Science Quarter 4

Module 1: Structures and Functions of the Digestive System

(Lecture : to be xopied in notebook for April 15-16,2024)

Why do we eat? Is eating necessary in keeping us alive?

Where do we get the energy that enables us to carry out the many activities that we do each day?
How do we obtain materials needed for the growth and repair of body parts?

The food that we eat plays a central role in the survival of species. It provides the energy that enables us
to carry out the many activities that we do each day such as breathing, walking, studying and cooking.
Food also provides the substances needed for growth and repair of body parts.

The cells in the body need food for energy used for growth and repair. Food must be broken down into a
form that these microscopic cells can use. The body changes food into a usable form by means of a
group of organs referred to as the digestive system.

 The function of the digestive system is digestion, the breakdown of organic compounds into
their simple forms for use by the cells. Digestion is the chief function of the digestive system. It
breaks down food mechanically and chemically.
 The journey of the food starts from the mouth down to the anus takes about 18-20 hours.
A. INGESTION is the first process that happens in digestive system. It is the journey of taking in food or
any substance into the body through mouth. The journey of food starts .

B. DIGESTION is the second process involved in digestive system.

 It is the process that involves break down of large food molecules into smaller molecules for
easy absorption of the cells.
 Both chemical and mechanical digestions begin immediately in the mouth. While the food is in
the mouth, the teeth cut, crush, and break it apart into tiny pieces while the tongue helps mix
food with saliva secreted by the salivary glands forming into a moist ball called bolus so it can
be easily swallowed.
 This process is known as mastication or chewing considered as a mechanical digestion, which is
the initial stage of digestion.
 The saliva contains salivary amylase, the enzyme that breaks down starch into smaller
carbohydrate.
 Then, the bolus passes from the mouth to the esophagus - a tube that attaches the mouth to
the stomach.
 A series of wave-like muscle contractions known as peristalsis push and transport foods and
liquids in small sections to the stomach.

 The stomach is a J-shaped, bag-like muscular organ that can hold approximately one
liter of fluid and food.
 The primary function of the stomach is to store food, which turns to chyme after being
acted on by the stomach acid.
 Chyme is a semifluid material formed from bolus that is acted upon by the gastric juices
secreted by the stomach.
 The walls of the stomach have special cells that secrete gastric juices like hydrochloric
acid and pepsin that begin the chemical breakdown of proteins.

THREE ORGANS THAT ARE PART OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM AND HELPS IN SECRETION OF ESSENTIAL
SUBSTANCES.
1. LIVER 2. PANCREAS 3. GALL BLADDER.
The liver produces bile, a green fluid that turns large fat droplets into smaller ones and stores
them in the gall bladder. When necessary, bile gets into the small intestine and helps in the
digestion of fat.
The pancreas is a small organ found below the stomach it makes three different kinds of
enzymes namely amylase, peptidase, and lipase released through a pancreatic duct that aid in
the digestion of all three organic compounds such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats
respectively. The process takes about half of a liter of digestive juices each day. The liver is the
biggest organ inside the body with a mass of about two kilograms.
Gall bladder - a small pear-shaped sac that can hold about 50ml of bile, storage smaller fat
droplets.
THE SMALL INTESTINE is an organ that breaks down food further into substances, such as
glucose, that can be absorbed by the villi. It has three parts namely the duodenum, jejunum,
and ileum.
THE DUODENUM is the first and shortest part of the small intestine that starts at the lower end
of the stomach and extends for about 20 cm to 25 cm in length. Basically, it is in charge for the
continuous breaking-down process as it partially receives the chyme from the stomach, it
resumes chemical digestion of food, and prepares for absorption through the villi.

CARBOHYDRATES are broken down into sugars by enzymes like amylase, maltase and lactase.
PROTEINS are broken down into amino acids by enzymes like trypsin and peptidase.
 FATS are broken down into fatty acids by the enzyme lipase. After about four hours, the
stomach pushes food into the small intestines. The production and release of enzymes and acids
in the digestive system is called secretion. It aids in the breaking down of complex food
molecules into their chemical building block

THE JEJUNUM IS THE SECOND PART of the small intestine that is 2.5 cm in length. Its wall works
for absorption through enterocytes or columnar cells of small nutrient particles which have been
previously digested by the enzymes in the duodenum.

C. ABSORPTION is the third process that happens in the digestive system. It occurs mostly in the
small intestine where several digestive juices, pancreatic juice, and bile aid in the chemical
digestion of food. Absorption is the process of passing the soluble food molecules in the wall of
the small intestine through the villi – the tiny, finger-like projections from the epithelial lining of
the intestinal wall. Each villus contains blood capillaries that enable it to absorb water, glucose,
amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. It also increases the amount of surface area
available for the absorption of nutrients. See figure 3.
D. ASSIMILATION is the fourth process that occurs in the digestive system. It is the movement of
digested food nutrients into the blood vessels of the small intestine through diffusion and use of
nutrients into the body cells through the microvilli – microscopic cellular membrane projections
that serves to expand the surface area for diffusion and also to lessen any increase in volume. The
third part of the small intestine is the ileum which is about 3.5 meters in length. Its main function
is the assimilation (absorption) of B12 and the re-assimilation (reabsorption) of conjugated bile
salts.
THE LARGE INTESTINE is divided into caecum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending
colon, and sigmoid colon. This is where reabsorption of liquid, electrolytes and some vitamins
from the undigested food takes place. It secretes mucus to aid in the formation of feces and
maintains alkaline conditions. This is the last segment of the gastrointestinal tract that completes
absorption and compacts waste.

E. EGESTION is the last process that occurs in the digestive system. It is the release of undigested food
collected in the RECTUM called FECES and pushed out of the body through the ANUS by defecation.