Chapter 14 Flashcards
How does the digestive system contribute to homeostasis?
Ingesting food, digesting food into nutrients that cells can use, absorbing nutrients, and eliminating indigestible remains.
What are the 2 processes digestion involves?
Mechanical and chemical digestion.
Describe mechanical digestion.
Begins with the chewing of food in the mouth, continues with the churning and mixing of food in the stomach.
Describe chemical digestion.
Enzymes break down macromolecules into smaller molecules that can be absorbed.
Describe the hard palate.
Contains several bones.
Describe the soft palate.
Made of muscle, uvula, and tonsils.
What do salivary glands do?
Produce saliva.
How many different glands are located in the mouth?
3.
What does saliva do?
Keeps the mouth moist, and contains enzyme salivary amylase which begins the process of digesting starch.
What do teeth do?
Used to chew food into pieces suitable for swallowing.
What is a tooth divided into?
Crown, root, and gingiva (gums).
Describe the crown of a tooth.
Enamel, dentin, pulp.
Describe the root of a tooth.
Dentin, pulp.
Describe swallowing.
Reflex action. Soft palate closes off the nasopharynx, trachea moves up causing the epiglottis to cover the glottis. As a result, food can enter esophagus only.
Describe the esophagus.
Muscular tube that extends from the pharynx to the stomach. Usually collapsed.
What is peristalsis?
Rhythmic muscular contractions, pushes food along digestive tract.
What does the sphincter muscle do?
Closes the esophagus from the stomach. Relaxation of the sphincter allows food to enter the stomach.
What are the 4 layers of the digestive tract?
Mucosa, submucosa, muscularis, and serosa.
Describe mucosa.
Glandular epithelial cells secrete enzymes. Goblet cells secrete mucus.
Describe submucosa.
Loose connective tissue that contains blood vessels. Peyer’s patches-lymph nodules.
Describe muscularis.
Two layers of smooth muscle, circular: inner layer encircles tube, and longitudinal: outer layer runs perpendicular.
Describe serosa.
Secretes serous fluid to moisten surface so that organs can slide against each other.
Describe the stomach.
Thick-walled, J-shaped organ. Continuous with esophagus and duodenum of small intestine. Receives food from the esophagus, starts the digestion of proteins, and moves food into the small intestine.
What lines the stomach?
The columnar epithelium which contains gastric pits which lead into gastric glands.
What do gastric glands produce?
Gastric juice.
What does hydrochloric acid do in the stomach?
Lowers pH to make optimum environment for enzymes.
What is pepsinogen?
Becomes pepsin when mixed with HCl, then breaks down proteins.
What is mucus needed for?
To move food along.
Which ways does the stomach act on food?
Mechanically and chemically. Has 3 layers of muscles. Churns food and mixes it with gastric juice.
Is most food absorbed by the stomach?
No. Alcohol and other lipids are.
What is chyme?
Food leaving the substance. Enters small intestine through pyloric sphincter.