Nutrition and Absorption

Nutrition and the human body

Every cell of the human body needs nutrients (basic food units). Cells cant move to get nutrients, so nutrients must be delivered to each cell. Nutrients get into the body in the food we eat and are transported to the cells by the circulatory (blood) system.

Nutrition and the human body

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Complex, large food units are taken into body. They are too big to be absorbed so have to be broken down. There are five stages involved: Ingestion Digestion Absorption Assimilation Egestion

Ingestion
The act of taking food into the mouth.

Digestion
The breakdown of large, complex insoluble pieces of food into smaller, soluble molecules.

There are two ways of breaking down these large molecules 1. Mechanical the breakdown of large pieces of food into smaller pieces. 2. Chemical the breakdown of large molecules into smaller molecules, using chemicals (enzymes).

Absorption
The movement of small, soluble molecules through the membrane of cells lining the small intestines. The small molecules move into the cardiovascular (blood) system or lymphatic system, to get taken to cells all over the body.

Assimilation
The up-take of soluble food molecules into living tissue to be:

1. converted into living tissue (used as building material); 2. broken down to release energy; or 3. converted into insoluble material to be stored as an energy source for later use.

Egestion
The elimination of unwanted food material from the body.

Student task
In groups of three or four, try to label the diagram of the Human digestive system using the following names. Mouth, small intestine, large intestine, stomach, pancreas, oesophagus, anus, liver, gall bladder.

The alimentary canal - structure

The alimentary canal, or gut, is a long muscular tube about 10 metres long in an adult human, that extends from the mouth to the anus. The food we eat passes through this tube and is subjected to two main processes digestion and absorption. If we cannot digest the food, it cannot be absorbed and passes out of the anus

Basic structure of the tube

The tube has different structure in different parts of the digestive system, but in each area there is serosa (outer covering), longitudinal muscle, circular muscle, submucosa, and mucosa supplied with blood vessels.

Movement through the gut

Food that is eaten is moved through the length of the alimentary canal by PERISTALSIS. This involves rhythmic contractions of the muscles that move the bolus of food along.

Passing through the gut

We will look at each section of the alimentary canal (the gut) and see what happens to the food that we eat in each section.

The mouth
Consists of the lips, cheeks, teeth, palate & contains tongue, salivary glands & tonsils. This is where digestion starts with mechanical digestion - chewing of food. The food is mixed with saliva (water, mucus and amylase, which is an enzyme). Amylase starts the Chemical digestion of starch (a carbohydrate). Saliva moistens the food and makes it easier to swallow. The food and liquid is now called a bolus.

 Moves the bolus from the mouth to the stomach. It is designed for transport so mucosa (inner lining) is smooth. It produces mucus to make the mucosa slippery. Muscles (Muscularis externa) contract and relax in waves (peristalsis), pushing the bolus to the stomach. Food takes 4 8 seconds to get to the stomach; liquid only takes 1 second.

The Esophagus

The stomach

Muscular bag that stores and digests food. When empty its folded; can expand to hold large amounts of food. Mucosa secretes juices to digest the bolus. 1. Hydrochloric acid - produces a low pH. 2. Pepsin an enzyme that digests protein. 3. Mucus stops the stomach lining being digested (its protein). Muscles churn food and juice into chyme. So both mechanical and chemical digestion occur in the stomach.

The duodenum
This is the upper part of the small intestine. It is the site of most chemical digestion. Proteins, fats and carbohydrates are all broken down into their building blocks. Goblet cells in mucosa secrete mucus, which protects the lining. Some absorption of nutrients occurs here.

The duodenum is associated with: 1. Liver 2. Pancreas

The duodenum

The liver and gall bladder

The Liver makes bile. This is stored in the gall bladder and added to the chyme in the duodenum. Bile emulsifies fats that means it breaks large drops of fat and oil into many very small droplets. This increases the surface area of the drops, so enzymes can work better. Bile also neutralises the acid chyme so it raises the pH.

The Pancreas
The pancreas (like the liver) has many other functions in our bodies, but in digestion its function is to produce three very important classes of enzymes Protease, lipase and carbohydrase. All 3 join the food in the duodenum. What do you think these enzymes do?

The jejunum and ileum

These make up the rest of the small intestine. Some digestion occurs here but most of it has already happened. These sections are mainly for absorption. Walls have villi (finger-like projections) to increase surface area for absorption. Apical (free surface) of epithelial cells have microvilli, further increasing surface area.

Villi of the small intestine

The large intestine

Formed of 3 sections the cecum, colon, and rectum. Several functions: 1. absorption of water, salts and vitamins; 2. formation of faeces. No villi as not much absorption occurs here. Mucosa produces lots of mucus to lubricate walls and help stick faeces together. Appendix also part of large intestine but

The anus
This is the last 2 to 3cm of the digestive system. It is narrower than the rectum. Surrounded by inner involuntary and outer voluntary sphincters, which keep the anus closed. Also smooth like the large intestine so faeces move easily through.

Student Task
On a diagram of the Human digestive system, label the sections that you have just learnt about. For each main section of the digestive tract, how does the structure of the tube, assist with the function of that section? Try to annotate your diagram to show this.