The
Digestive
System
• It is a group of organs that works
together to transform food into
forms that cell in the body can
absorb to provide energy for its
various functions and to nourish and
build new cells.
• The system responsible for digestion.
-- Digestion
The process in which food is transformed
into substances which the body can use
to maintain its various functions.
Mechanical and Chemical breakdown
of complex nutrients (foods) into smaller
molecular components.
Six main steps:
1 2 3 4 5 6
CHEMICAL
1 INGESTION 4
DIGESTION
2 PROPULSION 5 ABSORPTION
MECHANICAL
3 6 DEFACATION
BREAKDOWN
The Gastrointestinal Tract
It is a long tube where the food
passes through.
It extends form the mouth to the
anus.
Has two divisions:
Upper Gastrointestinal Tract:
mouth, pharynx, esophagus, and
stomach.
Lower Gastrointestinal Tract:
intestines, rectum, and anus.
Accessory Organs of Gastrointestinal
Tract: teeth, tongue, salivary glands,
liver, gallbladder, and pranceas.
Organs of the Human
Gastrointestinal
Tract
Mouth
Pharynx
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Large Intestine
Rectum and Anus
Mouth
The part of the digestive system that receives food.
Mechanical and chemical digestion occurs.
Various accessory organs that help in the mechanical
and chemical digestion of food: tongue, teeth, and
salivary glands.
Pharynx
Also called as throat
A funnel-shaped tube located
at the back of the mouth.
It is lined with mucus
membrane, and involved in
passing chewed food form the
mouth to the esophagus.
It contains a flat, thin piece of
tissue known as epiglottis.
Esophagus
About 25 centimeters (10 inches) in esophagus
length.
It is a muscular tube that connects the
pharynx and the stomach.
This receives masses of chewed food
rom the mouth through the pharynx
and passes it to the stomach in a series stomach
of muscular contractions and
relaxations known as peristalsis.
bolus
Esophageal Sphincter
o Upper Esophageal Sphincter (UES) –
located at the upper end of the
esophagus; keeps food and gastric or
stomach content for going down the
trachea..
o Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) –
located at the lower end of the organ,
prevents food and gastric contents from
moving backward from stomach.
Stomach
• A muscular sac-like organ located
between the esophagus and the small
intestine.
• This secretes hydrochloric acid (HCl)
and digestive enzymes, which help
break down food into soluble
substances.
• Acts as receptacle for food, allowing
the body to have enough time to
digest food properly.
• Two sphincters – the esophageal
sphincter and the pyloric sphincter
that keep the contents of the stomach
contained.
Four Sections of the
Stomach
• Cardia – where the contents of the
esophagus empty into the stomach
• Fundus – which formed the
curvature of the organ
• Corpus – considered as the body or
the main region
• Pylorus – facilitates emptying of
the contents into the small intestine.
Small Intestine
A long narrow tube
About 7 meters (23 feet) long in
adults
Located in the abdomen.
It continues the process of digestion
with the action of bile and enzymes
secreted by the liver and the
pancreas.
Three Sections of
the Small Intestine
Duodenum – responsible
for the digestion of
food materials
Jejunum and ileum –
responsible for the
absorption of
nutrients into the
bloodstream.
Large Intestine
• Also known as colon
• Located in the lower abdomen of the body.
• About 1.5 meters (5 feet) in length and 3 inches in
diameter
• Shorter and wider compared to the small
intestine.
• The primary function of this organ is to absorb
water from the undigested food from the small
inbtestine before sending it into the rectum as
waste or feces, which are excreted out of the
body through the anus.
• This organ contains many symbiotic bacteria that
help break down wastes and produce some
nutrients.
Three Sections of
the Large Intestine
• Cecum – receives food
materials from the ileum
• Colon – further divided into
ascending , transverse and
descending colon
• Rectum –where waste is
removed from the body
through defecation
Rectum and Anus
• Rectum is the end section of the
large intestine before reaching rectum
the anus.
• The anus is the opening at the
lower end of the
gastrointestinal tract that
controls the expulsion of feces.
anus
Accessory Organs of the
Digestive System
Teeth
Tongue
Salivary Glands
Pancreas
Liver
Gallbladder
Teeth
• Used for cutting and grinding food
into smaller pieces.
• Made of a bone-like substance called
dentin and covered in layer of
enamel.
• Contain blood vessels and nerves
under the dentin in a soft region
known as the pulp
Four Kinds of Teeth
• Incisors - four middlemost teeth on
the upper and lower jaws.
• Canines – are the pointed teeth
outside the incisors
• Premolars – the teeth between the
canines and the molars
• Molars – the flat teeth in the rear
of the mouth.
Tongue
• Small muscular organ located at the
lower portion of the mouth.
• Covered with mucus membrane –
moist, thin layer of skin.
• The small bumps in the tongue,
which give the tongue’s surface a
Papillae
rough texture, are called papillae.
• Papillae – contain taste buds
containing the receptors for taste
Four types of
Taste receptiors
• Sweet receptors – tip of the tongue
• Sour receptors – along the sides of
the tongue
• Salty receptors in front of the tongue
• Bitter receptors at the back of the
tongue
Salivary Glands
• Located in and around the mouth and throat
• Produces a watery secretion called saliva.
• Saliva
• Helps moisten and lubricate food as it passes from the
mouth through the pharynx and esophagus.
• Contains the enzyme amylase that breaks down
carbohydrates. Thus, chemical digestion begins within the
mouth
Three Major Pairs of the
Salivary Glands
• Parotid glands – inside the
cheeks
• Submandibular glands – at
the floor of the mouth
• Sublingual glands – under
the tongue.
Pancreas
• Located deep abdomen behind the stomach.
• Connected in the duodenum through a small tube called the
pancreatic duct.
• Pancreatic juice which contains enzymes secreted from the pancreas
into the small intestine, helps complete the chemical digestion of
carbohydrates, protein, and fat in chyme.
Liver
• A large reddish-brown organ located at
the upper right-hand area of the
abdominal cavity; below the diphragm;
and above the stomach; right kidney,
and intestines.
• Secrets bile
• a substance that helps digest fats.
• Breaks down large droplets of fat into
smaller ones
• It also filters blood coming from the
gastrointestinal tract before passing
through the blood vessels in various parts
of the body.
Gallbladder
• Small pear-shaped organ
located under the liver.
• Stores bile produced by the
liver.
• Secretes bile into the small
intestine through a small
tube called bile duct.
The End.
