Digestive System:

Alimentary Canal: Also called the gastrointestinal tract or gut is the continuous tube that winds
through the body from the mouth to the anus.
Processes of the Alimentary Canal:
Ingestion: Taking food into the digestive tract, usually via the mouth
Propulsion: Movement of food through the alimentary canal. Includes swallowing (voluntary)
and peristalsis (involuntary).
Mechanical Digestion: Increases the surface area of ingested food. Mechanical processes include
chewing, mixing food with saliva by the tongue, churning food in the stomach, and segmentation
which mixes food with digestive juices to make absorption more efficient.
Digestion: Enzymes secreted into the lumen of the alimentary canal break down complex food
molecules to their chemical building blocks.
Absorption: Passage of nutrients through the mucosal cells by active or passive transport into the
blood or lymph.
Defecation: Eliminates indigestible substances from the body via the anus in the form of feces.
The digestive lining protects against corrosive effects of enzymes/acids, abrasions, and
pathogens.
Histological Organization:
-Mucosa or mucous membrane: Is the innermost layer. Moist epithelial membrane that lines the
alimentary canal lumen from mouth to anus. Composed of 3 sublayers lining epithelium(simple
columnar epithelium), lamina propria (loose areolar connective tissue), and muscularis
mucosae(smooth muscle). Major functions:
Secretion of mucus, digestive enzymes, and hormones
Absorption of the end products of digestion into the blood
Protection against infectious diseases
-Submucosa: External to the mucosa is areolar connective tissue containing a rich supply of
blood and lymph vessels, lymphoid follicles, and nerve fibers. Elastic fibers within it help the
stomach regain its shape after storing meals.
-Muscularis externa: Responsible for segmentation and peristalsis. Typically has an inner circular
layer and an outer longitudinal layer of smooth muscle cells. The circular layer thickens in
several places to form sphincters.
-Serosa: Outermost layer of the intraperitoneal organs, is the visceral peritoneum. Formed by
areolar connective tissue in most organs with mesothelium. In the esophagus the serosa is

replaced by an adventitia which is fibrous connective tissue that binds the esophagus to
surrounding organs.
Peristalsis / Segmentation:
Persitaltic wave-rhythmic intermittent contractions of circular and longitudinal muscles;
pacesetter cells (allow slow contractions of smooth muscle cells)
Segmentation-churn and fragment of digested materials; circular contractions.
Emesis: To throw up. Reverse of peristalsis.
Functional Anatomy of the Digestive System:
Oral Cavity:
Bounded by lips, cheeks, palate, and tongue
Vestibule: space between cheeks and gums
Contains hard and soft palates (uvula is the end of the soft palate)
Tongue contains taste buds for salty, bitter, sweet, sour, and umami
The Teeth:
Humans are diphydont
The teeth are divided into
Incisors
Canines
Premolars/bicuspids
Molars/tricuspids
They take care of the initial mechanical digestion
Salivary Glands:
Saliva is 99% water with buffers and metabolites. The saliva secreted from the salivary gland,
Cleanses the mouth
Dissolves food chemicals
Moistens food and helps compacted into a bolus
Contains enzymes that begin the chemical breakdown of starchy food
The Pharynx: Pharyngeal constrictors initiate bolus movement. The palatal muscles raise the soft
palate & portions of the pharyngeal to close the nasopharynx.

Swallowing Process: Has two phases buccal which is voluntary and esophageal which is
involuntary.
The Esophagus: Muscular tube about 25 cm long collapsed when is not involved in food
propulsion. It pierces the diaphragm at the esophageal hiatus. It joins the stomach at the cardiac
orifice within the abdominal cavity. The cardiac orifice is surrounded by the cardiac sphincter
which is not a true sphincter. The hiatus mimics the sphincter action. Weakening in the hiatus
leads to GERD. If GERD persists it could lead to Barrets Disease and cancer.
The Stomach: is a temporary storage where mechanical and chemical breakdown of ingested
food begin and food is converted from bolus to chime. The empty stomach has a volume of 50ml
and a full stomach has a volume of up to 4L. Stomach rugae are infoldings of the stomachs
mucosae.
Gross anatomy of the stomach:
Cardia: surrounds the cardial orifice through which food enters the stomach from the esophagus
(end portion of esophagus).
Body: Is continuous inferiorly with the pyloric part.
Fundus: Stomachs dome shaped part. Is tucked beneath the diaphragm. Expansive portion of
stomach. Location of Ghredin cells responsible of appetite. Target site for bariatric surgery
Pylorus: Continuous with the duodenum through the pyloric sphincter which controls stomach
emptying.
Stomach musculature: Circular, Longitudinal (both allow for mix, churn, and move food along
the tract), and oblique (pummel food breaking it down into smaller fragments
Large Intestine: Frames small intestine on three sides and extends from the ileoccecal (ileum end
of small intestine-cecum beginning of large intestine) valve to anus. Length is 1.5 meters and
diameter is 7 cm. Starts at the cecum, vermiform appendix.
Colon Regions: Ascending-hepatic flexure-transverse-splenic flexure-descending-sigmoid
flexure-sigmoid.
Rectum: Composed of the anal canal / columns, internal (smooth muscle-involuntary) / external
(skeletal muscle-voluntary) anal sphincter, anal orifice.
Functions of Large Intestine: Reabsorption of water/electrolytes, compaction of feces, vitamin
absorption (bacterial flora) E. Coli. This bacteria colonizes the colon, synthesizes B complex
vitamins and some of the vitamin K needed by the liver. Metabolizes mucin, heparin, and
hyaluronic acid.
Small Intestine: Bodys major digestive organ 6m long, 4cm-2.5cm diameter. Accounts for 90%
of nutrient absorption. Plicae circulares: Speed bumps that slow down motility of chime thus
increasing absorption. Subdivided into duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.

The Liver: The largest visceral organ along with the gallbladder are accessory organs associated
with the small intestine.
Function of the Liver: Metabolic/hematological regulation, bile production by the hepatocytes,
and detoxifier.
The liver is formed by lobes-segments-lobules.
The lobule is a roughly hexagonal structure consisting of plates of liver cells or hepatocytes. The
hepatocyte plates radiates outward from a central vein running in the longitudinal axis of the
lobule. At each of the six corners is a portal triad composed by
Branch of the hepatic artery (supplying oxygen rich arterial blood to the liver)
Branch of the hepatic portal vein (carrying venous laden with nutrients from the digestive
viscera)
A bile duct
Between the hepatocyte plates are enlarged, heavily fenestrated liver sinusoids (hepatic
macrophages) or Kupffer cells. Blood from both the hepatic portal vein and the hepatic artery
percolates from the triad through these sinusoids and empties in the central vein. From the
central vein blood enters the hepatic veins, which drain the liver, and empties into the inferior
vena cava.
The hepatocytes process:
Blood borne nutrients
Store fat-soluble vitamins
Play important role in detoxification, such as riding the blood of ammonia by converting it to
urea.
Gallbladder: Stores bile that is not immediately needed for digestion and concentrates it by
absorbing some of its water and ions. Divided into fundus, body, and neck
Bile emulsifies lipids to make their absorption easier.
Bile exists the gallbladder through the cystic duct from there it flows to the bile duct. The
gallbladder is covered by visceral peritoneum.
Enteroendocrine cells in small intestine secrete cholecystokinin which targets the wall of the
gallbladder to trigger contraction.
Cholelithiasis is gallbladder stones.
Cholecystectomy is the removal of the gallbladder.
The Pancreas:
Contains exocrine and endocrine glands. Composed of a head, body, and tail.

The pancreatic juice is important in digestion because it contains enzymes that break down all
categories of food (proteases, lipases, carbohydrases, and nucleases)
The pancreas contain pancreatic islets or islets of Langerhans that are formed by alpha (produces
glucagon), beta (produces insulin), and delta cells (produces somatostatin)
Insulin lowers blood sugar
Glucagon increases blood sugar
Diabetes mellitus is due to the absence or lack of effectiveness of insulin.