Digestive System

Anatomy and Physiology

By
Awal Sher Khan
Lecturer
INS-KMU
 Objectives
At the completion of this unit, the learners will be
able to:
• Define the digestive system and list its functions
• Identify the various organs of digestive system
• Describe the anatomy & physiology of digestive
organs
• Discuss the role of accessory organs in digestion
• Discuss the absorption of nutrients in the digestive
system
• Discuss the process of defecation.
•WHAT IS THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM?
Is an organ system within humans and
other animals which takes in food,
digests it and absorb energy and
nutrients, and expels the remaining
waste as feces.
• The digestive system describes the
Alimentary canal = Also known as
the Gastrointestinal Tract (GI)
Accessory organ
Variety of Digestive processes
 Types of Digestion
a) Mechanical digestion:
breakdown of food e.g. mastication
(chewing),Tearing, grinding and mixing
with the help of teeth, tongue,

b) Chemical digestion: breakdown of food into

small molecules by enzymes present in
secretion produced by glands and accessory
organs of the digestive system.
e.g. salivary, hepatic, gastric and pancreatic
enzymes
 Functions of Digestive system
The activities of the Digestive system can be
grouped under five main headings
• Ingestion: Taking of food into the alimentary
tract like eating, drinking

• Propulsion: This mixes & moves the contents

along the alimentary tract.

• Digestion: breakdown of food into smaller

molecules that can absorbed by GI tract.
• Absorption:This is the process by which
digested food substances pass through the walls
of organs of the alimentary canal into the blood
for circulation.
• Elimination: Food substances that have been
eaten but cannot be digested & absorbed are
excreted from the alimentary canal as faeces by
the process of defaecation.

Swallowing is also called deglutition

Bolus- a small rounded mass of a
substance, especially of chewed food at
the moment of swallowing.
 Organs of the Digestive System
 Two main groups
A) Alimentary canal or gastrointestinal tract
continuous coiled hollow tube from mouth to
anus(5-7 meter)
B) Accessory digestive organs:
several important accessory organs that help our
body to digest food that pass through them,
includes the teeth, tongue, salivary glands, liver,
gallbladder, and pancreas.
Organs of the Digestive System
 General Anatomy of Digestive Tract
• Most of the digestive tract consists of four layers,
in order from inner to outer surface:
1. Mucosa (inner lining)
• Is a mucous membrane lining the lumen.
• It has three layers as
i. Epithelium : coming in direct contact with food
ii. Lamina propria: Loose connective tissue layer,
having blood and lymphatic vessels for absorption.
iii. Muscularis mucosa: smooth muscle thin layer
 2. Submucosa
• Formed by areolar connective tissue that binds mucosa
to muscularis externa.
• It has a network of (auto) neurons called submucosal
plexus (Meissner Plexus ), glands and lymphatic tissues.
3. Muscularis Externa
• Consists of two layers of smooth muscles as inner
circular and outer longitudinal layers.
• In between the two layers is a myenteric Plexus/
Auerbach plexus
• The involuntary contraction of circular and longitudinal
smooth muscles help break down and propulsion of
food along the GI tract.
 GI Layers cont…

4. Serosa(visceral layer)/ Adventitia

• Serosa means serous membrane, the outermost layer.
This is the outer most layer.
• It is also called the visceral peritoneum.
• It begins in the lower 3 to 4 cm of the esophagus and
ends with the sigmoid colon.
• In the abdomin the organs are coverd by serous
membrane called Peritoneum
• Peritonium is the largest serous membrane of the
body ,closed sac having two layers
a) The Parietal peritonium
b) Visceral peritonium
 Neurons of Enteric Nervous System (ENS)

The esophagus, stomach, and intestines have a

nervous network called the enteric nervous
system which regulates digestive tract motility,
secretion, and blood flow.
Neurons of the ENS are arranged into two groups.
• A. Submucosal Plexus or Meissner Plexus
• B. Myenteric Plexus or Auerbach plexus
found between circular and longitudinal smooth
muscles of muscularis externa.
 1.MOUTH
The mouth is the first portion of the
alimentary canal that receives food and
produces saliva.
Contains the following:
 Salivary glands

 Teeth

 Tongue

 Hard palate

 Soft palate

 Uvula

 epiglottis
 2. TONGUE
• The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth, that
manipulates food for mastication, and is used in
the act of swallowing, speech and taste
• Is composed of voluntary muscles.
• It is attached by its base to hyoid bone and
by a fold of its mucous membrane covering
called the frenulum,to the floor of the mouth.
• The superior(dorsal surface)consist of stratified
squamous epitelium with numerous
papillae( little projections) .
• Many of these contains sensory receptors
(specialized nerve endings) for the sense of taste
in the taste buds.
 4)Hard Palate
 Roof of the mouth
 Covered by a mucous
membrane
 Made of bone
5) Soft Palate
 Behind hard palate
 Made up of muscular
fibers
 Covered by a mucous
membrane
 Closes off nasal passage when
 6) TEETH
The human teeth function to mechanically break
down items of food by cutting and crushing
them in preparation for swallowing and
digesting. Humans have four types of teeth:
a) Incisors, Canines-used for cutting and bitting
off pieces of food
b) Premolars, and Molars- used for griding and
chewing food.
PRIMARY TEETH
• Among deciduous (primary) teeth, ten are found in
the maxilla (upper jaw) and ten in the mandible
(lower jaw), for a total of 20.
• Start to come in (erupt) at about 6 months of
age and should all be present by 24 months
• The Permanent teeth are 32 in number, begin
to replace the deciduous teeth in the 6 th year of
life and completed at Age 21.
 Salivary Glands

Divided into major and minor glands

 Major Salivary Glands(Three)
• Parotid --- paired and the largest salivary gland.
• Submandibular --- Paired
• Sublingual---Two and the smallest of salivary glands
Function : Lubrication, Cleanig and speech, BOLUS ready for
swallowing.
2) Appreciation of taste—only saliva soluble food can
stimulate the taste buds (enzyme lamylase)
3) Digestion---- starch is converted into maltose
4) Defense--- Lysozyme and IgA
 Composition of Saliva
• Total amount is 1500 ml/day(1.5L/day)
• 99 % water and 1 % dissolved substances (organic and
inorganic).
• Ptyaline or salivary amylase, secreted from parotid
• Ligual lipase acting on triglycerides
• Mucin, a glycoprotein is secreted by sublingual and
submandibular gland.
• Inorganic substances include Na+, K+, Ca++, HCO3- and Cl-

• Immunoglobulines and the enzyme lysozyme= these

are antimicrobial substances.
 Pharynx:
• The pharynx is the part of the throat that is behind the
mouth and nasal cavity and above the esophagus and the
larynx
•Is a muscular tube extending about 13 cm (5 inch).
•Position
•Superiorly-Base of the skull.
•Inferiorly-Continuous with the oesophagus.
• Anteriorly-Incomplete wall because of the
nose,mouth and larynx opening.
•Posteriorly-Areolar tissue & first (cervical )6
vertebra.
 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)
 Esophagus
 The esophagus commonly known as the
food pipe or gullet,
 Runs from pharynx to stomach through
the diaphragm( 25 cm long) and 2cm in
diameter.
 Conducts food by peristalsis
(slow rhythmic squeezing): contraction of
circular layer above the food and
contraction of longitudinal below the food
 Note-Passageway for food only
(respiratory system branches off after the
pharynx)
It has two muscular rings or sphincters in its
wall, one at the top and one at the bottom.
• A sphincter is a circular muscle that normally
maintains constriction of a natural body passage
• Upper esophageal spincter under voluntary
control
• Esophagogastric junction (LES) is located
approximately at the level of the diaphragm.
Contractions of the diaphragm create sphincter-
like effects, preventing reflux of stomach acids
and content. The esophagogastric junction is a
functional, not anatomical
 FUNCTIONS Of Mouth, Pharynx and
esophagus
• Formation of bolus
• Swallowing ( Deglutition)
Food is ingested through the mouth and when
swallowed passes first into the pharynx and then
into the esophagus.
• Reducing gastric reflux
Constriction of the upper and lower esophageal
sphincters help to prevent reflux (backflow) of
gastric contents and acid into the esophagus,
protecting the esophageal mucosa.
 STOMACH
Gastric secretions
• Gastric secretion is a colorless, watery, acidic,
produced in the stomach .
• Physical properties;
• It is a watery fluid, that has a pale color, pH is 1-3.
• the volume secreted per day is 1.5L or more than
adult.
• Chemical composition; It is 97-99% water , it
contains inorganic salts ,and organic components
that include, mucin, digestive enzymes, hormones
 Gastric Glands and secretions
• The gastric secretion is produced by the epithelium cells of
the gasric glands .
Goblet cells or mucus cells: are mucous cells,
which cover the entire lumenal surface ,provides
protection by mucous protective coat.
• These cells secrete a bicarbonate-rich mucus that
coats and lubricates the gastric surface, and
serves an important role in protecting the
epithelium from hydrochloric acid and pepsin and
other chemical damage.

.
Gastric Secretory Cells
G cells: The epithelium cells also produce
important hormone gastrin, a peptide that is
important in control of acid secretion( by
stimulating the parietal cells) and gastric
motility, and somatostatin secrete.
Parietal cells:
a) secrete hydrochloric and (HCl) This acid is
important for activation of pepsinogen and
inactivation of ingested microorganisms such as
bacteria and
b) "intrinsic factor" (which helps absorption of
vitamin B12 in the ileum).
 Gastric secretion phases
Gastric acid secretion can be divided into three phases:
1) Cephalic phase
• This flow of juice occur before food reaches the
stomach,emediated by the CNS(vagus nerve) and triggered
by sight, smelling, chewing or even the thought of food.
Mediated by the vagus and accounts for 10-30% of the acid
secretion.
2) Gastric phase
• Triggered by the presence of food in the stomach (both
chemical and mechanical sensing are involved). Accounts
for 70-90% of acid secretion
3) Intestinal phase
• When partially digested contents of the stomach
reach the small intestine
•
• Two hormones are produced by intestinal
mucosa ,they reduced secretion of gastric juice and
reduce gastric motality
• This phase of gastric secretion is more marked
following a meal with high fat content

The rate at which stomach empties

CHO= 2-3hrs
Protein meal= remains longer
Fatty meal= Longest
 STOMACH
• The stomach is a muscular organ located on
the left side of the upper abdomen. The
stomach receives food from the esophagus.
• As food reaches the end of the esophagus, it
enters the stomach through a muscular valve
called the lower esophageal sphincter.
• Contains two sphincters at both ends to regulate
food movement :
o cardiac sphincter near the esophagus ,
o pyloric sphincter near the small intestine .
 Stomach Anatomy

Divided into 4 regions

 Cardiac region/ cardia – near the heart
 Fundus
 Body
 Phylorus – funnel-shaped terminal end
 Food empties into the small intestine at
the pyloric sphincter
Stomach Anatomy
 Stomach Functions

 Acts as a storage tank for food

 Site of food breakdown and mixing
 Chemical breakdown of protein begins
 Delivers chyme (processed food) to the
small intestine
 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
 It comprises three continuous
parts
Subdivisions of the Small Intestine
a) Duodenum(25cm)
 Attached to the stomach
 Curves around the head of the pancreas
 Most of where chemical digestion
takes place
 Receives secretions from the liver and
pancreas(sphincter of oddi)
 Fixed retroperitoneal structure
Duodenum and its related organs
b) Jejunum (2.5m)
 This is the middle section of small intestine.

c) ILeum (3.5m)

• Extends from jejunum ,the ileum joins to

the caecum of the large intestine at the ileocecal
junction.
 ILeocaecal valve,which controls the flow of
material from ileum to caecum(the first part of
large intestine.
 Intrensic Factor helps in the digestion of B12
BRISSO ARACKAL 11
BRISSO ARACKAL 47
 INTESTINAL SECRETIONS
• The principal constituents of intestinal
secretions are water, mucus and mineral salts.
• Most of the digestive enzymes in the small
intestine are contained in the enterocytes.
• Digestion of carbohydrate, protein,and fat is
completed by direct contact between these
nutrients and the microvilli and within the
enterocytes.
 Digestion in the Small Intestine
Enzymes from the brush border
 Break double sugars into simple sugars
 Complete protein ,fat 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.) Responsible for fat digestion
(lipase)
 Digest nucleic acids (nucleases)
 Functions of the small intestine
• Onward movement of its
peristalsis, which contents by is
parasympathetic stimulation. increased by
• Secretion of intestinal juice, also increased by
parasympathetic stimulation.
• Completion of chemical digestion of
carbohydrates, protein, and fats in the
enterocytes of the villi.
 Functions of the small intestine
• Protection against infection by microbes by the
aggregated of lymph follicles.
• Secretion of the.
• Absorption of nutrients.
 Most substanceshormones
are absorbed by active
transport through cell membranes
 Lipids are absorbed by diffusion
 THE LARGE INTESTINE
• The large intestine, also known as the large
bowel or colon, is the last part of the
gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive
system.
 Larger in diameter, but shorter than the
small intestine
 Frames the internal abdomen

• Water is absorbed here and the remaining

waste material is stored as feces before being
removed by defecation.
For discriptive purposes te large
intestine is divided intp
• Caecum
• COLON
a) The ascending colon,
b) The transverse colon,
c) The descending colon,
D) The sigmoid colon
• RECTUM
• Anal Canal
 Caecum
• Saclike first part of the large intestine
• Dilated region having blind end inferiorly
and is continuous with ascending colon
superiorly.
• The vermiform Appendix ,is fine tube closed at
one end. Hangs from the caecum
• Accumulation of lymphatic tissue that
sometimes becomes inflamed (appendicitis)
• Appendix have no digestive function.
 COLON
• It as for parts which have same function and structure.
• Ascending colon - on right, between caecum and
Hepatic flexure to become the Transverse colon.
• Transverse colon - horizontal portion present in front
of duodenum, stomach to the area of the spleen where it
forms splenic flexure.and curves acutely downward to
become descending colon.
• Descending colon - left side, between left colic
flexure(SF) and sigmoid. At level of iliac crest it is
known as sigmoid colon.
• Sigmoid colon- Describes an S shaped curve in the
pelvic cavity that continue down ward to become the
rectum.
 RECTUM
• Dilated section of large intestine, abt 13cm long.
• It Leads from sigmoid colon and terminates in the
anal canal
Anal Canal
• This is short passage in adult leads from the the
rectum to the exterior,
• Two sphincter muscle control the anus.
a)Internal sphincter under the control of autonomic
system
b)External sphincter under voluntary control.
 Functions of the Large Intestine
 1)Absorption of water
 2) Eliminates indigestible food from
the body as feces
 3)Does not participate in digestion
of food
 4)Goblet cells produce mucus to act as
a lubricant
 5) Absorbs Mineral salt,Vitamines and
some drugs.
 6) Resident bacteria
 Produce some vitamin K and folic
acid.
 Produces and Release gases
(Flatus)
 7) Mass movement
this pattern of motility is like a very
intense and prolonged peristaltic
contraction which strips an area
of large intestine clear of contents.
8) Defication: Excretion of waste,
 Accessory Organs
• Pancrease
• Liver
• Gall Bladder
 The Pancreas
• The pancreas, located in the upper abdomen,behind
the stomach
• When acid chyme passes into small intestine it is
mixed with pancreatic juices, bile and intestinal
juice .
• It is located in the abdominal cavity behind the
stomach.
• Present in Epigastric and rt Hypochonrium region,
• It has endocrine as well as exocrine functions
• The exocrine function: secretion of pancreatic
juices(enzymes) into the gastrointestinal tract
(duodenum) through the pancreatic duct
These enzymes are in
inactive form also called
Proenzyme inside
pancrease Activated in duodenem
 Liver
 Largest gland in the body
 Weight about 1 -2.3 kg.
 Located on the right side of the body
under the diaphragm mainly in Right
Hypocondrium. Epigastric and left
hypocondrium
 Its upper and anterior surfaces are
smooth to fit under surface of a
diaphragm.Its posterior surface is
 Consists of four lobes the large rigth lobe and
wedge shape small left lobe.
 suspended from the diaphragm and abdominal
wall by the falciform ligament
 Connected to the gall bladder via the common
hepatic duct
• The liver is enclosed in thin inelastic capsule.
• The porta hepatis (transverse fissure) is a short
but deep fissure, about 5 cm. long, extending
across the posterior surface of the right lobe
• porta hepatis transmits the portal triad—
formed by the main portal vein, proper hepatic
artery, and common hepatic duct—as well as nerves
and lymphatics
 Functions of liver
• 1) Carbohydrate metabolism.
• 2) Fat metabolism
• 3) Protein metabolism
• 4) Synthesis of plasma proteins (albumins, globulins and clotting
factors
• 5) Break down erythrocytes and defense against microbes
• 6) Detoxification of drugs and toxic substances
• 7) Inactivation of hormones
• 8) Production of heat
• 9) Secretion of bile
• 10) Storage
Glycogen
Fat soluble vitamin(A,D,E,K)
Iron,copper
Water soulable vitamins like B12
 Gallbladder
• It Stores and concentrates bile to ten
folds
• Expels bile into duodenum
– Bile emulsifies fats
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
Bile
 Produced by cells in the liver
 Helps in the digestion of FATS(Lipids)
 Composition
 Bile salts
 Bile pigment (mostly bilirubin from the
breakdown of hemoglobin)
 Cholesterol
 Phospholipids
 Electrolytes
Summary of Digestive Hormones
• Gastrin
– stomach, gastric & ileocecal sphincters
• Gastric inhibitory peptide--GIP
– stomach & pancreas
• Secretin
– pancreas, liver & stomach
• Cholecystokinin--CCK
– pancreas, gallbladder, sphincter of Oddi, &
stomach
 Digestion of Carbohydrates
• Mouth---salivary amylase
• Esophagus & stomach---nothing happens
• Duodenum----pancreatic amylase
• Brush border enzymes (maltase, sucrase &
lactose) act on disaccharides
– produces monosaccharides--fructose, glucose
& galactose
– lactose intolerance (no enzyme; bacteria
ferment sugar)--gas & diarrhea
 Digestion of Proteins
• Stomach
– HCl denatures or unfolds proteins
– pepsin turns proteins into peptides
• Pancreas
– digestive enzymes---split peptide bonds between
different amino acids
– brush border enzymes-----aminopeptidase or
dipeptidase------split off amino acid at amino end
of molecule or split dipeptide
 Digestion of Lipids
• Mouth----lingual lipase
• Small intestine
– emulsification by bile
– pancreatic lipase---splits into fatty acids &
monoglyceride
– no enzymes in brush border
 Summary
Healthy Habits

• Eat high fiber foods

• Drink lots of water
• Chew food well
• Avoid high-fat foods
Thank you