An eldely male patient with stomch cancer recently had a feeding tube inserted into his alimentary canal to bypass the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. he also had his gall bladder removed several years ago
Background Info
Anatomy of the digestive system
Basic Nutrients- Nutrients are the substances found in food which drive biological activity, and are essential for the human body. They are categorized as proteins, fats, carbohydrates (sugars, dietary fiber), vitamins, and minerals.
How the organs aid in digestion
Mouth the teeth and tongue aid in the mechanical breakdown of food. Saliva begins the chemical digestion breaking the bonds between food.
The bolus then travels down the esophagus to the stomach. The stomach aids in mechanical by turning and mixing the food. there are many chemicals and enzymes in the acidic stomach that further break down food.
The bolus now called chyme after becoming very liquady in the stomach travels through the pyloric sphincter into the small intestine. This is where the bulk of absorption is done
It then travels into the large intestine which houses a very large amount of bacteria that further break things down. The liquad is removed from the chyme in the intestines and it becomes feces that is sent out of the body though the anal canal and anus.
Accessory digestive glands produce secretions that empty into the lumen of the GI tract include the salivary gland, lives, and pancreas.
Other non gland accessory organs include the teeth and tongue and the gallbladder which concentrates and stores the secretions of the liver.
Enzymes-
Amylase
Protease breaks down proteins into amino acids. It is produced in the stomach and small intestine
Lipase breaks down lipids, which are fats and oils, into glycerol and fatty acids. It is produced in the pancreas and small intestine. One type is found in breast milk to help a baby more easily digest fat molecules while nursing.
Amylase is produced in the salivary glands, pancreas, and small intestine.
breaks down starches and carbohydrates into sugars.
upstream causes
His feeding tube bypasses the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum are bypassed
This means that all the digestive enzymes produced in the stomach (protease) and the small intestine (protease, amylase, and lipase)
In addition the pancrease releases a lot of its secretions into the dudenum of the small intestine since the feeding tube bypasses that area the pancreatic enzymes would also not be added to the food
Other factors include his age and cancer condition he could be weakened from chemotherapy
He also had his Gall bladder removed several years ago. the gall bladder is a saclike organ that stores concentrates and releases bile that the liver produces. Bile can move directly from the liver into the small intestine but complications such as bile buildup can arise.
since his stomach and duodenum is bypassed many of the digestive enzymes are unable to do their work. the stomach also aids in mechanical digestion of food.
This means the food given to him would obviously need to be liquid since chyme is already liquefied in the stomach
in addition his food needs to be full of the neccessary nutrients for him to live (listed below) but it would also need certain enzymes added into it so the food can be properly broken down and absorbed in the small intestine.