Digestive system Flashcards
Digestive system: Components
● Digestive system: mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small intestines, large intestines and anus
● Includes accessory organs salivary glands, teeth, liver, gallbladder and pancreas
● Complemented by hormones, enzymes, and bacteria
Digestive system: Function
● Physical and chemical breakdown of food
● Absorption of nutrients
● Elimination of waste
The Alimentary Canal
- Continuous hollow tube
- Approximately 30 ft long in cadavers
- Food is always considered external
- Tissues similar along length of canal with slight modifications to aid digestion (mechanical/chemical)
The Alimentary Canal: Structure
Within the structure of the alimentary canal are layers of muscle.
Two layers of mostly smooth (involuntary) muscle:
- Inner circular layer and Outer longitudinal layer
Separated by neurovascular and lymphatic vessels
Waves of contraction cause peristalsis to mix and push contents along
Sphincters of thickened circular muscle at points to act as valves
What do the Mouth and pharynx do?
Purpose: starts the process of chemical and mechanical digestion. Mixing food with enzymes and making food swallowable.
Mouth/ oral cavity boundaries:
- Anteriorly – lips, Posteriorly – oropharyngeal isthmus, Laterally – cheeks / buccal surfaces (buccinators muscle), Superiorly – palate (hard/soft), Inferiorly - tongue and floor
Floor;
- Formed by mylohyoid and geniohyoid muscles (mandible to hyoid). U-shaped diaphragm. Supports tongue
Hard palate:
- Anterior ⅔ . Made of Maxilla and palatine bones.
Soft palate:
- Posterior ⅓. Mobile muscular fold. Uvula – fold of muscle; saliva, speech, gag reflex
Tongue
- Accessory organ. Functions in mastication, swallowing, speech and taste. Base attached to hyoid bone and to floor by lingual frenulum. Skeletal muscle fibres (intrinsic and extrinsic).
Teeth
- Accessory organ. Functions in mastication and speech
Salivary glands
- Accessory organs. Three bilateral pairs of glands which release saliva into mouth through ducts. Parotid, submandibular and sublingual
Pharynx
- Nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx.
Oesophagus
- Purpose - transports food/chyme from mouth to stomach. Resistant to damage
- Muscular tube
- Begins distally to mouth (oropharynx) around C6
- Approximately 25cm long and 2cm in diameter
- Lies in midline posteriorly to trachea and anteriorly to spine
- Passes through diaphragm posterior to central tendon at level of T10 (oesophageal hiatus)
Stomach: structure and function
- Purpose: mix/ pummel food into chyme. Supports further mechanical and chemical digestion
- Described as C or J shape
- 15-25cm long with maximum capacity of 4L. Collapses when empty.
- Position, Below diaphragm, left upper quadrant or left hypochondriac region and epigastrum.
Sections: - Greater (lateral, convex) and lesser (medial, concave) curvature.
- Superiorly, cardia connecting oesophagus to stomach. Cardiac notch. Fundus often demonstrated with gas in.
- Main body - largest section
- Pylorus, inferior, pyloric antrum (superior) and pyloric canal (inferior). Pylorus continuous with duodenum.