Chapter 16- The Digestive System Flashcards
What is the primary function of the digestive system?
-Transfer nutrients, water and electrolytes from ingested food into body’s internal environment
What are the four general functions of the digestive system?
- Motility
- Secretion
3.Digestion
4.Absorption
What is motility?
Muscular activity to mix and move contents
What are the two types of digestive motility?
- Propulsive movements
- Mixing movements
What are propulsive movements?
Push contents forward through the digestive tract
What are mixing movements?
Have two functions:
1. Mixing food with digestive juices promotes digestion of foods
2. Absorption
What do exocrine glands (neural and hormonal stimulation) secrete into the digestive tract lumen?
Digestive secretions
What are digestive secretions?
-Water
-electrolytes
-specific organic constituents
What happens to digestive secretions once they have participated in digestion?
Reabsorbed in one form or another back into blood
What is digestion?
Biochemical breakdown of structurally complex foodstuffs into smaller, absorbable units
What allows digestion to be accomplished?
Digestive enzymes
What are carbohydrates absorbable unit?
Monosachharides
What are proteins absorbable units?
Amino acids
What are fats absorbable units?
Glycerol and fatty acids
How are most carbohydrates consumed in one’s diet?
As disaccharides or polysaccharides
What are examples of disaccharides or polysaccharides?
Sucrose
Lactose
Maltose
Starch
Glycogen
Cellulose (not digested –
“fibre”)
What kind of carbohydrates are absorbed by the intestinal cells for use in the body?
Monosaccharides
What must Disaccharides and polysaccharides be digested into before they can be absorbed?
Must be digested into monosaccharides
What are carbohydrates?
Simple sugars
C6H12O6
What is the chemical structure of a disaccharide/double sugar?
2 monosaccharides linked together
What is the chemical structure of a polysaccharide?
Many sugar molecules linked together
What are proteins first broken down into?
peptide fragments
What are peptide fragments further digested into?
Free amino acids
What happens to free amino acids during protein digestion?
The free amino acids enter epethial cells to be absorbed along with shorts chains of 2-3 a.a are also absorbed
What are most dietary fats?
Triglycerides
Glycerol + 3 fatty acids
What does the digestion of triglycerides produce?
2 free fatty acids and a monoglyceride
What is absorption?
Occurs in small intestine, small absorbable units along with water, vitamins and electrolytes from digestive tract are transferred into lumen then into blood or lymph.
What are the parts of the digestive tract?
Mouth
Pharynx
Esophagus
Stomach
Small intestine
Duodenum
Jejunum
Ileum
Large intestine
Cecum
Appendix
Colon
Rectum
Anus
What are the accessory digestive organs?
Salivary glands
Exocrine: pancreas
Bilary system: Liver and gallbladder
What are the four major tissue layers of the digestive tract wall? (innermost to outermost)
- Mucosa
- Submucosa
- Muscularis externa
- Serosa
What is the mucosa?
Layer that line the luminal surface
has 3 layers
How does the mucosa increase surface area?
It has a highly folded surface
What are the 3 layers of the mucosa?
- Mucous membrane
- Lamina propria
- Muscularis mucosa
What is the mucosa’s mucous membrane function?
-Protection
-Modified for secretion and absorption
What does the mucosa’s mucous membrane contain?
a. Exocrine gland cells
b. Endocrine gland cells
c. Epithelial cells
What is the function of exocrine gland cells (mucous membrane)?
Secrete digestive juices
What is the function of endocrine gland cells (mucous membrane)?
Secrete blood-borne gastrointestinal hormones
What is the functions of epethielial cells (mucous membrane)?
specialized for absorbing digestive nutrients
What is the function of the mucosa’s lamina propria?
Houses GALT
What is GALT?
Gut-Associated Lymphoid Tissue
-Defend against disease-causing intestinal bacteria
What is the mucosa’s muscularis mucosa?
Sparse layer of smooth muscle
What is the anatomy of the Submucosa?
Thick layer of connective tissue
What is the function of the submucosa?
Provides digestive tract with distensibility and elasticity
What does the submucosa contain?
-Larger blood and lymph vessels
-Nerve network: Submucosal plexus
What is the Muscularis Externa?
Major smooth muscle coat of digestive tube
What are the 2 layers of the Muscularis externa?
- Circular layer
- Longitudinal layer
What is the circular layer of the muscularis externa?
-Inner layer
-Contraction —> decrease diameter of lumen
What is the longitudinal layer of the muscularis externa?
-Outer layer
-Contraction —> shorten the tube
Contractile activity of the muscularis externa produces what?
propulsive and mixing movements
What cells are found between the two muscle layers of the muscularis externa?
Pacemaker cells called Interstitial cells of Cajal
What are Interstitial cells of Cajal?
Origin of rhythmic electrical activity (BER)
-Basic Electrical Rhythm
What nerve network lies between the two muscle layers of the muscularis externa?
Myenteric plexus
What is the function of the serosa?
Secrete serous fluid
What does serous fluid do?
Lubricates and prevents friction between digestive organs and surrounding viscera
What is the serosa continuous with throughout most of the tract?
Continous with the mesentery
What does the attachment of the serosa and mesentery do?
Provides relative fixation
Supports digestive organs (during mixing/propulsive movements)
What is digestive motility and secretion regulated by?
-Autonomous smooth muscle functions
-Intrinsic nerve plexuses
-Extrinsic nerves
-Gastrointestinal hormones
What autonomous smooth muscle functions help regulate digestive system functions?
Interstitial cells of Cajal (BER)
What are the intrinsic nerve plexuses that help regulate digestive system functions?
Enteric NS= Myenteric + submucosal plexuses
Other sensory and motor functions
What extrinsic nerves help regulate digestive system functions?
Nerves from the ANS
What gastrointestinal hormones help regulate digestive system functions?
a. Gastrin
b. Other hormones from the brain
What parts of the digestive tract do the things regulating digestive system functions act on?
- Smooth muscle
- Exocrine gland cells
- Endocrine gland cells
What are the parts of the oral cavity?
-Lips
-Palate
-Tongue
-Pharynx
-Teeth
What is the function of the lips?
-Forms an opening
-Helps procure, guide and contains food in the mouth
-Important for speech
-Tactile sensation
What is the function of the tongue?
-Forms floor of oral cavity
-Movements of skeletal muscle aid in chewing and swallowing
-Important for speech
-Taste buds
What is the function of the palate?
-Forms the roof of the oral cavity
-Contains uvula: seals off nasal passages during swallowing
What is the function of the pharynx?
-Passageway for digestive and respiratory systems
-Contains tonsils (lymphoid tissue)
What is the function of teeth?
CHEWING:
-Grind, break food into small pieces
-Mix food with saliva
-Stimulate taste buds
Why is it important that teeth break food into smaller pieces?
- Make swallowing easier
- Increase surface area for salivary enzymes to act on
What are the 3 pairs of salivary glands?
- Parotid
- Sublingual
- Submandibualr
How do the salivary glands secrete?
Secretion occurs when there’s a large increase in blood flow
-Per gram, have the largest secretion of any exocrine gland
What is Saliva composed of?
99.5% H2O
0.5% electrolytes and protein
What is the 0.5% of saliva composed of specifically?
Amylase
Mucous
Lysozyme
What does amylase do?
Begins digestion of carbs
Polysaccharides —> Disaccharides
What does mucus (in saliva) do?
Provides lubrication
What does lysozyme do?
-Antibacterial action by destroying bacteria
What antibacterial action does saliva have other than lysozyme?
Saliva rinses away material that could be a food source for bacteria
How does saliva stimulate taste buds?
Is a solvent for molecules that stimulate taste buds
What other functions does saliva have?
-Moistens food making it easier to swallow
-Makes movements of lips/tongue easier for speech
-helps keep mouth and teeth clean
-Rich in bicarbonate buffers
What stimulates saliva secretion?
- Presssure receptors and chemoreceptors in the mouth
- Thinking, seeing and smelling food signals the cerebral cortex
-triggers salivary centre in medulla
What is swallowing?
Motility associated with pharynx and esophagus
What kind of reflex is swallowing?
Sequentially programmed all-or-none reflex
-Most complex reflex
How is swallowing initiated?
When bolus is voluntarily forced by tongue to rear of mouth into pharynx
-Once initiated cannot be stopped
What is the esophagus?
Fairly straight muscular tube extending between the pharynx and stomach
What does the esophagus have at each end?
Sphincters
What are the two sphincters of the esophagus?
- Pharyngoesophageal sphincter
- Gastroesophageal sphincter
What is the function of the Pharyngoesophageal sphincter?
Prevents large volumes of air from entering esophagus and stomach during breathing
What is the Gastroesophageal sphincter?
Prevents reflux of gastric contents