THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is the digestive system, sometimes called
the alimentary canal. The organs that make up the digestive system
function to take in, or ingest food, breakdown the food so nutrients can be
absorbed into the body, and expel the leftover waste. The digestive organs include the
mouth, oesophagus, stomach and intestines. Accessory organs, including the liver,
gallbladder and pancreas, secrete chemicals to help breakdown food.
Mouth
The mouth, or oral cavity, and is where food is chewed (or masticated) and moistened. The
mouth contains the tongue, the teeth, the hard and soft palate and the uvula, a u-shaped
process that hangs at the back of the mouth and swings upward when swallowing to stop
food from entering the nasal cavity.
Cheeks
The cheeks are formed by buccinator muscles and a pad of fat called the
buccal pad. The cheeks form the walls of the oral cavity.
Lips
The lips surround the opening of the oral cavity.
Hard palate
The hard palate forms the anterior portion of the roof of the mouth. The
soft palate lies posterior to it.
Uvula
The uvula is the soft tissue that hangs from the soft palate. This structure
aids in producing sound and speech and prevents the food from entering
the nose.
Tongue
The tongue extends from the floor of the oral cavity. The muscles attach
to the lower jaw bone. It moves food around during chewing (mastication)
and swallowing (deglutition).
Tonsils
(palatine)
Adenoids
(pharyngeal
tonsils)
The tonsils are located on both sides of the oropharynx. The lymphatic
tissue acts as a filter protecting the body from micro-organisms. They also
produce lymphocytes and leucocytes - white blood cells which fight
disease.
Gums
The gums are the fleshy tissue surrounding the sockets of teeth.
Teeth
There are 32 permanent teeth.
Salivary
glands
There are three (3) pairs of exocrine glands that surround the oral cavity.
They produce saliva which contains digestive enzymes. The function of
saliva is to lubricate food to ease swallowing and to begin the digestive
process of some carbohydrates
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Word root
Combining form
Meaning
Adenoid
Adenoid/o
Adenoids (pharyngeal tonsils)
Bucc
Bucc/o
Cheek
Chiel
Chiel/o
Lips
Dent
Dent/o
Teeth
Fac
Faci/o
Face
Gingiv
Gingiv/o
Gums
Gloss
Gloss/o
Tongue
Gnath
Gnath/o, gnathic
Jaw
Labi
Labi/o
Lips
Lingu
Lingu/o (lingu/a)
Tongue
Odont
Odont/o
Tooth
Or
Or/o
Mouth
Palat
Palat/o
Hard palate
Phas, phasia
Speech
Sial
Sial/o
Saliva
Sialaden
Sialaden/o
Salivary glands
Stomat
Stomat/o
Mouth
Tonsill
Tonsill/o
Tonsils (palatine)
Uvul
Uvul/o
Uvula
Oesophagus
The oesophagus is the tube connecting the pharynx to the stomach. Food moves along it in
a wavelike motion called peristalsis. Peristalsis continues through the stomach and the
intestines break down food into smaller and smaller pieces.
Word Root
Combining Form
Meaning
Oesophag
Oesophag/o
Oesophagus or gullet
Stomach
The stomach is a hollow organ that lies under the diaphragm. Gastric acids in the stomach
break down food into a watery material that can be absorbed by the small intestine. The
stomach looks like a bag with two sphincters - ringlike muscular structures – at either end.
The cardiac sphincter, nearest to the heart, stops food from regurgitating into the
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oesophagus. The pyloric sphincter controls the passage of food flowing into the small
intestine.
Word Root
Combining Form
Meaning
Gastr
Gastr/o
Stomach
Pylor
Pylor/o
Pylorus
STOMA
Stoma is a Greek word for mouth and means a surgically created orifice.
-stomy is a surgically created opening. It usually is in the intestine after partial
resection to remove disease or damaged parts, through which body waste is expelled.
Anastomoses are surgically created openings to produce communication between
normally separated organs and spaces. It can be temporary or permanent
-stomy when used with a combining form for an organ means an opening to the outside
of the body. When used with two combining forms for organs it means a surgical
anastomosis between normally separated organs and spaces.
This procedure is performed following surgical removal of part of the intestinal.
e.g. jejun / o / stomy is a creation of a new opening into the jejunum through the
abdominal wall.
ile / o / stomy is a creation of a new opening into the ileum through the abdominal wall, to
create a passageway for faecal material.
Gastr/o/enter/o/stomy – the formation of a new opening between the stomach and small
intestine
When the two roots gastr/o and enter/o are joined the combining vowel is retained
NOTE
gram
refers to a tracing. Usually refers to an x-ray, paper recording or to a trace on
a screen
graphy
refers to the technique or process of making a recording
graph
instrument that carries out the recording
.
Small intestine
The small intestine is a coiled tube approximately 6 metres in length. Nutrients from the food
broken down in the stomach are absorbed into the body through the walls of the small
intestine. The small intestine has three major sections:
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the duodenum
- which connects to the pyloric end of the stomach
the jejunum
- middle section
the ileum
- the end section that connects to the large intestine
Word Root
Combining Form
Meaning
Enter
Enter/o
Intestine
Duoden
Duoden/o
First 30cm of the small intestine
Jejun
Jejun/o
Refers to the jejunum
Ile
Ile/o
Lower three fifths of the small intestine
The large intestine, or large bowel, is much shorter than the small intestine, being only 1.5
metres in length. In the large bowel the waste material from the digested food is carried. As
it moves through the large bowel, water is absorbed back into the body and the waste
material becomes solid.
The large intestine has three major sections:
1
the caecum - holding the appendix
2.
the colon - which has four parts,




3
the ascending (upward) colon,
the transverse (across) colon,
the descending (downward) colon, and
the sigmoid colon.
the rectum - where the waste is held before being expelled through the anus
Word Root
Combining Form
Meaning
Caec
Caec/o
A blindly ending pouch
Appendic
Appendic/o
Appendage
Col
Col/o, colon/o
Large bowel extending from the caecum to rectum
Sigm
Sigmoid/o
Sigmoid colon
Rect
Rect/o
Last part of large intestine
Proct
Proct/o
Peritone
Peritone/o
Used to mean rectum or anus
Peritoneum, membrane that covers abdominal
organs
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Liver
The liver is located in the RUQ of the abdomen, partially protected by the rib cage and
weighs approximately 1.5 kg. It is the largest gland in the body and one of its most complex
organs. The liver manufactures and continuously releases bile which emulsifies large fat
globules. Bile is composed of bile pigments, bile salts and cholesterol..
Word Root
Combining Form
Meaning
Hepat
Hepat/o
Liver
Chol
Chol/e
Bile
The Gallbladder
The gallbladder is a pear shaped sac situated on the inferior surface of the liver which stores
and concentrates bile. When the bile is needed for digestion it is released through the
common bile duct into the duodenum when fat enters the small intestine.
Word Root
Combining Form
Cyst
Cyst/o
Choledoch
Choledoch/o
Meaning
Bladder, combined with chole it refers to the gall
bladder
Common bile duct
Lapar
Lapar/o
Soft part between the ribs and hips
Pancreas
The pancreas is a gland that sits posterior to the stomach. The pancreas has two roles:
a.
as an exocrine gland it produces juices filled with enzymes to digest food.
b.
as an endocrine gland the pancreas secretes insulin (a hormone which acts as a
carrier)
to bring glucose into cells of the body to be used for energy. Insulin is a
hormone that is released when blood glucose levels become raised.
Word Root
Combining Form
Meaning
Pancreat
Pancreat/o
Pancreas
ACTIVITY 1
Look at the diagram of the digestive system and answer the following questions:
1. Is the stomach inferior or superior to the oesophagus?
2. If the mouth is the beginning of the digestive system, is the oesophagus distal or
proximal to the pharynx?
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3. How does food move down the oesophagus and through the intestine?
4. Which gland secretes insulin?
5. Where is bile stored?
6. Put the following organs in order from the beginning (mouth) to the end (anus) of the
digestive system: jejunum, duodenum, oesophagus, uvula, caecum, ileum, stomach,
colon, pylorus
Mouth
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Anus
Procedures:
Cholecystectomy Removal of the gall bladder
Cholecystography X-ray of the gall bladder
Looking into (visual examination of) the colon and intestines using a
Colonoscopy
colonoscope
Enterectomy
Removal of intestine
Surgical procedure of putting a hollow needle through the wall of the
Enterocentesis
stomach or intestine to withdraw fluid
Gastroscopy
Visual examination of the stomach
Hemicolectomy
Surgical removal of about half the colon (usually the right Section)
Laparoscopy
Looking in the abdomen using a laparoscope
Laparotomy
Incision into the abdomen
Pharyngoplasty
Repair of the pharynx
Proctoscopy
Visual examinationof the rectum using a proctoscope
Sigmoidoscopy
Visual examinaiton of the sigmoid colon using a sigmoidoscope
Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
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Repair of the roof of the mouth
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ACTIVITY 2
Build words which mean
To be able to speak two languages
Inflammation of the oesophagus
Instrument to view the stomach
Surgical opening into the intestine
Study of the stomach and intestine
Removal of the jejunum
Surgical opening into the ileum
Inflammation of the appendix
Disease of the colon
Instrument to view the rectum
Pain in the anus
Enlargement of the liver
X-ray of the bile ducts
Process of viewing the abdomen
Related prefixes
Meaning
dys
difficult
dyspepsia
difficulty with digestion
hypo
below
hypoglossal
below the tongue
hyper
above, excessive or more than normal
hyperemesis
excessive vomiting
Related suffixes
Meaning
-pepsia
digestion
-ostomy
Mouth or opening or a new surgical opening
Colostomy
New opening into the colon or large bowel
-otomy
Incision
Gastrotomy
Incision into the stomach
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Diseases and disorders of the digestive system
Disease /
disorder
Adhesion
Definition
A fibrous band or structure that abnormally holds two parts together
Anorexia
Lack or loss of appetite
Anorexia
Loss of appetite
Appendicitis
Inflammation of the appendix
Ascites
The accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity
Bulimia
Insatiable craving for food
Cachexia
Abnormally low weight
Cholecystitis
Inflammation of the gallbladder
Cholelithiasis
Stones in the gall bladder
Cirrhosis
Scarring of an organ particularly the liver
Colic
Acute abdominal pain
Constipation
Condition of infrequent bowel evacuation
Diarrhoea
Frequent bowel action
Diverticulitis
Inflammation of a diverticulum particularly in the colon
Diverticulum
An abnormal pouch in the wall of a tube particularly in the colon
Duodenal ulcer
An ulcer in the duodenum
Dyspepsia
Difficulty with digestion
Dysphagia
Difficulty in swallowing or talking
Enteritis
Inflammation of the small intestine
Enterocolitis
inflammation of the small intestine & colon
Enterolith
Stone within intestine
Eructation
Belching
Flatus
Gas in or from colon
Gastric ulcer
A stomach ulcer
Gastritis
Inflammation of the stomach
Gastroenteritis
Inflammation of the stomach and intestine
Glossoplegia
Paralysis of the tongue
Haematemesis
Vomiting of blood
Halitosis
Bad breath
Hepatitis
Inflammation of the liver
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Hepatoma
Malignant tumour of the liver occurring in mature cells
Hepatomegaly
Enlargement of the liver
Hernia
Part of an organ pushing through a membrane or cavity wall
Malaena
Black faeces
Nausea
The sensation of sickness
Occult blood
Hidden blood, often in faeces
Oesophagitis
Inflammation of the oesophagus
Peptic ulcer
An ulcer in either the stomach or duodenum
Polyphagia
Excessive food intake
Proctalgia
Pain in rectum/anus
Proctitis
Inflammation of the rectum
Pyloric stenosis
Pruritis ani
Narrowing of the muscular outlet of the stomach
A protrusion of the rectum and posterior wall of the vagina into the
vagina
Itching around anus
Rectocele
See proctocele
Regurgitation
Backflow of gastric contents into mouth
Spasm
Cramp
Ulcer
A breakdown in mucous membrane
Proctocele
ACTIVITY 3
Read the following paragraph and rewrite it using lay terms
A 33 year old female presented with acute abdominal pain and a seven-day history of
anorexia, nausea and vomiting. On examination, there was moderate tenderness in the
RLQ, no hepatomegaly, and no signs of gastroenteritis. The patient was admitted to hospital
and an appendicectomy was performed. Histopathology of the appendix showed slight
inflammation. The patient made a rapid recovery and was discharged yesterday.
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