Digestion Flashcards
What is an enzyme?
A natural catalyst
What is peristalsis?
Muscles in the oesophagus contract and relax creating a wave allowing it to move downwards
What is a bolus?
A ball of chewed up food covered in saliva. It makes it easier to digest.
What type of digestion is chewing and what type is saliva.
Chewing is mechanical while saliva is chemical.
What do carbohydrates break down into?
Maltose and glucose
What do proteins break down into?
Peptides and amino acids
Whats do fats/lipids break down into?
Fatty acids and monoglyerides.
What does bile emulsifying do?
It increases surface area so enzymes break down faster
What is the stomach full of?
HCl
What do chief cells produce?
Pepsin
What do parietal cells do?
Produce HCl
What do mucus cells do?
Protect the stomach lining from acid
Pepsin is acidic and the area it is produced is not protected, why doesn’t the area get damaged?
It is produced as pepsinogen which is not corrosive until activated in the stomach as pepsin by HCl.
How is the small intestine adapted?
- large surface area due to villi and micro villi
- good blood supply which controls the concentration gradient
- epithelium (cell lining) is thin so it has a short diffusion distance
- its very long for efficient absorption
What are carbohydrate polymers called?
Monomers
