DIGESTIVE SYSTEM PHYSIOLOGY
2024
INTRODUCTION
Overview of the Digestive System
• The digestive system is composed of 2 groups
of organs:
i. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract - GIT
- Gastrointestinal tract (GIT)– The continuous
tube that extends from the mouth to the anus
through the thoracic and abdominopelvic
cavities.
- Organs of the GIT include; the mouth, most
of the pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small
intestine, and large intestine.
- GIT organs are in a state of tonus (sustained
contraction).
ii. The accessory digestive organs
- The accessory digestive organs include - the
teeth, tongue, salivary glands, liver, gallbladder,
and pancreas.
• The digestive system contributes to
homeostasis by –
-Breaking down food into forms that can be
absorbed and used by body cells.
-Absorbing water, vitamins, and minerals.
-Eliminates wastes from the body.
• Food is essential to life because –
-Contains variety of nutrients, used for
building new body tissues and repairing
damaged ones
-Our only source of chemical energy
• Most of the food consists of molecules that
are too large to be used by body cells
• Therefore, foods must be broken down into
molecules that are small enough to enter
body cells by a process known as digestion
• The organs involved in the breakdown of food
form the digestive system.
• Muscular contractions in the wall of the GIT
physically break down the food by churning it
and propel the food along the tract, from the
esophagus to the anus
• Enzymes secreted by accessory digestive
organs and cells that line the GIT break down
the food chemically
Organs of the Digestive System
Med Physiology - SKM
Functions of Digestive (GI) Tract
Basic Processes of the Digestive System
1. Ingestion -Taking foods and liquids into the
mouth (eating)
2. Secretion - Each day, cells within the walls of
GIT and accessory digestive organs secrete a
total of about 7 liters of water, acid, buffers, and
enzymes into the GIT lumen
3. Mixing and propulsion - Alternating
contractions and relaxations of smooth muscle
in the walls of the GIT mix food and secretions
and propel them toward the anus (GIT motility)
4. Digestion - Mechanical and chemical
processes break down ingested food into small
molecules.
Mechanical digestion –
-Teeth cut and grind food before it is swallowed
-Smooth muscle of the stomach and small
intestine churn the food
-As a result, food molecules become dissolved
and thoroughly mixed with digestive enzymes
Chemical digestion
-Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acid
molecules in food are split into smaller
molecules by hydrolysis. Digestive enzymes
catabolize these reactions
NB: Some substances in food can be absorbed
without chemical digestion. These include
vitamins, ions, cholesterol, and water
5. Absorption
-This is the entrance of ingested and secreted
fluids, ions, and the products of digestion into
the epithelial cells lining the lumen of the GI
tract
-The absorbed substances pass into blood or
lymph and circulate to cells throughout the
body.
6. Defecation
- Wastes, indigestible substances, bacteria, cells
sloughed from the lining of the GIT, and
digested materials that are not absorbed in their
journey through the digestive tract leave the
body through the anus in a process called
defecation.
- The eliminated material is termed feces
LAYERS OF THE GIT
- Histology of the Alimentary Canal -
• From esophagus to the anal canal the walls of
the GI tract have the same four tunics (layers).
• The 4 layers of the tract, from deep (lumen) to
outward (superficial) are –
i. Mucosa
ii. Submucosa
iii. Muscularis externa
iv. Serosa
NB: Each of these layers (tunic) has a
predominant tissue type and a specific digestive
function.
i) MUCOSA –
•Mucous membrane making inner lining of the
GIT
•It has 3 major functions:
- Secretion of mucus
- Absorption of end products of digestion
- Protection against infectious diseases
NB: The rate of renewal of GIT epithelial cells is
rapid: Every 5 to 7 days they slough off and are
replaced by new cells.
• Mucosa is composed of 3 structures:
a) Epithelial lining
• It’s a simple columnar epithelium
• Contains mucus-secreting goblet cells. Mucus
secretions:
-Protect digestive organs from digesting
themselves
-Ease food movement along the tract
• Stomach and small intestine mucosa contain:
-Enzyme-secreting cells
-Hormone-secreting cells: Gastrin, secretin
b) Lamina propria –
•layer of areolar (loose) connective tissue
•Contains many blood and lymphatic vessels
-These vessels provide routes for the absorbed
nutrients to reach the other body tissues.
•Lamina propria supports the epithelium and binds
it to the muscularis mucosae.
•It contains the majority of the cells of the mucosa-
associated lymphatic tissue (MALT). These are
immune system cells.
c) Muscularis mucosae –
• Thin layer of smooth muscle fibers
• Produce local movements of mucosa
• Throws the mucous membrane of the
stomach and small intestine into many small
folds, which increase the surface area for
digestion and absorption
• Movements of the muscularis mucosae
ensure that all absorptive cells are fully
exposed to the contents of the GI tract
ii) SUBMUCOSA –
•Consists of areolar connective tissue that binds
the mucosa to the muscularis externa
•Contains many blood and lymphatic vessels
that receive absorbed food molecules
•Contains an extensive network of neurons
known as the submucosal plexus
iii) MUSCULARIS EXTERNA –
•The muscularis externa of the mouth, pharynx,
and superior and middle parts of the esophagus
contains skeletal muscle that produces
voluntary swallowing
•Skeletal muscle also forms the external anal
sphincter, which permits voluntary control of
defecation.
• Throughout the rest of the GIT, the muscularis
externa consists of smooth muscle that is
generally found in 2 sheets:
-Inner sheet of circular fibers
-Outer sheet of longitudinal fibers
• Involuntary contractions of the smooth
muscle help break down food, mix it with
digestive secretions, and propel it along the
tract.
• Between the layers of the muscularis externa
is the myenteric plexus (a plexus of neurons)
iv) SEROSA –
•It is the protective visceral peritoneum
•Serous membrane composed of areolar
connective tissue and simple squamous
epithelium (mesothelium)
•Portions of the GIT have serosa as their
superficial layer
•The serosa is also called the visceral
peritoneum because it forms a portion of
the peritoneum.
END
