Digestive System Notes

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Basic Outline 1. Movement: propels food through the digestive system 2. Secretion: release of digestive juices in response to a specific stimulus 3. Digestion: breakdown of food into molecular components small enough to cross the plasma membrane

4. Absorption: passage of the molecules into the body's interior and their passage throughout the body 5. Elimination: removal of undigested food and wastes

Hungry? The average male will eat about 50 tons of food (during his lifetime!) in order to sustain a weight of 150 lbs.

Let’s Dig In!!!!

Mouth receptacle for food begins mechanical digestion through chewing swallow food

Esophagus A simple conduit between the mouth and stomach

Did you know ? It takes about 8 seconds for food to travel down the esophagus. The average time for your stomach to digest a high fat meal is 6 hours, as compared 2 hours for a carbohydrate meal. The average time for the digestion process in the small intestine is about 3 to 5 hours. This is followed by another 4 hours to 3 days(!) in the large intestine.

Stomach Short-term storage reservoir Substantial chemical and enzymatic digestion is initiated, particularly of proteins. Liquefaction of food Slowly released into the small intestine

Did you know ? Your stomach produces a new lining every 3 days in order to avoid digesting itself in its own production of acid.

Liver, Pancreas and Gallbladder Liver: The center of metabolic activity in the body - provides bile salts to the small intestine, which are critical for digestion and absorption of fats. Pancreas: provides a potent mixture of digestive enzymes to the small intestine which are critical for digestion of fats, carbohydrates and protein. Gallbladder: stores and concentrates bile, and then releases it into the duodenum to help absorb and digest fats.

Small Intestines This is where the final stages of chemical enzymatic digestion occur and where almost all nutrients are absorbed.

Large Intestine In all animals water is absorbed, bacterial fermentation takes place and feces are formed. Herbivores like the horse, the large intestine is huge and of critical importance for utilization of cellulose.

How long are your intestines? At least 25 feet in an adult. Be glad you're not a full-grown horse -- their coiled-up intestines are 89 feet long!

Rectum/Anus Rectum It is the rectum's job to receive stool from the colon, to let the person know that there is stool to be evacuated, and to hold the stool until evacuation happens. Anus: The anus is the last part of the digestive tract.

Perils of Overeating

The next slide has a map of the digestive system. Your notes need to include a map and you’ll need to be able to label parts. You can choose to copy figure included in these notes or figure on page 979 in your textbook