Digestion is the process by which food is broken down mechanically and chemically

in the gastro-intestinal tract (digestive tract/alimentary canal).

Alimentary canal is about 7.5-9 m (3 ft! long. "he tract releases hormones and
en#ymes to help regulate the digestion. $t also helps in mechanical digestion of food
%ia paristalsis.
"he walls of entire gastrointestinal tract is made up of four layers& serosa' mucularis
e(terna' submucosa and mucosa.
)pper alimentary canal consists of oesophagus (esophagus!' stomach and
duodenum. *ower tract consists of intestines and anal canal.
Mechanical and Chemical Digestion in Mouth: +ost of
mechanical digestion occurs in mouth. $t contains modi,ed teeth for mastication
(chewing!of food. "ongue and sali%a play an important role in mastication and
deglutition (swallowing!. -uman teeth are Diphyodont. "eeth of .st succession
are called deciduous, lacteals or milk teeth.
/ali%a contains en#ymes and ions that help in chemical digestion in mouth and
,ghting against germs in food. $t is normally tasteless' odorless and weekly alkaline.
$t is secreted by sali%ary gland (3 pairs in human buccal ca%ity!. $ts secretion is
stimulated by sight' smell and taste of food and inhibited by Atropine. /ecretion of
sali%a is controlled by both' sympathetic and parasympathetic ner%ous system.
About .5 ml of sali%a is secreted in 01 hours.
Destruction of bacteria in food is brought about by ions of thiocyanate and
lysozyme in sali%a. Lactoferrin and musin also help inhibit pathogens.
"he en#yme alivary amylase (ptyalin) digests starch. $ts optimum p- is !"#.
Deglutition($allo$ing): /wallowing process is di%isible into two
phases23ral phase and 4harygeal phase.
%ral phase: +asticated food is rolled into &olus and s5uee#ed posteriorly into the
pharyngeal region by pressure of tongue' mo%ing upwards and downwards against the
palate. /ali%a miostens the food.
'haryngeal phase: After oral phase' swallowing of bolus becomes an in%oluntary
and re6e( action triggered by tactile stimulation of palate and pharyngeal wall'
controlled by swallowing center located in medulla and pons.
/wallowing takes about si( seconds. 4haryn( is soft ca%ity behind soft palate ((")
inches long!. 7rom here food is pushed towards oesophagus (gullet!.
%esophgus: 3esophagus or food pipe is a muscular tube e(tending towards
stomach. $t is about *+ inches or ,) cm long. $t lies between trachea and %ertebral
column (at le%el of 89!. $t passes through hole in diaphragm at le%el of ". (tenth
thoracic %ertebra!.
7rom here food tra%els %ia paristalsis to the stomach.
tomach: /tomach is an elastic' muscular' thick walled :-shaped bag. $t is the widest
part of digesti%e system' about *+ inches in length. $t is situated below the diaphragm
on the left side of abdominal ca%ity.
7olds in the stomach mucosa are called rugae. +uscular rings that control entry and
e(it of food from stomach are called sphincters. /tomach is composed of cardiac
region (nearest to heart!' a fundus (round part!' a body or corpus (middle portion! and
pyrolic region which is smallest distal end.
+ucosa layer of stomach is consists of epithelium' lamina propria and mucularis
mucosae. +eissner;s ple(us is in submucosa layer of stomach."he muscularis e(terna
layer of stomach wall is made of three layers& outer layer of longitudinal muscles
(Auerbach;s ple(us is in this layer! middle layer of smooth muscles (circular muscle
layer! and inner obli5ue muscle layer which contains many tubuler gastric glands.
<astric glands secrete gastric =uice. <astric =uice is a thin' colourless 6uid containing
pepsin' hydrochloric acid' mucin' small amount of inorganic salts and intrinsic factor. $ts
p- is +"#-,. <astric =uice of infants contains another en#yme >renin> which curdles the
milk. "he curd is then digested by the pepsin.
4epsin con%erts protein into peptides. -? ions from -8l con%erts inacti%e pepsinogen
into acti%e en#yme pepsin. -8l also helps in killing bacteria in food.
'arietal cells (present in body of gastric glands! secrete -8l and intrinsic factor' cheif
cells (zymogenic cells! present in base of gastric glands' secrete pepsinogen and
renin. .o&let cells secrete musin. A layer of mucus along the inner wall of stomach
protects its lining from acidic en%ironment within it.
$ntrinsic factor in gastric =uice makes the absorption of %itamin @.0 possible.
4yloric region of stomach secrete hormones like gastrin' somatostatin' cholecystokinin'
serotonin and endorphins. <astrin stimulates gastric =uice secretion and induces
pancreatic secretion and gallbladder empting. Another hormone called epinephrine
(from adrenal gland! stimulates secretion of gastrin.
<astric inhibitory peptide (<$4!' calcitonin' somatostatin' secretin and glucagon inhibit
secretion of <astrin. <astric =uice changes the solid food into semi6uid chyme. 8hyme
lea%es stomach in 3-1 hours.
mall intestine: /tomach opens into small intestine. "he small intestine is longer
()")-!m! than large intestine but its diameter is smaller than that of large intestine
(,")-/ cm!.$t is elongated narrow and coiled tube.<lands lining the small intestinal wall
secrete intestinal =uice (succus entericus! $t is di%ided into three parts&
Duodenum: $t is *, inches long and cur%ed like >8>. $t recie%es chyme from
stomach.+uscularis e(terna layer of duodenum (like that of ilium and =e=unum! contains
Auerbach;s ple(us. /ubmucosa layer of doudenum contains +eissner;s ple(us and
@runner;s glands. @runner;s glands secrete mucus rich alkaline secretion. Apithelium of
mucosa layer has <oblet cells and 4aneth cells. $n duodenum chyme meets bile (from
li%er! and pancreatic =uice.
Liver:*i%er is lrge reddish brown gland. $t is located in right upper 5uadrant of
abdominal ca%ity resting below the diadiaphragm. $t weighs *"(-*"! 0g (/",-/"1 l&). $t
is co%ered with sheath called <lisson;s capsule.
"he li%er produces green alkaline li5uid (p-&B!' bile. "he hormone called /ecretin
stimulates secretion of bile. "he bile contains water' Ca-833' calcium and bilirubin.
@ilirubin is orageDyellow in color but color of bile is green because of o(idised bilirubin.
@ile is secreted by hepatocyst cells of li%er and is stored in gallbldder. "he hepatic duct
(of li%er! and cystic duct (of gallbladder! form common bile duct. "he common bile duct
=oins pancreatic duct and forms ampulla of %anter (hepatopancreatic ampulla!.
7inally'the bile from li%er and pancreatic =uice from pancreas enter doudenum through
shpincter of oddi if it is opened. 3pening of sphincter of oddi is controlled by hormone'
8holecystokinin. 8holecystokinin causes contraction of gallbladder and rela(ation of
sphincter of oddi. /omatostatin inhibits release of cholecyctokinin when gallbladder
empting is not re5uired.
@ile neuterali#es acidity of chyme. $t kills germs in food. $t emulsi,es fats. +olecules of
bile ha%e dual nature (one end is attracted towards water molecule while other is
attracted towards fat molecule!. "hus its molecules remain in between the fat molecules
and water molecules and inhibits formation of large masses of fats. $f bile molecules
were not present between fats and water molecules' the fat molecules would be
repelled by water molecules and pushed towards each other. "he fat molecules would
merge together making it diEcult for lipase to digest fats. "hus bile is necessary for
lipase acti%ity.
About *+++ ml of bile is secreted by li%er each day.
'ancreas: A leaf like narrow gland that lies in the epigastrium and left
hypochondrium areas of the abdomin. $t secretes pancreatic =uice. 4ancreatic =uice is
alkaline (p- B.B! thus reduces acidity of chyme. 4ancreatic =uice secretion is regulated
by the hormone sacretin and cholecystokinin. /omatostatin reduces its secretion.
4ancreatic =uice contains %ariety of en#ymes including trypsinogen' chymotrypsinogen'
elastase' carbo(ypeptidasse' lipase and pancreatic amylase (amylopsin!. $nacti%e
en#yme trypsinogen is con%erted int o acti%e trypsin by duodenal en#yme
Anterokinase(also called eneropeptidase!. $nacti%e chymotrypsinogen enters duodenum.
3n clea%age by trypsin it becomes chymotrypsin. An#yme elastase breaks down elastin'
an elastic ,ber together with collagen. 8arbo(ypeptidase hydroly#es peptide bond of
amino acid residue at carbo(y terminal.
"rypsin' chymotrypsin' elastase and carbo(ypeptidase are proteolytic en#ymes and act
on proteins which ha%e escaped the action of stomach.
*ipase acts on emulsi,ed fats and con%erts them into fatty acids and glycerol. Amylase
acts on sugars which ha%e escaped from the action of sali%ary amylase.
4ancretic duct (aslo called duct of $irsung! =oins common bile duct forming ampulla of
%anter' then pancreatic =uice lea%es ampulla of %anter through sphincter of oddi.
/ome people ha%e additional (accessary! pancreatic duct called duct of antorini"
2e3unum: $t is middle portion(0.5m! of small intestine. :e=unum contains %ery few
4eyer;s patches(found in ileum! and brunner;s glands (found in duodenum!. p- in
=e=unum is between 7 and 9. $f the =e=unum is impacted by blunt force' emesis
(vommiting)re4e5 will be initiated.
6leum (distal intestine or posterior intestine): $leum is ,nal section of small
intestine. $t is 0.1m long. *amin propria of mucosa contains unencapsulated lymphoid
nodules' the 'eyer7s patches (or aggregated lymphoid nodules!. $ntestinal glands of
ileum produce en#yme including erepsin' maltase' sucrase and lactase. 8repsin splits
peptides into amino acids.
+altase con%erts maltose into glucose. /ucrase con%erts sucrose into fructose and
glucose. *actase reduces lactose into glucose and glactose. Digestion of food is
completed in small intestine.
A&sorption of 9ood: Absorption is the passage of simple sugars' fatty acids'
glycerol' amino acids' %itamins' minerals and water into the circulatory system. /mall
intestine is the site where most of absorption occurss. +ucosa of small intestine is
co%ered in wrinkles or folds called plicae circulares (are circular folds also called %al%es
of kerckring or %al%ulae conni%entes!. "he circular folds slow the passage of food along
the intestine and aFord an increased surface for absorption."hey are co%ered with small
,ngerlike pro=ections called villi (singlur&%illus!. Aach %illus' in turn' is co%ered with
microvilli. +icro%illi absorb nutrients from chyme.
Aach %illus has a network of capillaries and ,ne lymphatic %essels called lacteals. "hese
capillaries =oin up to form hepatic portal %ein that carries blood along with nutrients to the
li%er. /imple sugars' amino acids' %itamins' minerals and water enter capillaries while
fatty acids and glycerol are absorbed into the lymph vessels or lacteals which pour
them into the blood stream.
$ron is absobed in duodenum. Gitamin @.0 and bile salts are absorbed in terminal ileum.
Hater and lipids are absorbed by passage diFusion throughout the small intestine.
/odium bicarbonate is absorbed by acti%e transport. <lucose and amino acids are
absorbed by co-transport. 7ructose is absorbed by facilitated diFusion.
Large intestine: