Experiment 2

Title :

Study the animals physiology system. (Digestive system of a rat).

Purpose :

To determine the digestion system of rat.

Introduction :

The digestive system is a system which responsible to break down complex

food substances into simpler and soluble molecules that are small enough for the
body to absorb. Material that is not broken down is removed from the system.
Digestion takes place in the alimentary canal which is a long muscular tract that
extends from the mouth to the anus. The alimentary canal is divided into specific
regions where different digestive processes take place. Carbohydrates, proteins and
lipids are broken down into their component monomers or units through hydrolysis
by digestive enzymes. These essential substances are absorbed by the cells lining
the gut and transferred to all the other cells of the body via the circulatory system.
Within the cells, these molecules may be burned to released energy for cellular
activity, built into the structural elements of the cell or stored for later use. The
undigested material will pass along the gastrointestinal tract and remove out from the
anus as faeces.

Apparatus :

Dissecting tray, dissecting scissors, dissecting needle, forceps, probe, magnifying

glass, magnifying class and container.

Materials :

Preserved rat, plastic bag, mask, paper towel, latex glove, chloroform and twine.
Procedure :

1. A preserved rat is put in a sealed container with chloroform to make the rat
pass out.

2. The unconscious rat is then pinned down by placing the rat ventral side up on
the dissecting tray with needle.

3. The pubic region of the rat is cut to reveal epidermis layer using the dissecting
scissors.

4. The epidermis layer of rat is cut along the body midline, from the pubic region
to the lower jaw using dissecting scissors.

5. The epidermis layer of rat is detached from the dermis layer using a forceps.

6. The both side of the rats epidermis layer is pull apart and pinned so that the
inner part of the rat can be seen clearly.

7. By using forceps and dissecting scissors, the dermis layer of rat is cut from
the middle of the body along the body midline.

8. The both side of the rats dermis layer is pinned.

9. The digestive system of rat is observed and recorded.

Result :

Organ Characteristic
Pharynx A small chamber between the mouth cavity and the
oesophagus.
Trachea Pinkish in colour and looked like a stack of cartilage rings
with some space between the rings.
Oesophagus A narrow and straight muscular tube that runs from the
pharynx, perforates the diaphragm and joins the stomach in
the abdominal cavity. It is dorsal to the larynx anteriorly, runs
parallel to the trachea in the neck region and dorsal to the
heart and lungs in the thoracic cavity.
Heart Light pink in colour and have a bean shaped surrounded by
 a bright pink rubbery substance which are said to be a
ruptured blood vessel. Located inferior to the trachea and
superior to the diaphragm and liver.
Lungs Dark reddish brown in colour.
Diaphragm
Liver A large, reddish brown mass that lies posterior to the
diaphragm.
Stomach A bean shaped sac which is partially covered by the left
lateral lobe of the liver, locate on the left side of the
abdominal cavity, close to the posterior face of the
diaphragm. On the left side, the cardiac stomach is thin wall
while the pyloric stomach on the right side is muscular and
opaque.
Spleen A dense, red and elongate structure located on the left side
of the rats body.
Pancreas An irregular mass of brownish glandular tissue in the
mesentery dorsal to the stomach.
Small intestine A very long tube of uniform, diameter that is divided into two
zones, duodenum and ileum.
Duodenum First part of the small intestine and has a U-shaped loop.
Ileum Highly coiled tube ending in the large intestine.
Large intestine Consists of two zones which are colon and rectum.
Colon First part of the large intestine and short in length.
Rectum Last part of the large intestine and long in length which
locate at the terminal section of the colon between the
descending colon and the anus.
Anus

Discussion :

From the experiment that I have carried out with my group members together,
the rat is used to identify the organs of digestive system. We found that the organ of
rat is almost the same as human, just different in size. In the alimentary canal, the
mouth, oral cavity, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine
and anus are present. There are three parts of small intestine which are duodenum,
jejunum and ileum while there are four parts of large intestine which are appendix,
caecum, colon and rectum. Besides, salivary glands, liver and pancreas which are
digestive glands present in the wall of stomach and wall of intestine. They are
responsible in secretion of digestive juices into the alimentary canal to aid the
process of digestion.

When we conducted the experiment, we used scissor to dissect the rat, not
the scalpel. This is because scissor serves better than scalpel. The point of the
scissor can be pointed upwards to prevent damaging organ underneath. Besides,
we raised structures that are needed to be cut using forceps before cutting. So, we
can see exactly what is underneath and where the incision should be made. We also
ensured that we did not cut more than is absolutely necessary to expose a part.

In the experiment, we located the liver which is the large, reddish brown mass
that lies posterior to the diaphragm first because it is more obvious. Then, we located
a bean shaped sac which is partially covered by the left lateral lobe of the liver,
called stomach. We removed that lobe carefully so that we could observe the entire
stomach and oesophagus. After that, we observed that pancreas is an irregular
mass of brownish glandular tissue in the mesentery dorsal to the stomach. We also
found out the location of small intestine. It joins with the stomach. We found that a
blind sac which is caecum located at the junction of the small and large intestine.
Running from the caecum, the colon ascends and crosses the abdominal cavity.
Then, it descends again. Colon connects posteriorly with the poorly differentiated
rectum which connects the colon and the anus of the rat. Although spleen is not a
part of the digestive system, but it is obvious to be observed. Spleen is a dense, red
and elongate structure located on the left side of the rats body. It plays a role in the
production and destruction of blood cells.

There are two types of digestion in human and mammals included rat which
are physical digestion and chemical digestion. Digestive enzyme is not involved in
physical digestion because it only involved chewing action of the teeth. Large pieces
of food are breaking into small pieces by mechanical means. Then, continues to a
smaller extent in the stomach by the churning action brought about by the
contraction of the muscles of stomach wall. Physical digestion is important to
increase the surface area of the food available for chemical digestion by breaking
down the food into smaller pieces. Chemical digestion involves digestive enzymes to
break down complex food molecules into simple soluble molecules. These simple
soluble molecules will enter the bloodstream to be transported to the whole body.
Besides, hydrolysis reactions also take place in chemical digestion.

The beginning of digestion of rat is in the oral cavity. The starting place of
digestive process is in the mouth. By chewing action, the food is broke into smaller
pieces to increase the surface area of the food for digestive enzymes to act on. The
rats teeth are the main organ needed in chewing action to cut, tear and grind food.
The secretion of saliva by salivary glands is triggered by the presence of food in the
mouth. The tongue helps in swallowing food by manipulating the food while it is
being chewed to ensure it is mixed well with saliva. The enzyme salivary amylase is
presented in saliva and starts the hydrolysis of starch to maltose.
Salivary amylase
Starch + water maltose

Before swallow the food, the thoroughly food is rolled into a mass called a
bolus. Then, the bolus enters the throat first. Pharynx, which is the upper portion of
the throat located at the junction of the alimentary canal. Pharynx is also the
passage by which air enters the lung. Before bolus enters the oesophagus, epiglottis
which is a cartilage flap closes the airway temporarily to prevent food from entering
the trachea. From the experiment, I know that the oesophagus is a muscular tube. It
is lines with epithelium and mucous glands which secretes mucus. The mucus
moistens, lubricates the bolus and sticks it together to help the movement of the
bolus along the oesophagus by a series of wave-like muscular contractions along the
oesophageal wall which called peristalsis. The peristaltic action of the oesophageal
wall will squeeze the bolus down the oesophagus and it will enter the stomach when
the cardiac sphincter relaxes. Cardiac sphincter is a ring of muscles which control
the opening of the stomach by relaxing and contracting.
 In the stomach, gastric glands present on the epithelial lining of the stomach
and function as secreting gastric juice. Food will stay in the stomach for a number of
hours. At the same time, aid by the peristaltic contractions of the stomach wall, the
food is thoroughly churned and mixed with gastric juice. Gastric juice contains mucus,
hydrochloric acid and enzymes. The presence of hydrochloric acid have created an
acidic condition about pH 1.5 to pH 2.0 which is optimal for the action of enzyme
pepsin and rennin in the stomach, but stops the activity of salivary amylase. Besides,
the acidic condition helps to kill bacteria in food. The protein-splitting enzyme pepsin
breaks specific peptide bonds of large protein molecules into smaller chains of
polypeptides by hydrolysis.
pepsin
Proteins + water polypeptides

Moreover, enzyme rennin coagulates milk by converting the soluble milk protein,
caseinogen into insoluble casein.
rennin
Caseinogen + water casein

The contents of the stomach become chyme, a semi-fluid. During this time, pyloric
sphincters which are circular muscles located at each end of stomach prevent the
food from escaping. To allow the food enter the duodenum, pyloric sphincters must
relax.

After the dissection of rat, I observed that the small intestine of rat consists of
the duodenum, jejunum and the highly coiled ileum. As the first part of the small
intestine, duodenum receives chme from the stomach and the secretions from the
pancreas and gall bladder are triggered. Pancreas secretes pancreatic juice which
containing the enzyme pancreatic amylase, trypsin and lipase. These enzymes have
an optimum pH between 7.1 and 8.2. Pancreatic juice is secreted into the duodenum
by the pancreas via the pancreatic duct. In human, gall bladder stores the bile which
is an alkaline greenish-yellow liquid secretes by liver. Bile carries out its function
there before enters the duodenum via the bile duct. However, the rat lacks a gall
bladder, so the bile will released through bile duct directly into the small intestine,
where it acts. There are not ant digestive enzymes in bile. Bile reduces the acidity of
the chyme and optimises the pH for enzyme action. Bile creates an alkaline
environment about pH 7.6 to pH 8.6 for the action of enzyme pancreatic amylase,
trypsin and lipase. The alkaline environment inactivates the pepsin from the stomach.
Although there are not any digestive enzymes in bile, it helps digestion by
emulsifying the fats. For the aim to allow lipid digestion to proceed more rapidly, bile
salts emulsify lipids and transform large lumps of lipids into tiny droplets, thus
providing a greater surface area for digestion by enzyme.

In the duodenum, the digestion of starch, proteins and lipids take place. The
digestion of starch to maltose is completed by pancreatic amylase. On the other
hand, polypeptides are digested into shorter chains of peptides by trypsin. Lipase is
responsible in completing the digestion of lipids into fatty acids and glycerol, so that
they are small enough to be absorbed by the epithelial lining of the small intestine.
The equation below showed the enzymatic action occur in duodenum:

pancreatic amylase
Starch + water maltose

Polypeptides + water trypsin peptides

lipase
Lipid droplets + water glycerol + fatty acids

At the last part of the small intestine, glands in the wall of the ileum secrete
intestinal juice which contains digestive enzymes. The intestinal juice is needed to
complete the digestion of peptides and disaccharides. An alkaline medium is
required to optimal the intestinal enzymes which are erepsin, maltase, sucrose and
lactase. There are two types of digestion occur in ileum which are protein digestion
and carbohydrate digestion. Enzyme erepsin digests peptides into amino acids to aid
the protein digestion. In the carbohydrate digestion, enzyme maltase hydrolyses
maltose into glucose. Besides, enzyme sucrase hydrolyses sucrose into glucose and
fructose while enzyme lactase hydrolyses lactose into glucose and galactose. The
equation below showed the enzymatic action occur in ileum:

Protein digestion:

erepsin
Peptides + water amino acids

Carbohydrate digestion:

Maltose + water maltase glucose

Sucrose + water sucrase glucose + fructose

 Lactose + water glucose + galactose

By the way, all carbohydrates are digested into monosaccharide such as

glucose, fructose and galactose. Proteins are also digested into amino acids and
lipids are digested into fatty acids and glycerol. Vitamins and minerals which are
extremely small and soluble are not needed to be digested. The digested substances
are absorbed by the epithelial cells lining the small intestine and passed on to the
blood capillaries or the lymphatic system for distribution.

On the other hand, the undigested food will move to caecum which is a pouch
that connects the large intestine and small intestine. Caecum stores food temporarily.
One of the food content that cannot be digested in human but can digest in rat is
dietary fiber. This is because humans caecum only provides space for digestion, but
does not have the microbes for cellulose fermentation. Human does not produce any
enzymes that can digest cellulose. So, cellulose does not provide any nutrients for
rat and cellulose fibrils will pass through the digestive tract and stimulate the
secretion of mucus by intestinal lining which helps in the movement of food through
the intestinal tract. Rat is a rodent. Caecum is found in rat. It is a place to store the
cellulose-producing bacteria. The breakdown products will pass through the
alimentary canal twice. The faeces in the first batch are usually produced by rat at
night, and are soft and watery. They will then ingest these faeces again, to digest it a
second time. So, rat can absorb the products of bacterial breakdown as they pass
through the alimentary canal for the second time. At the end, the second batch of
faeces becomes drier and harder.

Large intestine is the place where final stage of digestion takes place. The
function of large intestine is to absorb most of the water of the digestive secretions,
conserving them for use within the body. As a result, the undigested food is
hardened and formed faeces. Faeces consist of undigested food residue, dead
epithelial cells, bile pigments and bacteria. Then, the faeces moved to rectum by
peristalsis and temporarily stored there before they are expelled from the body
through the anus. The process that removes faeces from the body is called
defecation.
Discussion question :

The organ of rat is same as human actually. This is because rat is a

vertebrate, which means that many aspects of its structural organisation are
common with all other vertebrates, including human. In a way, studying the rat is like
studying a human. By observing the organ of digestive system in rat, I can know that
what are the organ, structure and location of them inside the human body. I also can
know that how can the food be digested.

From the question given, the food taken by a student at dinner consist of rice
and fried chicken. According to Sirah Dubois, there are ninety percent of
carbohydrate, eight percent of protein and two percent of fat in rice. Moreover,
according to the Kentury Fried Chicken, a original recipe chicken breast consists of
14g fat, 13g carbohydrate, 36g protein, 1130mg sodium, 3g saturated fat, 145mg
cholesterol, 8g sugar and 2g dietary fibre. So, carbohydrate, protein, fat, mineral
salts and dietary fiber are found in the food taken by that student in dinner.

In the ileum, protein and carbohydrate digestion take place to aid the
absorption of digested food. This is because food molecules too large to be
absorbed by the small intestine. Therefore, the food process to convert into smaller
and simpler food molecules. The wall of the ileum secrete intestinal juice which
contains digestive enzymes such as erepsin, maltase, sucrase and lactase to
complete the digestion. The protein in the fried chicken will undergo protein digestion
which peptides are digested by erepsin into amino acids. Besides, the carbohydrates
in rice will undergo carbohydrate digestion. Maltase hydrolysed maltose into glucose
while sucrose hydrolysed sucrose into glucose and fructose. Lactose is hydrolysed
by lactase into glucose and galactose. So, carbohydrates in rice can digest into
monosaccharides and Protein in fried chicken can digest into amino acids.

Protein digestion:
erepsin
Peptides + water amino acids

Carbohydrate digestion:
maltase
Maltose + water glucose
sucrase
Sucrose + water glucose + fructose

lactase
Lactose + water glucose + galactose

Ileum is the major site of nutrient absorption. The wall of small intestine is
covered with epithelial cells that are specialised to complete the digestive process
and absorb the resulting nutrient molecules. The intestinal lining is highly folded and
covered entirely by villi which are tiny, finger-like projections. Thousands of
microvillus are found in the epithelium of villus. Large number of villi increases the
surface area of the ileum for the absorption of nutrients. The villi have thin wall which
is only one-cell thick. Thus, undigested food can be absorbed rapidly. Besides, the
villi contain a network of blood capillaries for the absorption and efficient transport of
digested food. It also contains special structures which are lacteals for absorbing
fatty acids and glycerol.

By considering the food taken by that student in dinner, the carbohydrates in

the form of glucose, fructose and galactose will be absorbed at different rate. The
galactose and glucose are absorbed twice faster than the fructose. In the ileum, the
absorption of glucose and galactose are chemically very similar which are mediated
by specific transporter. However, fructose is chemically different from glucose and
galactose. Fructose enters into the cells by facilitated diffusion, which is also called
passive transport. Besides, protein consisted in rice and fried chicken is now in the
form of amino acid through hydrolysis. Amino acid is absorbed through the
epithelium of ileum into the bloodstream directly by active transport. Moreover,
mineral salts that found in the food taken by that student still in its original form
because mineral salts are extremely small and soluble, so that need not to be
digested. The larger mineral salts molecule will be absorbed at a lower rate
compared to the smaller mineral salts molecule. Glucose, amino acids and mineral
salts which have diffused through the epithelial cells are absorbed directly into the
blood through the blood capillaries in the villi. All blood capillaries are converges into
the hepatic portal vein which leads to the liver. By the way, the nutrients are
transported to all parts of the body.

Furthermore, the fat from the fried chicken and rice is absorbed in the form of
fatty acid and glycerol. The transport of fatty acids and glycerol across the epithelial
lining involves active transport in which energy is used. Fatty acids and glycerol
recombine to form tiny droplets of lipid in epithelial cells when they enter it. Then, the
lipid droplets move into the lacteals from the epithelial cells. The lacteals converge
into the larger vessels of the lymphatic system. The fluid which carry lipids will enter
lymphatic system that forms a network throughout the body. The protein in the
lymphatic capillary will combine with the lipid molecules to form lipoprotein. After that,
the contents are drained into the bloodstream through the thoracic duct before being
emptied into the bloodstream through the subclavian veins. However, the dietary
fiber that found in the food taken by that student cannot be digested. This is because
human does not synthesis the enzyme needed to break down the dietary fiber. So,
the dietary fiber is not absorbed by the ileum and eliminated from the digestive
system through defecation.

Conclusion :

The digestive system of rat consists of mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small
intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus. Besides, salivary glands, liver and
pancreas are the digestive glands. The organ of the rat is almost the same with
human except that rat does not have gall bladder and have difference size of organ.
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