Cornell Notes 16 Flashcards
Describe mechanical digestion.
Physical breakdown and movement of food
What are the main organs of mechanicals digestion?
mouth and stomach and movement through the esophagus
What is peristalsis?
waves of smooth muscle contractions that move food through the esophagus toward the stomach
Describe chemical digestion
The chemical digestion breakdown of food
Where does chemical digestion take place?
Begins in the mouth when saliva is is released
How does saliva perform chemical digestion
Released from glands in the mouth (starts process) and
Contains enzymes
Moistens the food so it can be easily swallowed
What are enzymes?
proteins that speed up chemical reactions in the body.
These enzymes cause the food to break down faster
where are carbohydrates digested?
small intestine
Describe chemical digestion in the stomach
Other enzymes and hydrochloric acid further break down the food
Where does the digestion of proteins take place?
stomach
Where does most chemical digestion take place?
small intestine
What nutrient is not digested by the tie the food reaches the stomach
fats/lipids
Where does most nutrient absorption happen
small intestine
what do the liver and pancreas do to help digestion
secrete enzymes into the small intestine to help with the breakdown of fats and remaining proteins and carbs
The liver is also responsible for filtering blood and storing certain vitamins
what is bile and why is it important
Bile= an enzyme made by liver, breaks down fat to small fat droplets in the small intestine
Allows the fat to be digested
Stored in the gallbladder until needed by the small intestine
describe trypsin
Trypsin= an enzyme produced by the pancreas that helps break down proteins
describe insulin
Insulin= an enzyme produced by the pancreas that regulates blood sugar levels
describe the role of the small intestine in digestion
Where the majority of chemical digestion and nutrient absorption into blood occurs
Describe the role of the large intestine in digestion
Where the last stage of digestion occurs
Shorter than the small intestine (called the large intestine because of its wider!)
Where water is absorbed into the bloodstream
Waste products (feces) are compacted and prepared for elimination from the body in the last section of the large intestine called the rectum
What is feces?
waste products (poop)
Where do waste products leave the body?
anus
how does the digestive system work with the circulatory system
After nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine, they are transported around the body by blood which needs the heart to beat in order to move
