Function of digestive accessory structures

salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, pancreas

salivary glands

• releases mucus for lubrication

• releases amylase to break starch down

liver

• amino acids NOT used to make proteins = broken down here (deamination) to produce urea

• produces bile to emulsify fats —> process of mechanical digestion

  • BECAUSE you’re not breaking down the fats chemically but making the LARGE molecules into SMALL molecules

  • chemically the same —> more spread out

  • 1 glycerol + 3 fatty acids

gallbladder

stores bile to release in the duodenum

pancreas

• secretes enzymes —> amylase, lipase, protease (pepsin)

• secretes enzymes in an ALKALINE fluid into the duodenum for digestion

  • to increase the pH of fluid coming out of stomach