Sunday, 26 October 2014

Human digestive system - part 1

                                              HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Human digestive system consists of -
1.alimentary canal
2.digestive glands
ALIMENTARY CANAL starts with mouth (anterior) and ends or opens outside through anus (posterior).









MOUTH - It is a transverse slit bounded by two movable lips : upper and lower which are lined with mucous membrane on the inner side.It leads into vestibule.

VESTIBULE - It is a narrow space enclosed between lips and cheeks externally and gums and teeth internally.

BUCCAL CAVITY (oral cavity) - Large space lined with stratified squamous epithelium , bounded above by palate , below by throat and on sides by jaws.Its parts are as follows-

a.Palate - roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals.
   i.The anterior part of the palate is supported by bones and is strong - Hard palate
   ii.The posterior part of palate is smooth and fleshy - Soft palate
  Function - They help in mastication of food (mixing of food with saliva).
b.Tongue - It is a large muscular and highly mobile organ which mainly lies in the oral cavity and partly in the pharynx. It contains sensory papillae which contain taste buds.
 c.Teeth - They are present in the jaws and are -
   i.Diphyodont : 2 sets of teeth appear during lifetime
                          -Milk teeth(deciduous teeth)
                         - Permanent teeth
   ii.Thecodont : teeth are embedded in the sockets of bone on the jaws
  iii.Heterodont : teeth are of different types
                         -Incisors : chisel shaped for cutting and biting
                         -Canines : pointed for tearing and piercing
                         -Premolar : broad and grooved for crushing and grinding
                         -Molar : broad and grooved for crushing and grinding ; molars are present in
                                       permanent set only
  Dental formula for-
    Adults −    = 32 teeth in total
whereas temporary set has only 20 teeth
  Structure of teeth-
                  
PHARYNX - The pharynx is about 12 cm long and vertical canal beyond soft palate.It is of three types-
a.Nasopharynx : upper part of pharynx ; has internal nares on the roof and pair of openings of estuachian tube on sides leading to middle ear.
b.Oropharynx : middle part of pharynx into which oval cavity opens
c.Laryngopharynx : lower part of pharynx which leads into oesophagus(food pipe) behind and larynx infront. The opening to larynx is known as glottis which bears a leaf-like cartilegenous flap epiglottis.

OESOPHAGUS - Oesophagus is about 25 cm long narrow,muscular and straight tube lined by stratified squamous epithelium containing mucous glands ; acts as a passage of food into stomach by peristalsis : involuntary movement of gut by which food is pushed backward.

STOMACH - J- shaped muscular sac having greater curvature and lesser curvature on the lower and upper side . The stomach wall contains three muscle layers : outer longitudinal , middle circular and inner of oblique fibres.

It is divided into 4 main regions -
 i.Cardiac part : left, broad and upper part into which oesophagus opens and this opening is known as cardiac aperture regulated by cardiac sphincter.
 ii.Fundus (or Formix)  : small , upper part projecting above the cardiac part; usually contains gas or air.
 iii.Body : main middle region
 iv.Pyloric part : narrow lower portion of stomach ; leads into duodenum and its opening is called pyloric aperture guarded by pyloric sphincter.

SMALL INTESTINE - longest part of alimentary canal(about 6 metre long).It consists of three parts:
 i.Duodenum: It foolows stomach ; about 25 cm long ; shortest and widest part of small intestine ;  
    contains the opening of hepatopancreatic duct(union of bile duct and pancreatic duct).
 ii.Jejunum : middle part of small intestine ; about 2.4 metres long ,walls are thick and highly vascular
 iii. Ileum : lower part of small intestine ; about 3.6 metres long.

LARGE INTESTINE - It is about 1.5 metres long and is wider than small intestine.It consists of following parts:
i.Appendix : vestigial organ
ii.Caecum : just 6 cm wide ; at the junction of ileum and caecum ,there's presence of ileocolic valve
iii.Colon : contains three main regions - ascending , transverse and descending
iv.Rectum : about 15 to 20 cm long ; bears longitudinal folds  and large blood vessels

ANUS -lies at the base of abdomen;opening of anal canal to outside ; guarded by internal sphincter of smooth muscle fibres and external sphincter of striated muscle fibres.




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