Module 4 Report

Unit 4 Report
Distributing Metabolites through the body
Food that we consume is composed of very complex molecules. During the digestive process these compounds are broken down into smaller and smaller subunits in preparation for use by the body as building blocks needed for the many components of the human body. In Module 3 we followed the food through the digestive system and considered the process that takes place in the digestive system.
The pizza that was eaten by Matt and Maria contained ingredients composed of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and other components such as minerals, water and vitamins.
In this Report your focus is to research:
1) Based on your finding in the Module 3 Report, begin the Module 4 Report by identifying which metabolites are being absorbed and specifically which vessels of the cardiovascular or lymphatic system are the initial vessel of transport from the digestive system.
The nutrients obtained from food are absorbed in the intestines and
into the bloodstream. Matt’s and Maria’s stomach and intestinal veins will carry blood to the liver through the hepatic portal vein, which originates from vessels in the stomach, intestines, pancreas and spleen. The superior and inferior mesenteric veins collect blood low in oxygen but high in nutrients from the intestines which join with other abdominal veins to form the hepatic portal vein. Blood leaving the digestive organs is rich in nutrients, hormones, minerals and other chemicals absorbed from the pizza. The liver will remove any toxins to detoxify the blood, and when no glycogen is available; the liver will convert amino acids into glucose and process the products of digestion before they reach the other body tissues. Then blood from the liver returns to the heart through the inferior vena cava. The carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals, wastes and hormones are exchanged across the walls of capillaries; the blood leaving the capillary beds flows into a larger series of venules that will form veins and will carry blood from capillaries to the heart and throughout the body’s tissues spreading nutrients, where the cells can use them to make energy.

2) From the point that the specific metabolites are absorbed from the GI tract, trace the path of the resulting metabolites to the following locations in the body for incorporation into the body structure: Metabolites of protein for use in the gastrocnemius muscle for muscle maintenance and hypertrophy and
3) At each of the destination tissues described in Item 2 (above) identify any specific cells that play the primary role in the catabolic processes indicated above:

Metabolism of proteins from the meats in the pizza will offer Matt’s and Maria’s body essential nutrients for optimal function and support of muscle tissue and growth. During digestion most proteins consumed will be broken down into single or several amino acids or peptides in the gastro intestinal tract with the help of enterocytes cells and the enzyme pepsin. Proteins provide essential amino acids that the human body can’t produce and that need to be obtained from regular diet; they also function as a carrying of proteins such as hemoglobin, which is an iron containing protein that transports oxygen to muscles via the bloodstream.
Unlike carbohydrates and fats, the body doesn’t generally store protein, so it needs constant supply of protein balance for body support and tissue function. Nitrogen is essential in the formation of different amino acids and provides the building blocks of all the body’s cells for support and tissue functions.
-Calcium to the distal phalanx of the right thumb for incorporation into the bone matrix.
Bones in our body and phalanges are formed with the use of calcium and other minerals, which provide the hard structures they have to help support body tissues, body functions and cellular activity.
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body, but needs other nutrients in order for it to be absorbed better and use properly. To metabolize calcium the hormones that help in that process are the parathyroid hormone and the modified steroid calcitriol a form of vitamin D, which promote better absorption of the calcium ion into the body’s circulation system and the counter balance protein hormone calcitonin promotes a decrease in circulating calcium. Calcium homeostasis is achieved by three central tissues, the kidney, intestines and bones. The hormonal target for calcium balance in bones is the osteoclast which can mobilize calcium to the body and phalanges by secreting proteolytic enzymes and acid onto the bone matrix in response to stimulation of the parathyroid hormone and
calcitriol.
-Metabolites of the carbohydrates for energy to contract the cardiac muscle cells.
The heart requires Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for the function of the cellular system as well as for the sarcomere contraction and relaxation. Cellular ATP storage levels depend on the balance between ATP utilizations and production. After several hours of eating a meal the heart will utilize about 65-70% of the fatty acids from that meal and about 30% of the carbohydrates, which its metabolism begins with digestion in the small intestines where monosaccharaides are absorbed into the blood stream. The concentration of blood sugar is controlled by the 3 hormones: insulin, glucagon and epinephrine. Insulin will stimulate the transfer of glucose into the cells, liver, muscles, including cardiac muscles. Most of the glucose stores in the liver and muscles will be transformed into glycogen to be stored for a later use when glucose levels get low. Cardiac function depends on the equilibrium between the work the heart performs and the energy that is able to synthesize and transfer in the form of energy rich phosphate bonds to sustain the excitation or transmission of a neural impulses and the muscle contraction.

-Metabolites of fat to incorporate into the myelin sheaths of the Schwann cells of the trigeminal nerve process that innervate the masseter muscle.
Schwann cells are type of cells found throughout the entire peripheral nervous system and they help to support cells in it. The Schwann cells are adult cells that insulate myelinate individual nerve fibers axos, necessary for sending electrical signals in the nervous system. The peripheral nervous system includes all nerves going out to muscles as well as sensory nerves coming from the muscles back to the spinal cord. Fat from food is broken down into fatty acids, which can travel in the blood to feed body cells. Fatty acids that aren't needed right away are packaged in bundles called triglycerides and stored in fat cells, which have unlimited capacity. Fats are not water soluble and needs bile acids to emulsify them for digestion. Free fatty acids and partly hydrolyzed phospholipids are reform into triacyglycerols and phospholipids once in the cell, then they are transform in chylomicrons and send to the blood stream via the lymphatic system using the lacteal lymph to Schwann cells, blood stream and muscles, including masseter muscle.

- Water for incorporation into the synovial fluid of the hip joint.
As particles of food are digested and hydrolyzed in the gastrointestinal system a great amount of water is obtained from the broken down of those foods to make it easy to be absorbed in the cells. As the digestive system absorbs more and more nutrients, the gastric juices will become hypotonic and water will be absorbed.

Iron for incorporation into red blood cells in the bone marrow of the sternum.