Body Systems - 3.1 Digestion [ARCHIVE] Flashcards
What are humans made up of?
Millions of tiny building blocks called cells.
Where is most of the body’s work carried out?
In the cells.
What are the five systems of your body and what do they do?
Respiratory - takes in oxygen
Digestive - makes food available in a form the body can use
Circulatory - carries food and oxygen to where it is needed
Excretory - gets rid of wastes
Skeletal - supports the body and enables it to move
What is digestion?
The process of breaking down food into a useable form and making nutrients available.
What does the digestive system consist of?
- Digestive tract - pathway that food takes through a series of organs.
- Organs off to the side of the digestive tract that produce chemicals that help with digestion.
What are the two types of digestion?
- Mechanical digestion
- Chemical digestion
What is mechanical digestion?
When food is broken down into smaller pieces.
What is chemical digestion?
When large, complex substances in the food are broken down into simpler chemicals, which are absorbed into the bloodstream.
Where does digestion start?
With the teeth.
What are the four types of teeth?
- Incisors
- Molars
- Pre-molars
- Canines
What do the incisors, molars and pre-molars do?
Incisors bite off pieces small enough to chew, which are pushed back to where the molars and pre-molars grind food into smaller pieces as you chew.
What does saliva do?
Changes any starch to glucose, also moistens the food making it easier to swallow.
What is ‘peristalsis’?
When the muscles of the oesophagus push down food by contracting behind the food.
What does the epiglottis do?
Closes the end of your trachea so the food goes into the stomach, not the trachea.
What does the stomach’s sphincter do?
Separates the stomach from the oesophagus, which makes an opening so food/nutrients passes through before it closes so no food flows back up.