Digestive Glands: Definition,

Structure, Location, Functions

Digestive glands:
Digestive glands refer to the exocrine glands which can
produce digestive enzymes to digest different
biomolecules of the food into their simpler forms so that
they can easily be absorbed by the body.

Digestive glands are those having ducts that pour

secretions into the digestive system.

Digestive glands secrete digestive juices, which contain

enzymes for the digestion of food.

The digestive glands include salivary glands, gastric

glands, liver, pancreas, and intestinal glands.
Role of the digestive glands:
1. Salivary Glands- These are exocrine glands. There are three pairs of
major salivary glands that secretes their secretions in the oral cavity.
Following are the three pairs:-
a. Parotid glands
i. Largest salivary glands.
ii. Present near ears.
iii. Its duct, called Stenson’s duct, opens in the oral cavity.
b. Sublingual glands
i. Smallest salivary glands.
ii. Present beneath the tongue.
iii. Its duct called sublingual ducts or ducts of Rivinus open in the floor of
the oral cavity.
c. Submandibular glands
i. Medium-sized glands.
ii. Present below the jaw.
iii. Its duct, called Wharton’s duct, opens in the oral cavity near the lower
central incisor.
Functions of Salivary Gland
Salivary glands secrete saliva, which
contains salivary amylase or ptyalin,
lysozyme, water, electrolyte and mucus.
Parotid glands secrete saliva in more quantity.
Salivary amylase is the digestive enzyme that
breaks down carbohydrates into its simpler
form.
While lysozyme is the antibacterial agent.
Mumps is a viral disease in which one or both
the parotid glands swell. It is a painful swelling.
Saliva is mainly produced by three pairs of salivary glands,
The parotids (cheek),
The submaxillary/sub-mandibular (lower jaw) and
The sub- linguals (below the tongue). These glands situated just outside the
buccal cavity secrete salivary juice into the buccal cavity.
Gastric Glands- There are many tubular glands present in the mucosa of
the stomach.
It is of three types-
cardiac glands, pyloric glands and fundic glands.
Fundic glands have three different types of cells, namely-
a. Chief Cells or peptic cells- It secretes digestive enzymes in their inactive
forms called proenzymes like pepsinogen and prorennin. Gastric
amylase and lipase are also secreted.
Pepsinogen is activated to pepsin which helps in the digestion of proteins.
Rennin helps in milk coagulation.
Gastric amylase helps in the digestion of carbohydrate, while gastric lipase
contributes in the digestion of fats.
b. Oxyntic cells or parietal cells– These cells secrete HCl and intrinsic
factor.
It helps in the absorption of B12 in the ileum.
HCl makes the medium of the stomach acidic. These cells are numerous in
the sidewalls of the gastric gland.
c. Goblet Cells– These secrete mucus and are present
throughout the epithelium.
d. Endocrine cells- These are present at the base of the
gastric glands.
i. Gastrin Cells– These secrete and store the gastrin
hormone, which stimulates the gastric glands to secrete
gastric juice.
ii. Argentaffin Cells– These produce the hormone serotonin,
somatostatin and histamine. The Serotonin hormone is a
vasoconstrictor. Somatostatin suppresses gastric secretion.
Histamine helps in the dilation of walls of blood vessels.
e. Stem cells– These increase its number when it has to
repair the damaged gastric epithelium like during ulcer or
gastritis.
Cardiac glands, pyloric glands secrete mucus only.
Functions of Gastric Glands
1. It secretes gastric juice, which contains
proteolytic enzymes, HCl and mucus.
2. Proteolytic enzymes like pepsin digests
protein into its simpler forms.
3. HCl makes the environment of the
stomach acidic which helps in killing the
germs of the stomach coming along with
food
4. HCl also activates the inactive enzymes
Fig: Gastric Glands
Liver-
 Largest gland of the body is the liver. It is present in the
right side of the abdominal cavity below the diaphragm.
It has two lobes, i.e. right and left lobes.
 The Hepatic lobule can be called the structural and
functional unit of the liver. Lobules contain hepatic cells
or hepatocytes.
 Each lobular unit consists of parenchyma composed of
hepatic cellular plates and sinusoids which separates the
hepatic plates.
 Each lobule is surrounded by a sheath of connective tissue
called Glisson’s capsule(Absent in human liver).
Liver lobules are collections of hepatocytes in a hexagonal shape
with the center being a central vein.
Within the lobules, the hepatocytes are arranged in cords, and in
between the cords is a vascular space with a thin fenestrated
endothelium and a discontinuous membrane called a sinusoid.
These sinusoids contain Kupffer cells which are the resident
macrophage of the liver and stellate cells which are hepatic
lipocytes.
At the vertices of the hexagon are a triad of a bile duct branch, a
portal vein branch, and a hepatic artery branch referred to as a
portal triad.
Blood flows from the portal vein branch and hepatic artery
branch across the lobule and finally into the central vein which
is a branch of the hepatic vein.
An alternative organization of hepatocytes places the line
between 2 triads at the center of a rhomboid with the ends being
central veins.
This arrangement is called the portal acinus and is
helpful in describing the functional zones of the liver.
Zone 1 hepatocytes immediately surround the portal
tracts and primarily are involved in oxidative energy
metabolism.
Zone 3 hepatocytes immediately surround the central
veins and are the primary location for the
biotransformation of drugs. Zone 2 hepatocytes lie in
between zone 1 and 3 and have mixed functionality.
Kupffer cells are present in the liver of mammals.
These cells are phagocytic and eat worn-out cells.
Just below the liver, the gall bladder is present.
 Hepatocytes secrete bile juice and transfer it to the gall
bladder, through hepatic ducts, where it is stored and
concentrated.
 Hepatic ducts from the left and right lobes join to form a
common bile duct. The common hepatic duct from right
and left lobes of liver and cystic duct from gallbladder
joins to form a common bile duct which runs posteriorly
to join the main pancreatic duct.
 The pancreatic duct and bile duct open through a
common hepatio-pancreatic duct into the duodenum.
Its opening is guarded by a sphincter of Oddi.
 Blood in the liver comes from the hepatic artery
and hepatic portal vein.
 The hepatic artery receives oxygenated blood while the
hepatic portal vein receives deoxygenated blood. Liver
can regenerate.
Functions of Liver
1. Secretion-Daily 600−1200ml of bile(Consisting of bile salt-Na taurocholate
and glycocholate,bile pigment- bilirubin and bilivrdin, cholesterol, mucin,
lecithi and fats) is secreted from the liver.
Bile helps in the emulsification of fats and makes the acidic chyme basic.
2. Deamination- Liver is involved in the process of deamination, in which an
amino group is removed from amino acids resulting in the formation of
ammonia and ultimately urea.
3. Excretion-Liver changes haemoglobin of dead RBCs into bile pigments like
biliverdin and bilirubin.
4. Heparin, an anticoagulant, is produced by the liver.
It helps in the production of RBCs in embryos.
5. Kupffer cells of the liver act as phagocytes.
6. Glycogenesis-Help in conversion of excess carbohydrates into glycogen in
presence of insulin.
7. Glycogenolysis-Conversion of glycogen into glucose to maintain blood
glucose level in diverse dietary conditions
8. Gluconeogenesis- Under abnormal conditions, liver can convert
protein and fats into glucose.
9. Lipogenesis-The excess is converted into fat and stored in liver.
10. Store house of blood-To regulate blood volume liver can function as
store house of blood.
11. Blood clotting-Fibrinogen, prothromin and certain other blood
coagulating facters are form in the liver which are instrumental in
blood coagulation. Heparin is a intravascular anticoagulant stored
in liver.
12. Production of plasma protein-The plasma protein serum albumin
and serum globulin produced in the liver.
13. Liver synthesizes vitamin A from carotene pigments.
14. Detoxification-The liver is the site of detoxification of different toxic
substances either produced in the body or taken along with food by
the process of hydrolysis, oxidation, reduction, and conjugation.
15. When the liver has broken down harmful substances, its by-
products are excreted into the bile or blood. Bile by-products enter
the intestine and leave the body in the form of feces. Blood by-
products are filtered out by the kidneys, and leave the body in the
form of urine.
[Link] metabolism- It is the main site of
alcohol metabolism. Alcohol-acetaldehyde-
acetyle CoA- fatty acids, water and CO2.
16. Liver is the main heat producing organ.
[Link]-In the embryo, RBC s are
formed by the liver.
[Link] infections by making immune
factors and removing bacteria from the
bloodstream
[Link] of bilirubin, also from red blood
cells. If there is an accumulation of
bilirubin, the skin and eyes turn yellow.
Pancreas-
1. It is a heterocrine gland.
It is present in the loop of duodenum. It is the second-
largest gland of the body, which is yellow coloured.
2. Its exocrine part secretes digestive enzymes while the
endocrine part secretes hormones insulin and glucagon,
which regulates blood sugar level.
3. Pancreatic juice is alkaline in nature and is carried to the
duodenum through the pancreatic duct.
Pancreatic juice contains trypsinogen,
chymotrypsinogen, procarboxypeptidase, which are in
the inactive form.
4. Some more enzymes like pancreatic lipase, DNAse,
RNAse are also secreted.
Functions of Pancreas
The exocrine part of the pancreas produces
chymotrypsin and trypsin to digest proteins,
amylase for the digestion of carbohydrates and
lipase to break down fats.
Pancreatic enzymes also help in the digestion of
nucleic acids.
The endocrine part of the pancreas releases
insulin and glucagon directly into the
bloodstream and helps in regulating the blood
sugar levels of the body.
 Intestinal Glands- There are several minute glands present in
the mucosa of the small intestine. These are of two types:-
a. Crypts of Lieberkuhn- These are tubular, multicellular
structures present throughout the small intestine between villi.
These secrete digestive enzymes and mucus. Some different
types of cells are found here, like paneth cells and argentaffin
cells. Paneth cells are present at the bottom of the crypts of
Lieberkuhn and found mostly in the duodenum. They may
secrete lysozyme and are phagocytic in nature. Argentaffin
cells secrete secretin hormone.
b. Only in the submucosa of the duodenum Brunner’s
gland is present. It secretes mucus which protects the wall of
the intestine from the acidic chyme coming from the stomach
to the duodenum. The secretions of the intestine are collectively
called succus entericus or intestinal juices.
Functions of Intestinal Glands
It secretes intestinal juice or succus
entericus, which contains various enzymes
such as peptidase, sucrase, maltase,
lactase and intestinal lipase that helps in
complete digestion of food.
Brunner’s gland secretes mucus lubricates
the food and digestive tract and, protects
the mucosa of the stomach from damage.