Digestion Flashcards
What is choking?
Choking is when food gets caught in the respiratory tract causing the airflow to become blocked
What is heartburn?
Heartburn is where acidic mixture goes up the oesophagus which doesn’t have mucous lining so acid irritates it and causes burning sensation
What is coeliac disease?
Coeliac disease is a permanent intestinal reaction to gluten where cells lining the small intestine become damaged and inflamed causing the villi to flatten
What is a hernia?
A hernia forms when pressure happens in the same area as a weakened muscle or tissue. Some people are born with weak muscles or tissue that aren’t fully developed
What is a microbiome?
A microbiome is in a habitat. All humans, animals and plants have their own unique microbiome which play a vital roll in life processes and it is found in your gut
What is nutrient deficiency?
Low dietary intake of a nutrient does not equate to deficiency
Other methods/tests are needed such as blood test or clinical symptoms
What is digestion?
Process of breaking down foods. Food moves through digestive tract by peristalsis. Both hormones and enzymes are involved in digestion. The macronutrients need to be broken down. Micronutrients are released from food during digestion but not broken down. Undigested residues continue through digestive tract and collected at the end as stool
What happens in the mouth?
Ingestion: the taking of food
Chewing breaks food into smaller pieces (by teeth), salivary glands release saliva (moistens the food) amylase breaks down carbs, tongue mixes food with saliva, tongue pushes food to back of mouth
What happens in the stomach?
Tennis ball sized food moves through processes, physical and chemical digestion involved, food in stomach -> hormone called gastrin, HCl and Pepsin are proteins that unravel food in stomach
HCl also protective (can kill microorganisms), mucous lines the stomach (protects stomach from being digested) food turned into chyme
What happens in the small intestine?
Pyloric sphincter, 5-6 metres long with 3 sections, majority of digestion and absorption in small intestine, chyme -> secretin -> pancreas, fat/protein -> cholecystokinin -> pancreas and gall bladder
Bile, pancreatic juices and intestinal secretion breakdown food
What happens in the large intestine?
Illeocaecal valve, 1.5 metres long with different parts, reabsorption of water and minerals, formation and storage of faeces, maintaining a population of over 500 species of bacteria, bacterial fermentation of indigestible materials
How are nutrients transported from the gut?
Nutrients are absorbed by the epithelial cell and travel via the hepatic portal vein (liver)
Liver is the body’s major metabolic organ
Large fats and fat-soluble vitamins enter the lymphatic system -> blood (i.e. bypassing liver)
