The Digestive Tract

Alimentary Canal
(gastrointestinal tract)
The muscular alimentary canal
Mouth
Pharynx
Esophagus
Stomach
Small intestine
Large intestine
Anus

The accessory
digestive organs
Supply secretions contributing
to the breakdown of food
Teeth & tongue
Salivary glands
Gallbladder
Liver
2
Pancreas
 The Digestive Process
Ingestion
Taking in food through the mouth
Propulsion (movement of food)
Swallowing
Peristalsis propulsion by alternate
contraction &relaxation
Mechanical digestion
Chewing
Churning in stomach
Mixing by segmentation
Chemical digestion
By secreted enzymes: see later
Absorption
Transport of digested end products into
blood and lymph in wall of canal
Defecation
Elimination of indigestible substances from
body as feces 3
 Chemical digestion
Complex food molecules (carbohydrates,
proteins and lipids) broken down into
chemical building blocks (simple sugars,
amino acids, and fatty acids and glycerol)
Carried out by enzymes secreted by digestive
glands into lumen of the alimentary canal

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 Teeth
Called dentition (like dentist)

Teeth live in sockets (alveoli) in the gum-

covered margins of the mandible and
maxilla

Chewing: raising and lowering the mandible

and moving it from side to side while
tongue positions food between teeth
5
 Teeth
Two sets
Primary or deciduous
Baby teeth
Start at 6 months
20 are out by about 2 years
Fall out between 2-6 years
Permanent: 32 total
All but 3rd set of molars by
end of adolescence
3rd set = wisdom teeth
Variable
Some can be impacted
(imbedded in bone) 6
Teeth are classified according to
shape and function
Incisors: chisel-shaped for
chopping off pieces
incisor Canines: cone shaped to
tear and pierce
canine
Premolars (bicuspids) and
premolar
Molars - broad crowns
with 4-5 rounded cusps for
molar grinding
Cusps are surface bumps 7
 Tooth structure
Two main regions
A. Crown (exposed)
A
B. Root (in socket)
C. Meet at neck
Enamel C
99% calcium crystals
Hardest substance in
body B
Dentin bulk of the
tooth (bone-like but
harder than bone, with
collagen and mineral)
Pulp cavity with vessels
and nerves
Root canal: the part of the
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pulp in the root
 Tooth structure
Cementum bone
A
layer of tooth root
Attaches tooth to
periodontal ligament C

Periodontal ligament
Anchors tooth in boney
B
socket of the jaw
Continuous with gingiva
(gums)
Cavities or caries - rot
Plaque film of sugar,
bacteria and debris
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 Esophagus
Continuation of pharynx in
mid neck
Muscular tube collapsed
when lumen empty Esophagus___________
Descends through thorax
On anterior surface of
vertebral column
Behind (posterior to) trachea

10
 Esophagus continued
Passes through esophageal hiatus in the diaphragm to
enter the abdomen
Abdominal part only 2 cm long
Joins stomach at cardiac orifice*
Cardiac sphincter at cardiac orifice to prevent regurgitation (food
coming back up into esophagus)

___________________esophageal hiatus
(hiatus means opening)

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 Microscopic anatomy of esophagus

Contains all 4
layers (see right)

Epithelium: nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium

At GE junction thin simple columnar epithelium
Mucus glands in wall
Muscle (muscularis externa) changes as it goes down
Superior 1/3 of esophagus: skeletal muscle (like pharynx)
Middle 1/3 mixture of skeletal and smooth muscle
Inferior 1/3 smooth muscle (as in stomach and intestines)
When empty, mucosa and submucosa lie in longitudinal folds 12
Esophagus histology

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 Stomach
J-shaped; widest part of alimentary canal
Temporary storage and mixing 4 hours
Into chyme
Starts food breakdown
Pepsin (protein-digesting enzyme needing acid
environment)
HCl (hydrochloric acid) helps kill bacteria
Stomach tolerates high acid content but esophagus
doesnt why it hurts so much when stomach contents
refluxes into esophagus (heartburn; GERD)
Most nutrients wait until get to small intestine to
be absorbed; exceptions are:
Water, electrolytes, some drugs like aspirin and alcohol
(absorbed through stomach)
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 Stomach
epigastrium
Lies mostly in LUQ
But pain can be epigastric or
lower
Just inferior to (below)
diaphragm
Anterior (in front of) spleen
and pancreas
Tucked under left lower dome
margin of liver
junction with
Anchored at both ends but esophagus

mobile in between
contains pyloric
Main regions in drawing to sphincter
right--------------------------------
Capacity: 1.5 L food; max funnel shaped
capacity 4L (1 gallon) 15
16
 Histology of
stomach
Simple columnar
epithelium: secrete
bicarbonate-buffered
mucus
Gastric pits opening
into gastric glands
Mucus neck cells
Parietal cells
HCL
Intrinsic factor (for
B12 absorption)
Chief cells
Pepsinogen
(activated to pepsin
with HCL)
Stimulated by gastrin:
a stomach hormone
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 Small intestine
Longest part of alimentary canal (2.7-5 m)
Most enzymatic digestion occurs here
Most enzymes secreted by pancreas, not
small intestine
Almost all absorption of nutrients
3-6 hour process
Runs from pyloric sphincter
to RLQ
Small intestine___________

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 Small intestine has 3 subdivisions
Blood supply: superior
Duodenum 5% of length mesenteric artery;
Jejunum almost 40% Veins drain into hepatic
Ileum almost 60% portal vein

Duodenum receives
bile from liver and gallbladder via bile duct*
enzymes from pancreas via main pancreatic duct*

* 19
 Small intestine designed for absorption
Huge surface area because of great length
Structural modifications also increase absorptive area
Circular folds (plicae circulares)
Villi (fingerlike projections) 1 mm high simple columnar epithelium: velvety
Microvilli

Absorptivie cell
with microvilli to
increase surface
area & many
mitochondria:
nutrient uptake is
energy-
demanding
*

Lacteal*: network of blood

and lymph capillaries
-Carbs and proteins into blood to
liver via hepatic portal vein
-Fat into lymph: fat-soluble toxins
e.g. pesticides circulate
systemically before going to liver 20
for detoxification
 Intestinal crypts * (of Lieberkuhn) in between villi
Cells here divide every 3-6 days to renew epithelium (most rapidly dividing cells of the
body)
Secrete watery intestinal juice which mixes with chyme (the paste that food becomes after
stomach churns it)
Intestinal flora the permanent normal bacteria
Manufacture some vitamins, e.g. K, which get absorbed

-have many
mitochondria:
Duodenal glands * *
nutrient uptake
is energy-
Mucus to counteract acidity demanding
from stomach
Hormones: * -produce
Cholecystokinin (stimulates GB mucus
to release stored bile, also pancreas)
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Secretin (stimulates pancreatic
ducts to release acid neutralizer)
General histology of digestive tract

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23
 Large intestine
Digested residue reaches it
Main function: to absorb water
and electrolytes

Subdivisions
Cecum
Appendix
Colon
Rectum
Anal canal

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 Defecation
1. Triggered by stretching of
wall, mediated by spinal
cord parasympathetic reflex
2. Stimulates contraction of
smooth muscle in wall and
relaxation of internal anal
sphincter
3. If convenient to defecate
voluntary motor neurons
stimulate relaxation of
external anal sphincter
(aided by diaphragm and
abdominal wall muscles
-called Valsalva maneuver)
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 The Liver
Largest gland in the body
(about 3 pounds)
Over 500 functions
Inferior to diaphragm in
RUQ and epigastric area
protected by ribs
R and L lobes
Plus 2 smaller lobes
Falciform ligament
Mesentery binding liver to
anterior abdominal wall
2 surfaces
Diaphragmatic
Visceral
Covered by peritoneum
Except bare area fused to 26
diaphragm
 posterior

Fissure on visceral surface

Porta hepatis: major vessels and nerves anterior

enter and leave - see pics

Ligamentum teres: remnant of
umbilical vein in fetus, attaches to navel
see next slide 27
 Just some of the livers functions

Produces bile
Picks up glucose from blood
Stores glucose as glycogen
Processes fats and amino acids
Stores some vitamins
Detoxifies poisons and drugs
Makes the blood proteins

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 Gallbladder*
Bile is produced in the liver
Bile is stored in the gallbladder
Bile is excreted into the
duodenum when needed (fatty
meal)
Bile helps dissolve fat and
cholesterol
If bile salts crystallize, gall
stones are formed
Intermittent pain: ball valve
effect causing intermittent
obstruction
Or infection and a lot of pain,
fever, vomiting, etc.

* 29
Lies in LUQ kind of behind stomach
Is retroperitoneal Pancreas
Has a head, body and tail
Head is in C-shaped curve of duodenum (exocrine and
Tail extends left to touch spleen
Main pancreatic duct runs the length of the endocrine)
pancreas, joins bile duct

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 Pancreatic endocrine function
(hormones released into blood)

Islets of Langerhans (AKA islet cells)

are the hormone secreting cells
Insulin (from beta cells)
Lowers blood glucose (sugar)
Glucagon (from from alpha cells)
Raises blood glucose (sugar)

(more later)
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Endocrine cells:

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