV) - valve separates
the right atria from the right ventricle.
b. Bi-cuspid valve (Left atrioventricular LAV) -valve separates the
left atria from the left ventricle
• Semi-lunar valves
a. Valve that separate the right ventricle from the pulmonary artery
and
b. Valve that separate the left ventricle from the aorta.
• The semi-lunar valves are half-moon-shaped (hence, the name
semi-lunar), and they prevent blood that has entered the arteries
from flowing back into the ventricles
Figure 5.6 The heart anatomy
Figure 5.7 The valves of the heart
• The human circulatory systems are a double circulatory system.
• It has two separate circuits and blood passes through the heart
twice: pulmonary and systemic circulation.
 Pulmonary circulation - the movement of blood from the heart
to the lungs for oxygenation, then back to the heart again.
• Oxygen depleted blood from the body leaves the systemic
circulation when it enters the right atrium through the superior
and inferior venae cavae.
• The blood is then pumped through the tricuspid valve into the
right ventricle.
• From the right ventricle, blood is pumped through the pulmonary
valve and into the pulmonary artery.
• The pulmonary artery splits into the right and left pulmonary
arteries and the blood in the arteries travel to each lung.
 Systemic circulation - is the movement of blood from the heart
through the body to provide oxygen and nutrients to the tissues of
the body while bringing deoxygenated blood back to the heart.
• Oxygenated blood enters the left atrium from the pulmonary veins.
• The blood is then pumped through the mitral valve into the left
ventricle.
• From the left ventricle, blood is pumped through the aortic valve
and into the aorta, the body’s largest artery.
• The aorta arches and branches into major arteries to the upper
body before passing through the diaphragm,
• where it branches further into the iliac, renal, and suprarenal
arteries which supply the lower parts of the body.
• The arteries branch into smaller arteries, arterioles, and finally
capillaries.
• Gas and nutrient exchange with the tissues occurs within the
capillaries that run through the tissues.
• Metabolic waste and carbon dioxide diffuse out of the cell into the
blood, while oxygen and glucose in the blood diffuse out of the
blood and into the cell.
Figure 5.8 Pulmonary and systemic circulation
 Cardiac Cycle
• The period of time that begins with contraction of the atria and
ends with ventricular relaxation is known as the cardiac cycle.
• The period of contraction that the heart undergoes while it
pumps blood into circulation is called systole.
• The period of relaxation that occurs as the chambers filled with
blood is called diastole.
• Both the atria and ventricles undergo systole and diastole, and
• it is essential that these components be carefully regulated and
coordinated to ensure blood is pumped efficiently to the body.
 Heart Sounds
• One of the simplest, yet effective, diagnostic techniques applied
to assess the state of a patient’s heart is auscultation (listening
to various internal sounds) using a stethoscope.
• In a normal, healthy heart, there are only two audible heart
sounds: Lub and Dup (or Dub).
• Lub, or rest heart sound is the sound created by the closing of
the atrioventricular valves during ventricular contraction.
• “Dup” (or “Dub”) is the sound of the closing of the semilunar
valves during ventricular diastole.