Digestive System Flashcards
Digestive System Organs
Mouth Oropharynx Oesophagus Stomach Small Intestine Large Intestine
Accessory organs:
Salivary Glands
Pancreas
Liver
Gall bladder and biliary tract
Oral Cavity
- Inner surfaces are lined with mucous membranes.
- Hard palate -bony partition between oral & nasal cavities. Allows simultaneous chewing and breathing.
- Soft palate –an arch of muscle.
- Uvula–swings up and blocks the nasopharynx preventing food from entering the nasal cavity.
- Tongue–voluntary skeletal muscle structure attached to the hyoid bone and mandible. The superior surface covered with ‘papillae’, which contain taste buds.
Oral Cavity: Functions
- Mastication
- Speech
- Taste
- Swallowing–bolus (mixed digested food & digestive juices) is pushed by the tongue into the pharynx closing the nasopharynx –‘pharynx reflex action’.
Teeth
- Adults have 32 teeth (20 temporary).
- Teeth have a crown, neck & root.
- ‘Dentin’ makes up the bulk of a tooth internally. Teeth are covered externally by enamel.
- Sits within the gum (gingiva) and periodontal membrane (a ligament that fixes to bone/connects teeth).
- Functions in Mastication (what chewing does not accomplish mechanically must be completed by the digestive tract chemically).
Saliva Composition
- Water(99.5%).
- Mineral Salts (Na, K, Ca, Cl, Bicarbonate, P).
- Enzymes:salivary amylase (parotid), lysozymes (found in many body secretions, breaks down bacterial cell walls).
- Mucous.
- Immunoglobulins(IgA).
- Blood clotting factors.
- pH 6.35-6.85 (mildly acidic).
Saliva Functions
- Digestion-chemical breakdown of polysaccharides.
- Lubricating & dissolving food.
- Cleansing of oral cavity and teeth.
- Defence-non-specific (IgA & lysozymes).
- Taste.
- Buffer–for acidic foods.
- Waste removal–urea / uric acid from the body.
Oesophagus
- A 25cm long muscular tube, attached to the larynx. Posterior to trachea, passes through the diaphragm (T10).
- Lined with squamous epithelium for protection, lubricated with mucous.
- The superior/middle oesophagus contains skeletal muscle & the lower contains smooth.
- Food travels to the stomach via muscular contractions (‘peristalsis’).
- Epiglottis–a flap of elastic cartilage which prevents food entering the trachea.
- The lower oesophageal sphincter acts as a seal on the stomach to prevent reflux of stomach contents into the oesophagus.
Stomach
- The stomach is a J-shaped organ with 4 main regions: cardia, fundus, body, pyloric with lesser and greater curvatures.
- Same layers as the rest of the GIT, but with 3 layers of muscle (rather than 2) churning & mixing food with gastric juice.
- 2 sphincters: cardiac and pyloric.
Stomach: Neural feedback
- Food distends the stomach stimulating stretch receptors in its walls.
- Chemoreceptors monitor pH changes.
- Activates submucosal plexus causing waves of peristalsis and gastric juice flow.
Stomach: Composition
- The stomach secretes 2-3L of highly acidic (pH 2-3) gastric juice and mucous a day.
- The mucous produced by goblet cells in the stomach provide a ‘barrier’ against the acidity present within the stomach.
- The stomach contains simple columnar epithelial cells. These have a fast turnover (replacing the lining every 3 days)
Stomach: Exocrine Cells
Parietal cells
Chief cells
Goblet cells
Parietal cells
Intrinsic Factor: necessary for vitamin B12 absorption
HCl:
• Secretes H+and Cl-separately which combine in the stomach.
• HCl activates pepsin, acts as an anti-microbial agent and assists in activating bile and pancreas flow.
Chief cells
Pepsinogen: Protein digestionHCl converts pepsinogen to the active enzyme pepsin (digests protein).
Gastric Lipase:lipid digestion
Goblet cells
Mucous: protects against acid
Stomach: Functions
- Mixing chamber –churns up food.
- Holding reservoir –storage.
- Defence–non-specific defence from gastric acidity.
- Absorption (limited) –water, alcohol, drugs i.e. aspirin.
- Digestion–mechanical but also chemical digestion of proteins & lipids.
- Iron–made more soluble with stomach acid.
- Satiation–tells you to stop eating.
Stomach: Hormones
- Ghrelin–stimulates hunger.
* Gastrin(produced by G cells) –responds to stomach distension. Stimulates gastric juice secretion & gastric motility.
Pancreas
The pancreas is an accessory digestive organ of the digestive system that have both exocrine and endocrine functions.
Pancreas: Exocrine Function
Pancreatic juice is a clear liquid that is excreted into the small intestines (1.2-1.5L/day).
Sodium bicarbonate and water.
Protease enzymes: Trypsin, chymotrypsin, ribonuclease, deoxyribonuclease.
Lipase.
Pancreatic amylase.
Pancreas: Endocrine Function
Hormones secreted (into the blood).
- Insulin & Glucagon.
- Somatostatin (growth-hormone-inhibiting-hormone).