Digestive System Flashcards
What is the digestive system?
The digestive system is a group of organs that work together to break down food.
What happens during digestion?
During digestion, all the large molecules such as protein and lipids, are broken down into small molecules of nutrients. The nutrients can then pass into the blood where they are used by the body.
What does the mouth do in the digestive system?(1)
The food is chewed and mixed with saliva. Teeth help to break it into smaller chunks.
What does the gullet/oesophagus do in the digestive system?(2)
The food passes through this tube.
What does the stomach do in the digestive system?(3)
The food is mixed with digestive juices and acids.
What does the small intestine do in the digestive system?(4)
Digestive juices from the liver and pancreas are added and digestion is complete. Small molecules of nutrients pass through the intestine wall into the bloodstream.
What does the large intestine do during the digestive system?(5)
Only the food that can’t be digested gets to here. Water passes back into the body, leaving a solid waste of undigested food called feces.
What does the rectum do in the digestive system?(6)
Feces are stored here until they leave the body.
What does the anus do in the digestive system?(7)
This is a muscular ring through which the feces pass out the body.
Why is it important to eat fibre-rich food?
It helps prevent constipation.
What are villi and what do they do?
They stick out of the wall of the small intestine and give it a big surface area. They contain blood capillaries to carry away the absorbed food molecules.
