Digestive

System
Where your meals go

Case 1:
Youre pretty busy with school and work so you ask your cousin to do
the grocery shopping. You dont really trust him, but you tell him to get
whatever he thinks you all need. The only rule is that he must come
home with Special K. You have been craving it all week and cant wait to
have a bowl when you get home.
Its now 7pm and you go into the kitchen to get your Special K, only to
find out that your cousin bought the wrong one. You eat it anyways.
What happens upon initial digestion?

Upon Entry into the Mouth

Salivary Enzymes

Muscles of Mastication

Saliva, produced by the salivary

glands, contains enzymes which
help with the breakdown of
food.

Mastication is the act of

mechanically digesting ones
food.

Parotid Gland
Submandibular Gland
Sublingual Gland

Masseter
Buccinator
Medial Pterygoid
Lateral Pterygoid

Bolus
Once food has been partially digested in the mouth, it will take on the
form of a bolus.
This is in preparation for travel into the pharynx and esophagus.

Peristalsis
The process in which food moves down the esophagus.
The smooth muscle contracts forcing the bolus of food
down the digestive tract.

Entry into the stomach

The Stomach has highly concentrated
gastric acid which helps further break
down food. (pH1.5-3.5)
Ulcers form when the stomach acid
wears away the muscle and the serosa
of the stomach which is the outer
protective covering.

Exiting the Stomach

When food exits the stomach, it will pass through the
pyloric sphincter and make its way into the first part of the
small intestine known as the duodenum.

At this point, the food is known as Chyme.

The duodenum receives digestive juices from the
gallbladder and pancreas.
The liver produces bile and the bile is stored in the gallbladder.
Together the liver, gallbladder and pancreas are known as the
accessory glands to the digestive system.

Accessory Glands of the Digestive System

Liver
-Secretion of Bile

Pancreas
-Insulin
-Glucagon

Gallbladder
-Storage of Bile

The Small Intestine

At this point all of the food has been digested.
The purpose of the small intestine is to absorb nutrients.
These nutrients will then make their way into the bloodstream by
way of capillaries.

There are three parts to the small intestine.

Duodenum
Ileum
Jejunum

The Large Intestine

During the process of digestion, the main role of the large
intestine is to absorb water.
The large intestine is made of 4 parts

Ascending Colon
Transverse Colon
Descending Colon
Sigmoid Colon

Conditions
Duodenal Ulcers

Heartburn

Conditions Continued
Intussusception

Jaundice

Getting Back to the Case

Youre pretty busy with school and work so you ask your cousin to do
the grocery shopping. You dont really trust him, but you tell him to get
whatever he thinks you all need. The only rule is that he must come
home with Special K. You have been craving it all week and cant wait to
have a bowl when you get home.
Its now 7pm and you go into the kitchen to get your Special K, only to
find out that your cousin bought the wrong one. You eat it anyways.
What happens upon initial digestion?