Digestive System And Gastrointestinal Disorders

Home » Digestive System And Gastrointestinal Disorders

Introduction

First of all, here is a description of the digestive system and gastrointestinal disorders. This covers a large area of what the physician encounters in everyday practice.

The digestive system (gastrointestinal tract) starts in the mouth and ends at the anal opening. Food travels from the mouth, where we chew it via the esophagus into the stomach. There acid and pepsin enzymes start digesting carbohydrates (sugar and starch).  The food travels into the small intestine, which consists of the three sections called duodenum, jejunum and ileum. The remaining food transitions at the ileocecal valve into the colon and finally into the rectum.

Digestion of food

In the duodenum bile salts and pancreatic juices join the bowel content, which helps digesting fat and protein. The jejunum and ileum absorb nutrients and vitamins including vit. B12. The colon’s job is to reabsorb water and retain minerals. In addition, the left over, leached out material prepares to become stool. The rectum is the last storage chamber and it absorbs water from stool. Stool is expelled as a bowel movement from time to time. The stool gets its final shape from the anal canal.

Digestive System And Gastrointestinal Disorders

Three important organs are connected to the digestive system: the gall bladder, the pancreas and the liver. I mentioned above how the gallbladder and pancreas function. The liver is the main metabolic organ of the body. It receives nutrients via the veins from the small intestine, which form the portal vein system. Through this the liver gets all of its nutrients.

Absorption of nutrients

Next, th liver absorbs the building blocks of fatty acids, amino acids and sugar molecules. The liver modifies them to fit the body’s needs. The blood vessels connect the liver to the rest of the body. This way the nutrients can reach all of the body’s tissues. This is how the muscles can build up muscle mass. The brain gets glucose to think and all of the body cells maintain their metabolism.

In the following I will describe diseases of the digestive system. I will also mention what can be done from a medical point of view to help cure or at least alleviate the conditions.

Last modified: August 21, 2018

References

1. M Frevel Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2000 Sep (9): 1151-1157.
2. M Candelli et al. Panminerva Med 2000 Mar 42(1): 55-59.
3. LA Thomas et al. Gastroenterology 2000 Sep 119(3): 806-815.
4. R Tritapepe et al. Panminerva Med 1999 Sep 41(3): 243-246.
5. The Merck Manual, 7th edition, by M. H. Beers et al., Whitehouse Station, N.J., 1999. Chapters 20,23, 26.
6. EJ Simchuk et al. Am J Surg 2000 May 179(5):352-355.
7. G Uomo et al. Ann Ital Chir 2000 Jan/Feb 71(1): 17-21.
8. PG Lankisch et al. Int J Pancreatol 1999 Dec 26(3): 131-136.
9. HB Cook et al. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2000 Sep 15(9): 1032-1036.
10. W Dickey et al. Am J Gastroenterol 2000 March 95(3): 712-714.
11. M Hummel et al. Diabetologia 2000 Aug 43(8): 1005-1011.
12. DG Bowen et al. Dig Dis Sci 2000 Sep 45(9):1810-1813.
13. The Merck Manual, 7th edition, by M. H. Beers et al., Whitehouse Station, N.J., 1999.Chapter 31, page 311.
14. O Punyabati et al. Indian J Gastroenterol 2000 Jul/Sep 19(3):122-125.
15. S Blomhoff et al. Dig Dis Sci 2000 Jun 45(6): 1160-1165.
16. M Camilleri et al. J Am Geriatr Soc 2000 Sep 48(9):1142-1150.
17. MJ Smith et al. J R Coll Physicians Lond 2000 Sep/Oct 34(5): 448-451.
18. YA Saito et al. Am J Gastroenterol 2000 Oct 95(10): 2816-2824.
19. M Camilleri Am J Med 1999 Nov 107(5A): 27S-32S.
20. CM Prather et al. Gastroenterology 2000 Mar 118(3): 463-468.
21. MJ Farthing : Baillieres Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol 1999 Oct 13(3): 461-471.
22. D Heresbach et al. Eur Cytokine Netw 1999 Mar 10(1): 7-15.
23. BE Sands et al. Gastroenterology 1999 Jul 117(1):58-64.
24. B Greenwood-Van Meerveld et al.Lab invest 2000 Aug 80(8):1269-1280.
25. GR Hill et al. Blood 2000 May 1;95(9): 2754-2759.
26. RB Stein et al. Drug Saf 2000 Nov 23(5):429-448.
27. JM Wagner et al. JAMA 1996 Nov 20;276 (19): 1589-1594.
28. James Chin, M.D. Control of Communicable Diseases Manual. 17th ed., American Public Health Association, 2000.
29. The Merck Manual, 7th edition, by M. H. Beers et al., Whitehouse Station, N.J., 1999. Chapter 157, page1181.
30. Ferri: Ferri's Clinical Advisor: Instant Diagnosis and Treatment, 2004 ed., Copyright © 2004 Mosby, Inc.
31. Rakel: Conn's Current Therapy 2004, 56th ed., Copyright © 2004 Elsevier