Digestive System Flashcards
Why do estheticians study of the digestive system?
- To understand how the body converts food & absorbs it into the bloodstream
- To you understand the gastrointestinal tract for the purpose of delivering nutrients
- To understand the absorption, assimilation, & transport of individual nutrients on a cellular lvl
Functions of the digestive system:
- Mastication (preparing food for absorption & metabolism)
- Absorption
- Elimination
What are the two processes of mastication?
- Mechanically
—> chew to small pieces —> salivary amylase —> swallow bolus —> down esophagus —> stomach - Chemically
Chemical composition that foods undergo as a travel through the G.I. tract
What are enzymes?
- component of chemical mastication
- enzymes are “organic catalysts” which increase chemical reactions without appearing in the final products
- enzymes are proteins & necessary for life
Absorption:
- where the majority of digestion & absorption occurs
- nutrients are absorbed into one of the 2 transport systems —> blood or the lymph
- happens in the small intestine
What’s chyme?
- Acidic fluid (passes from stomach to small intestine) consist of gastric juices & partly digested food
Elimination:
- process of eliminating the food from the body (excretion)
- anus: final sphincter of the GI tract
- essential for maintaining homeostasis
What is the ileocecal valve?
Sphincter that regulates flow into the bottom of the large intestine (colon)
Segments of the GI tract:
- mouth
- oropharynx
- esophagus
- stomach
- small intestine (deodenum, jejunum, ileum)
- large intestine (cecum, colon, rectum, anal canal)
Accessory organs of digestion:
- salivary glands
- tongue
- teeth
- liver, gallbladder, pancreas
- vermiform appendix
What are the main organs of the digestive system that form a tube all the way through the body?
- Alimentary canal
or - Gastrointestinal tract (GI tract)
What’s does the tongue do?
Aids in swallowing
Salivary glands - Accessory
Major part of digestion
- secret the majority of saliva
- saliva starts digesting starch
What are the 3 salivary glands?
A) parotid gland
B) sublingual gland
C) submandibular gland
Where does the esophagus extend from?
Extends from the pharynx to stomach
Where does the formation of chyme begin?
The stomach
Description of stomach:
- digestive tube dilates into an elongated pouch like structure
- size of stomach varies (sex & amount of distension)
What results in difficulty breathing?
Large meal = expanded stomach = pressure on diaphragm = difficulty breathing
What are the 2 sphincter muscles of the stomach?
- Cardiac sphincter (b/w oesophagus & stomach)
2. Pyloric sphincter (b/w stomach & small intestine)
What do stomach glands do?
Softens connective tissue in meat & begins protein digestion
Summary of function of stomach:
- Reservoir for storing food
- Secretes gastric juice to aid in digestion
- Churns the food, breaking it into small particles, mixes it with gastric contents and moves into duodenum
- Carries on limited amount of absorption (water, alcohol, & certain drugs)
How long does it take to empty the stomach? And what controls it?
2-6 hours after a meal
Endocrine (hormones) & nervous system controls emptying
Small intestine:
- 1 inch diameter, 20 ft long (longer & thinner)
- function: main organ of digestion & absorption
3 divisions of small intestine:
Deodenum
Jejunum
Ileum
Large intestine:
- 2.5 inches in diameter, 5 ft long
(shorter & wider)
-distal end of ileum to the anus - function: reabsorption of water and elimination
3 divisions of large intestine:
- Cecum
- Colon
- Rectum
Liver - Accessory
- immediately under diaphragm
- largest organ and gland
Function:
1. Detoxes substances (alcohol, Mary Jane, drugs & food)
2. Processes proteins, carbs & fats
3. SECRETES bile
4. Filters blood
Gallbladder- accessory
- STORES bile
- contracts & ejects bile into duodenum
What acts as an endocrine and exocrine gland?
The pancreas
What’s the difference between the liver and gallbladder?
The liver secretes bile while the gallbladder stores bile
