Fundamental GI Functions – Gastrointestinal System

00:01 Hello! We’re going to discuss the GI system today.

00:05 We’re going to introduce it as a topic.

00:07 We’re going to cover the major functions of the gastrointestinal system.

00:11 After this lecture, we will also be able to explain the phases of digestion of which there are three primary phases.

00:19 Furthermore, we’ll be able to identify and explain the function of GI signalling molecules and there are three primary types that includes the neurocrines, paracrines, and finally and maybe most importantly, the GI hormones.

00:33 To be able to talk about the functions of the gastrointestinal system, let’s spend a few minutes discussing these.

00:41 So first and foremost, the most important function of the GI system is absorption.

00:46 So what this does is takes food stuff and micronutrients and macronutrients from the lumen of the GI system into the body.

00:56 And that’s the important function of the gastrointestinal system.

01:00 However, to do this, a number of other functions are necessary including digestion because when you eat food, you eat food in complex types of processes.

01:12 These complex molecules will be broken down into smaller molecules so they can be transported into the body.

01:20 Finally, there are some portions of food that you don’t utilize.

01:24 And for those, you need to excrete it out of the body.

01:28 To move them along the whole path of the gastrointestinal system, you need to have a coordinated motility system in place.

01:37 Finally, some ports of the gastrointestinal system’s main job is to store things.

01:42 Because you need to deliver the particular food stuff to the right place at the right time.

01:48 And sometimes you need to hold it for a certain period of time before you open one of the sphincters to let it go through.

01:55 And finally, to undergo digestion, the body is going to have to put in a number of substances into the intestinal lumen to be able to undergo digestion.

02:06 So our sixth primary functions are absorption, digestion, excretion, motility, storage, and secretion.