Name: _____________________ ( ) Date: 2/6/2009

Class: 3EB

Chapter 5: Nutrition in Animals

Learning Outcomes:

Candidates should be able to:

(a) describe the functions of main regions of the alimentary canal and the associated
organs:
mouth, salivary glands, oesophagus, stomach, duodenum, pancreas, gall bladder,
liver, ileum,
colon, rectum, anus, in relation to ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation
and egestion of food, as appropriate.
(b) describe peristalsis in terms of rhythmic wave-like contractions of the muscles to
mix and
propel the contents of the alimentary canal.
(c) describe digestion in the alimentary canal, the functions of a typical amylase,
protease and
lipase, listing the substrate and end-products.
(d) describe the structure of a villus and its role, including the role of capillaries and
lacteals in
absorption.
(e) state the function of the hepatic portal vein as the route taken by most of the
food absorbed
from the small intestine.
(f) state the role of the liver in
• carbohydrate metabolism
• fat metabolism
• breakdown of red blood cells
• metabolism of amino acids and the formation of urea
• breakdown of alcohol, including the effects of excessive alcohol consumption

Human Digestive System composes of human alimentary canal and associated organs

Human Alimentary canal (also called the gut) is a long muscular tube which starts from
mouth , followed by the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and
ends with the anus.

The associated organs that help in digestion are the pancreas, gall bladder and liver.

Cross section of the Alimentary Canal

The walls of the alimentary canal are made up

of
• Mucosa (produces mucus)
• Muscles

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 • Serosa

Five Stages of Nutrition

• feeding or ingestion – food is taken into the body.

• Digestion can be divided into two types: Physcial digestion and Chemical digestion

Physical digestion is the process by which food is broken down into smaller pieces so
as to have a large surface area for enzyme action.

Chemical digestion is the process by which large food molecules are broken down
with the help of digestive enzymes to soluble, smaller substances that can be
transported into the blood through the intestinal walls.

• Assimilation is the process where the absorbed food materials are converted to new
protoplasm or utilized by the body.
• Egestion is the removal of undigested matter (faeces) through the anus.

Peristalsis

• Peristalsis is the rhythmic wave-like

contractions of the muscles to mix and
propel the contents of the alimentary
canal.
• It is involuntary and moves in one
direction.
• The two layers of longitudinal and
circular muscles work in such a way that
when one contracts, the other relaxes.

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Parts of Alimentary Canal and its functions

Mouth
• Takes in food. (INGESTION)
• has teeth to cut food into smaller pieces. (PHYSICAL DIGESTION)
• has tongue to roll the food into spherical masses (boli)
• Has salivary glands that produce saliva which contains an enzyme (salivary
amylase) to digest starch to maltose. (CHEMICAL DIGESTION)

Salivary amylase
Starch Maltose

Note: The salivary amylase works best in neutral pH. Hence the pH in the mouth is
neutral (pH 7).

Oesophagus

• Pushes food by peristalsis to the stomach.

Stomach
• A muscular bag with sphincters (rings of muscles) at its entrance and exit to open
and close
• Has gastric glands which that secrete gastric juice (water, mucus, hydrochloric
acid and enzymes)

This juice contains hydrochloric acid and enzymes to digest proteins.

(DIGESTION)

Roles of HCl:
1. Stops the action of salivary amylase
2. Kills harmful germs, parasites and bacteria
3. Changes the inactive form of protease to active forms in stomach
4. Provide an optimum pH for the protease (pepsin) to work in

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The acid changes/denatures the inactive enzymes to active enzymes.

HCl
Pepsinogen Pepsin
HCl
Prorenin Renin

Pepsin digests proteins to polypeptides (long chains of proteins)

pepsin
Proteins Polypeptides

Note: Pepsin works best in acidic medium

Renin is an enzyme that is unique to mammals since only the young of mammals
depend on their mother’s milk for food.
Renin curdles the milk proteins, allowing the milk proteins to stay long enough
for the stomach to be digested.

renin
Soluble milk proteins Insoluble milk proteins
(caseinogen) (casein)
pepsin

polypeptides

• The muscles in the stomach walls is churned and mixed the food into a semi-
liquid state called chyme.

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 Structure of Stomach

Small intestine includes duodenum, jejunum and ileum

Duodenum
• U-shaped tube which receives bile and pancreatic juice containing enzymes to digest
food. Both fluids are alkaline.
• Has glands in intestinal walls to secrete intestinal juice. This liquid is alkaline and
contains enzymes to digest food.

The protease(trysinogen) found in pancreatic juice is inactive. It is activated by

another protease (enterokinase) found in intestinal juice.

Starch Pancreatic amylase Maltose

Fats Pancreatic lipase Fatty acids + glycerol

Trysinogen Trypsin
Intestinal enterokinase
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Proteins Polypeptides
 Intestinal maltase
Maltose Glucose
Intestinal lactase
Lactose Glucose + Galactose
Intestinal sucrase
Sucrose Glucose + Fructose
Intestinal erepsin
Polypeptides Amino acids
Intestinal lipase
Fats Fatty acids + Glycerol

The three fluids (bile, pancreatic juice and intestinal juice):

1. neutralize the acidic chime

2. provide a suitable alkaline medium for the action of the pancreatic and intestinal
enzymes.

Ileum
• Absorbs digested food into blood. (ABSORPTION)
• Have adaptive features that facilitate absorption of digested food into blood due to
- surface area
- thickness of the membrane
- length of small intestine
- presence of capillaries

The increased surface area is caused by:

 inner surface of small intestine has many folds

 Folds are covered with many finger-like projections called villi
 Epithelial cells on each villus have finger-like projections on their cell membranes
called microvilli.

The villi have thin walls/membranes i.e. epithelium is one-cell thick which allows
digested food to pass through quickly across the wall of the ileum into the blood.

The length of the small intestine is long to provide sufficient time for absorption.

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 The intestinal wall and the villi have many capillaries to carry away the absorbed
food.

In each villus is a lymphatic capillary (lacteal) surrounded by blood capillaries. The

lacteal transports fats while the blood capillaries transport sugars and amino acids
from the small intestine.
This continual transport of digested food substances maintains the concentration
gradient for the absorption of digested food substances.

Structure of ileum

Large intestine includes the caecum, appendix, colon and rectum

Colon
• Absorbs water and mineral salts from undigested matter into bloodstream.
(ABSORPTION)

Rectum
• Stores faeces which are mainly undigested food, mucus, dead cells, bile pigments
and germs.

Anus
• To expel faeces. (EGESTION)

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Associated Organs and its functions

Liver has many functions:

1. Carbohydrate metabolism
2. Fat metabolism
3. Breakdown of red blood cells
4. Metabolism of amino acids and the formation of urea
5. Breakdown of alcohol, including the effects of excessive alcohol consumption

1. Carbohydrate metabolism

• The liver regulates the blood glucose concentration.

Excess glucose is converted to glycogen and stores in liver and muscles.

The glucose that leaves the liver will be used to provide energy for respiration in
living cells.

When the blood glucose concentration is low, glycogen is converted back to

glucose.

• Excess glucose can be converted to fats for storage.

2. Fat metabolism

• Fats can be oxidized to provide energy when insufficient supply of glucose.

• Fatty acids can be formed from carbohydrate intermediates and amino acids.
• Bile produced by liver is responsible for emulsification of fats.
The bile contains bile salts and bile pigments which gives its dark green colour.

3. Breakdown of red blood cells (RBC)

• RBC is destroyed in the spleen and the haemoglobin is sent to the liver which is
broken down by liver, to produce bile pigment, bilirubin.
• Iron released from RBC is stored in liver.

4. Metabolism of amino acids and the formation of urea

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 • Excess amino acids are deaminated to form glucose and urea.

Urea is removed from body in the urine by kidney.

Excess glucose is converted to glycogen in liver and muscles.

5. Breakdown of alcohol and drugs

• The liver converts harmful substances into harmless ones by the process called
detoxification.
• Alcohol is broken down in liver to compounds that can be used in respiration to
provide energy.
• The effects of excessive alcohol consumption includes:
- stimulation of acid secretion in stomach that leads to risk of gastric ulcers
- Cirrhosis of liver ( a disease in which the liver cells are destroyed and replaced
by fibrous tissue) leading to liver failure and death

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Gall Bladder
• Stores bile that is produced from the liver and releases into duodenum when
needed.

Pancreas
• Secretes pancreatic juice which is alkaline.
The liquid contains enzymes that digest carbohydrates, proteins and lipids.

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