Accessory organs

•         Produce and store digestive chemicals

•         Food does not pass through these

•         Liver - Produces bile; Stores glucose as glycogen & releases glucose into blood stream

•         Gallbladder - Stores bile, Squirts bile into small intestine when fat arrives

•         Pancreas - Makes enzymes. Empties into small intestine

•         Pancreatic juice: enzymes, bicarbonate

•         Insulin and glucagon secreted directly into blood

•         Insulin: Enables cells to use glucose (glucose enters cells) & promotes formation of glycogen in liver     

•         Glucagons: Signals to the liver to convert glycogen into glucose & release it into the bloodstream

Liver Functions

1. Forms bile (assists fat digestion), rids body of excess cholesterol and blood's respiratory pigments
2. Controls amino acid levels in the blood; converts potentially toxic ammonia to urea
3. Controls glucose level in blood; major reservoir for glycogen
4. Removes hormones that served their functions from blood
5. Removes ingested toxins, such as alcohol, from blood
6. Breaks down worn-out and dead red blood cells, and stores iron
7. Stores some vitamins                

Pancreas

•         Lies between the stomach and duodenum

•         It secretes pancreatic juice which passes to the duodenum to help in digestion

–        Amylase – for digesting starch

–        Protease – protein

–        Lipase – fat