Digestion Flashcards
Where does everything you eat go?
into your gut, or alimentary canal
What happens inside your gut?
big food molecules are broken down to make smaller molecules your body can use such as glucose. These molecules pass into your blood, which carries them to every cell.
What does mechanical digestion do?
it makes large food molecules easier to break down later.
What does saliva contain?
an enzyme that breaks down large molecules into smaller ones (chemical digestion)
What is the alimentary canal?
A long tube that winds its way from your mouth to your rectum.
What is mechanical digestion?
When solid lumps of food are broken down into smaller pieces through physical movement such as your teeth. This also happens in your gut (process of peristalsis).
What is a catalyst?
Chemicals that speed up chemical reactions without being used or changed. Biological catalysts are made up of living things.
What does emulsifies (fat) mean?
Breaks (fat) into smaller droplets.
What does denatured mean?
When an enzyme’s unique active site is disrupted and the substrate can no longer bind with the enzyme.
What does active site mean?
The unique shape of an enzyme where molecules are broken down.
How does saliva make food easier to swallow?
it is very slippery
What is chemical digestion?
the breaking down of large, insoluble molecules into small, soluble molecules by enzymes & using water, acids or alkalis.
What is an enzyme?
Protein that speeds up chemical reactions without being used up
What does your stomach blend each meal with?
acid and enzyme
What is the acid in your stomach?
hydrochloric acid
What does the hydrochloric acid in your stomach do?
it destroys microbes in your stomach while the enzyme (protease) begins the digestion of protein
What happens when your food is a smooth paste?
your stomach squeezes it out into your small intestine bit by bit
What is the longest part of your gut?
small intestine
Where are most large food molecules broken down?
small intestine
What do the walls of the small intestine do?
they squeeze food along and mix it with more enzymes that come from the pancreas
Where do small molecules pass through in the small intestine?
they are passed through the small intestine walls into your bloodstream, where you can use them
What is left when the food reaches the large intestine?
fibre
What is the large intestine full of?
bacteria that feed on the fibre and produce important vitamins that we can absorb
What do the large intestine walls do?
they absorb water from the bloodstream and use it to turn the mixture of fibre and bacteria into a solid waste called faeces (poop). It’s stored in your rectum until you are ready to excrete in the toilet 💩.