Class Notes from Lesson 2-5 Constitutional

 Lesson 2-5: Gastro Intestinal Review

Digestion starts with the senses - hearing (like frying bacon), seeing and smelling food. Saliva begins to break down food - contains amylase which breaks down starch. The taste of food stimulates digestive enzymes further down.

Esophagus brings the food down. Between esophagus and stomach is a sphincter, the cardia sphincter or lower esophageal sphincter. LES. Normally stays shut to prevent stomach acids from coming up. Stomach is basically a holding tank. Bottom part of stomach is where the acid is. Hydrochloric acid and proteases, like pepsin, to digest proteins.

Small intestine. Pyloric sphincter between stomach and small intestine. Most digestion is finished in small intestine. Small intestine has 3 parts - duodenum, jejunum and ileum . Pancreas introduces alkaline digestive fluid, to digest fats. Liver and gallbladder introduce bile. He talks fast, at this part, so I grabbed this from wiki:

Parts[edit]

The small intestine is divided into three structural parts.

• The duodenum is a short structure ranging from 20 cm (7.9 inches) to 25 cm (9.8 inches) in length, and shaped like a "C".[12] It surrounds the head of the pancreas. It receives gastric chyme from the stomach, together with digestive juices from the pancreas (digestive enzymes) and the liver (bile). The digestive enzymes break down proteins and bile emulsifies fats into micelles. The duodenum contains Brunner's glands, which produce a mucus-rich alkaline secretion containing bicarbonate. These secretions, in combination with bicarbonate from the pancreas, neutralize the stomach acids contained in gastric chyme.
• The jejunum is the midsection of the small intestine, connecting the duodenum to the ileum. It is about 2.5 m long, and contains the plicae circulares, and villi that increase its surface area. Products of digestion (sugars, amino acids, and fatty acids) are absorbed into the bloodstream here. The suspensory muscle of duodenum marks the division between the duodenum and the jejunum.
• The ileum: The final section of the small intestine. It is about 3 m long, and contains villi similar to the jejunum. It absorbs mainly vitamin B12 and bile acids, as well as any other remaining nutrients. The ileum joins to the cecum of the large intestine at the ileocecal junction.

The jejunum and ileum are suspended in the abdominal cavity by mesentery. The mesentery is part of the peritoneum. Arteries, veins, lymph vessels and nerves travel within the mesentery.[13]

Appendix is by ileum - lots of white blood cells for immune function.

Large intestine is full of flora - bacteria and fungi, that break down food further "and produce things that make us healthy". Large intestine absorbs.

Liver processes amino acids and sugars.

Lymph processes fats.

Here is the link to the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine Course

https://www.swsbm.com/school/