Chapter 6.2 Flashcards
What is the function of the digestive system?
Ingest food and break it down into smaller components
What happens to the resulting substances is digestion?
They are absorbed into the bloodstream and delivered to all the body cells by the circulatory system
What do salivary glands do?
Secrete starch digesting enzymes
What does the liver do?
Manufactures bile. It facilitates digestion of fats
What does the gallbladder do?
Stores bile until needed
What does the pancreas do?
Manufactures enzymes to digest macromolecules
Secretes bicarbonate to neutralize stomach acid that enters the small intestine
What does the mouth do?
Chews and mixes food with saliva
What does the esophagus do?
Direct food from mouth to stomach
What does the stomach do?
Adds acid, enzymes, and fluids
churns, mixes, and grinds food to a liquid mass
What does the small intestine do?
Secretes enzymes that digest macromolecules
Absorbs hydrolyzed molecule into the bloodstream
What does the large intestine do?
Absorbs water and salts; passes remaining undigested material and some water out of body
What does the rectum do?
Stores waste prior to elimination
What does the anus do?
Holds rectum closed
What organs make up the human digestive tract?
Tongue Esophagus Stomach Gallbladder Pancreas Duodenum Jejunum Ileum Large intestine Anus
What triggers the 3 pairs of salivary glands?
Smell or taste of food
Where does chemical digestion begin?
In the mouth through hydrolysis
What is the enzyme in saliva called?
Amylase
What does amylase do?
Breaks down starch in simple sugars (disaccharides)
What does the amylase do to starch?
The amylase catalyzes a hydrolysis reaction of starch
What does the tongue do as you chew?
It rolls food into a smooth lump like mass called a bolus
What is the esophagus?
A muscular portion of the digestive tract that directs food from the mouth to the stomach
How does the esophagus move food to the stomach?
Through gravity and peristalsis
What is peristalsis?
Wavelike series of muscular contractions and relaxations
What does the esophageal sphincter control?
Entry of food from the intestine to the stomach
How does the esophageal sphincter work?
It relaxes to allow the bolus to enter into the stomach
And it contracts to prevents the acidic contents of the stomach from backing up
Where is mucus produced?
Mouth
Stomach
Small and large intestines
What does mucus do in the digestive system?
Protects the cells lining the innermost portion of the digestive tract
Lubricates food as it travels through the digestive tracts
Where is acid produced?
The stomach
What does acid do?
Promotes digestion of protein
What are the 3 important functions of the stomach?
Storage, some digestion, and pushing food into the small intestine
What does the pyloric sphincter do?
Controls the exit of the stomach’s contents into the small intestine
What kinds of digestion occur in the stomach?
Physical and chemical
How does the stomach undergo physical digestion?
Peristalsis pushes food against the bottom of the stomach, churning it and breaking it into smaller pieces and mixing it with gastric juices to make chyme
What is gastric juice responsible for?
Chemical digestion in the stomach
What is gastric juices made up of?
Water, mucus, salts, hydrochloric acids, and enzymes
What is the function of stomach juices?
Provide a highly acidic environment to break down proteins in chyme and kill bacteria
Why doesn’t the stomach get digested by gastric juices?
Because it secretes little gastric juice until food is present
The cells in the stomach secrete mucus which prevent gastric juices from harming the stomach lining
The stomach produces its protein digesting enzyme called pepsin in an inactive form until hydrochloric acid is present
What happens when pepsin is activated?
It hydrolyzes proteins to yield polypeptides
What does the stomach absorb?
Some water, salts, and certain anti inflammatory medications and alcohol
What is the longest part of the digestive tract?
The small intestine
What process start physical digestion in the small intestine?
Segmentation
What happens during segmentation?
Chyme sloshes back and forth between segments of the SI that form when bands of circular muscle contract