Digestion Flashcards

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1
Q

What are essential vs non-essential nutrients?

A

Essential: Nutrients that cannot be synthesized by the body and have to be included in the diet.

Non: Can be synthesized by the body, must not be ingested

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2
Q

6 classes of nutrients

A

Carbohydrates
Protein
Fat
Vitamin
Mineral
Water

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3
Q

What are vitamins?
+Eg

A

Organic molecules with complex chemical structures that are often essential

eg. Vitamin B, D etc

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4
Q

What are minerals? What are they important for? What if you don’t get enough of them?

A

Chemical elements and inorganic substances that are essential nutrients.

They are important for structures such as teeth, bones

Worsened bone mineralization

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5
Q

What are conditionally essential nutrients?

A

When technically organic compounds produced by the body are sufficient, however, due to disorders (such as cardiovascular disease), their biosynthesis is inadequate.

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6
Q

What is the human digestive system?

A

A group of organs that work together to digest and absorb nutrients. Their structure allows it to move, digest , absorb and egest food.

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7
Q

What is the alimentary canal?

A

The tube includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. The whole digestive tube.

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8
Q

What is the role of the mouth?

A

Mechanical digestion and some chemical digestion of carbohydrates

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9
Q

What is the esophagus?

A

A tube that carries food from mouth to stomach

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10
Q

What is the simple role of the liver?

A

It secretes bile

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11
Q

What is the main role of the large intestine?

A

Absorbs water from indigestible food and carries the water from the body.

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12
Q

Where does the most digestion and absorption of nutrients occur?

A

The small intestine

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13
Q

What is the role of the small intestine?

A

Absorbing nutrients and digestion

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14
Q

What does the pancreas do?

A

It makes bile and helps digest fats.

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15
Q

What is the duodenum?

A

The beginning part of the small intestine.

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16
Q

Where does mechanical digestion of food and some chemical digestion take place?

A

The stomach

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17
Q

What happens in the stomach?

A

Mechanical digestion of food and some chemical digestion.

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18
Q

What comes before the anus?

A

The rectum

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19
Q

What doesn’t have to be digested?

A

Minerals, vitamins, and water. THey can be directly absorbed

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20
Q

What has to be digested?

A

Large, insoluble polymer molecules:

Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids.

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21
Q

What is digestion?

A

Breaking down food via chemical and enzymatic action in the alimentary canal.

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22
Q

What is absorption?

A

When digested food is moved from the digestive system to the bloodstream (the whole body).
This occurs in the small intestine.

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23
Q

What happens in the small intestine?

A

Digested food is absorbed into the bloodstream so that nutrients can be transported through the whole body.

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24
Q

What is assimilation and where does it occur?

A

In the small intestine, nutrients are absorbed through the cell tissues. Over time fragments of these nutrients form more complex substances.

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25
Q

What is egestion?

A

The discharge of undigested/waste material

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26
Q

What do digestive enzymes do? Give an example

A

Catalyze the hydrolysis of insoluble food molecules to soluble end products. They SPEED UP
- REDUCE ACTIVATION ENERGY

Sucrose is broken down into glucose and fructose by the enzyme sucrase

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27
Q

What is it called when the active site of an enzyme slightly shifts to fit the substrate?

A

Induced fit.

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28
Q

Explain the second step in enzyme function (substrate is already bound to the active site.

A

Amino acids bind to the substrate and distort bonds, starting the reaction.

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29
Q

What is the composition of an enzyme and the substrate called?

A

Substrate enzyme complex.

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30
Q

What is hydrolysis?

A

The splitting of molecules via the addition of water. Polymers are turned into monomers

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31
Q

What is the monomer of starch?

A

glucose

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32
Q

What is the monomer of lipids?

A

fatty acid + glycerol

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33
Q

What is a gland?

A

An organ which synthesizes a substance meant for release

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34
Q

What are the two types of glands?

A

Exo and endocrine glands

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35
Q

What do endocrine glands secrete? Where do they secrete into?

A

Hormones
into the bloodstream.

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36
Q

What do exocrine glands secrete? Where do they secrete into?

A

“other stuff”
- oil
- sweat
enzyme
INTO DUCTS

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37
Q

What is an acinus?

A

A cluster of exocrine glands
- they form hollow spheres

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38
Q

Multiple acini are found in

A

One gland
1 acinus is the fundamental unit of a gland

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39
Q

What is a lumen in terms of acini?

A

The hollow space within an acinus

40
Q

What is a duct?

A

The tube passage for secreted material

41
Q

In an acini, where are vesicles found?

A

Within secretory cells

42
Q

What are vesicles?

A

Small membrane-bound sacs. They store and transport molecules for secretion

43
Q

What is the function of the blood vessel along the acinus?

A

It provides cells with nutrients to function but also deposits waste material

44
Q

What is the function of the basement membrane?

A

It provides support to cells.
It limits contact between cells
It acts as a filter (allows only H20 and small molecules to pass)

45
Q

What does an Acinus look like? Name the structures.

A
46
Q

What is exocytosis?

A

When molecules are released from cells via the fusion of the cell membrane and that of the vesicle. The cell membrane expands.

47
Q

What do acini cells have a lot of

A

Golgi- for packaging excretory material
Mitochondria- for protein synthesis/ cell activity
Rough ER- protein synthesis

48
Q

What do digestive glands secrete a lot of?

A

Digestive juices (mostly enzymes in water)

49
Q

What is the nuclear envelope connected to?

A

The rough ER

50
Q

Step by step explanation of the endomembrane system

A

1) Proteins and membranes made from the rough ER flow transport vesicles to the Golgi

2) The golgi pinches off transport vesicles and gives rise to lysosomes and vacuoles

3) The lysosome is available for fusion with another vesicle for digestion

4) Transport vesicle carries proteins to the plasma membrane for secretion

5) The plasma membrane expands by fusion of vesicles, proteins are secreted from cell

51
Q

What does the pancreas secrete?

A

“pancreas juice” which is enzymes, water and bicarbonate
into the small intestine

51
Q

What does the stomach secrete?

A

gastric juice (Pepssin, HCl, water)

52
Q

What does the liver secrete?

A

Bile, which is then stored in the gall bladder

53
Q

What does salivary gland juice consist of?

A

Water, salts, amylase mucus

54
Q

What is mechanical digestion?

A

When muscle contractions break apart and mix foods, exposing the food to gastric juices better later.
Bolus becomes chyme

55
Q

What is a larger food mass turned into a smaller food mass?

A

Bollus to chyme

56
Q

What is chemical digestion?

A

Ezymes and HCl digest chyme

57
Q

What type f muscular contractions help digest food?

A

Peristalsis

58
Q

What does the stomach digest?

A

Proteins

59
Q

By what is the production of pepsin stimulated?

A

Presence of gastrin in blood

60
Q

Why is HCL favorable for the stomach?

A

PH of 2
Controls pathogens in digested food
helps dissolve food
kills microorganisms

61
Q

What protects the stomach lining?

A

Mucus

62
Q

Who discovered digestion in the stomach?

A

Beaumont

63
Q

How did Beaumont discover digestion in the stomach?

A

Through observing an open wound after a gunshot. He extracted food every 2-3 days and introduced food to the stomach to see the effects.

64
Q

What is the secretion of food controlled by?

A

Nervous and hormonal mechanisms

65
Q

Step by step of the secretion of digestive fluids.

A

1) The stomach is stretching because food has entered it
Stretch receptor proteins are activated

2) Stomach sends receptor proteins to brain (medulla oblongata)
“im stretching”

3) The brain sends a nerve signal back to the stomach “you’re stretching”

4) In response to nerve signals, the endocrine glands in the heart release the hormone gastrin into the blood

5) gastrin moves through the blood into the stomach

6) When gastrin is in the stomach, the exocrine glands secrete gastric juice

66
Q

What type of proteins are enzymes?

A

Globular proteins

67
Q

What does amylase do

A

Polysaccharides to monosaccharides

68
Q

What does nucleases do?

A

Nucleic acids to nucleotides

69
Q

What does Lipase do?

A

Lipids to fatty acids

70
Q

What do proteases do? Give an example

A

Proteins to mino acids, pepsin

They are pepsin and trypsin

71
Q

What is trypsin produced in?

A

pancreas exocrine glands

72
Q

What are trypsin and pepsin produced as?

A

Inactive precursors. They are chemically altered after secretion (mixing with stomach acid) to prevent self-digestion of cells which create proteases

73
Q

4 layers of the stomach lining

A

Mucosa, Submucosa, curcular muscle cells, Longitudal muscle cells, Serosa

74
Q

What are stomach ulcers?

A

Sores in the stomach lining which happen when digestive juices(pepsin and HCl) eat away tissue where mucus layers have been eroded via H. pylori

75
Q

Which bacteria is linked to stomach ulcers and cancers?

A

H. Pylori

76
Q

What does H. pylori secrete that breaks down mucus?

A

Mucinase

77
Q

How are ulcers/ H. pylori related to stomach cancer?

A

If the right bacteria is consumed via food and infects the exposed tissue, mutations in the DNA can occur.

78
Q

In what part of the small intestine does digestion occur?

A

duodenum

78
Q

How do antibiotics stop infection from H.pylori?

A

“proton pump inhibitors”
They stop HCl production through inhibiting the H+ and K+ pumps.

78
Q

How are stomach ulcers treated?

A

antibiotics

79
Q

In what part of the small intestine does absorption of nutrients occur?

A

ileum

80
Q

What muscle makes food move along the gut?

A

longitudal and circular muscle

81
Q

Which intestine has villi?

A

Small intestine- illeum

82
Q

What are villi

A

Small folds in the intestinal lining. They are part of the mucosa layer.

ONE CELL LAYER

83
Q

What is the function of villi?

A

Increasing surface area for nutrient absorption

84
Q

Features of a villi

A

1 cell thick of epithelial cells and close to blood

Has a capillary bed in center that absorbs glucose and amino acids

Has a lacteal that absorbs and transports fatty acids

85
Q

What is part of the villi?

A

Microvilli on epithelial cells

86
Q

What are features of epithelial cells?

A

They have pinocytotic vesicles(outside to inside)

Cell junctions which give them strength and makes them impermeable to small unwanted molecules

Lots of mitochondria to fuel the active transport pf molecules to the cell from the lumen of the small intestine

87
Q

What is the overall lining of villi called?

A

The brush border which have enzymes embedded in their membranes

They dont “flush away” after a mean

88
Q

What is used to break down clumps of lipids(fats)

A

Bile

They are needed because lipase cannot break down the clumps

89
Q

Explain the breakdown of fats via bile

A

Bile surrounds clumps of fats and breaks them down into smaller chunks, increasing the surface area of lipase action

90
Q

What is absorption and give the 3 steps

A

The transport of molecules from the intestine into the blood stream

small intestine
Capillary
tissue cells

91
Q

Explain simple diffusion and which molecules use it

A

Lipids and hydrophobic molecules do this

They pass through the hydrophobic layer of epithelial cells, are then divided by bile salts and made even smaller by lipase

92
Q

Explain facilitated diffusion and which molecules use it

A

Transport which is facilitated by channel proteins through a fructose channel

Fructose and some other molecules use this

93
Q

Explain active transport and which molecules use it

A

This requires ATP and molecules move against their concentration gradient

Glucose
Amino Acids
Na+
Ca+
Ions

94
Q

Explain endocytosis and which molecules use it

A

Larger molecules use this and it is when the membrane of the epithelial cells engulf them