Digestive System Flashcards
Prehension
Taking a hold of food/water into the oral cavity
Mastication
Mechanical breakdown of food and mixing it with saliva in the oral cavity
True or false:
When you swallow food, it is considered to be INSIDE the body
False
Good remains OUTSIDE of the body until it is absorbed
Carnivores
Eats meat and no fibres
How much fermentation does a carnivore have going on
Little to none
Who is the one true carnivore
The cat
Herbivore
Eats mostly plant matter
How much fermentation is required for a herbivore
A lot
The will either have a large cecum (horses) or a rumen
What is cellulose
The most abundant plant sugar
True or false
There are mammalian enzymes that can break down cellulose
False
What is needed to break down cellulose
Fermentation
Omnivores
Eats both plants and meat
How much fermentation is needed for omnivores
Some fermentation in an enlarged colon
True or false
Dogs are considered omnivores
True
Monogastric
Have a single true stomach
Ruminants
Have one true stomach and 3 forestomachs including a large rumen/fermentation chamber
Cecal or hindgut fermenters
Have a large cecum and sometimes a big large intestine for a fermentation chamber
Name the 3 salivary glands and where they are
Parotid: below the ear canal caudal to the mandible
Mandibular: medial to the bones of the mandible
Sublingual: below the base of the tongue
What enzymes are in saliva
Amylase
Lipase
Lysozyme
What does amylase do
Breaks down amylose/starch
True or false
Amylase is present in omnivores but not in dogs, carnivores and ruminants
True
What does lipase do
Breaks down lipids
What does lysozyme do? And what is it considered?
Considered a antibacterial enzyme
Breaks down bacteria
AIDS in cleaning the food
A Function of saliva in dogs
Evaporative cooling (panting)
What does saliva help to do in ruminants
High amounts of sodium bicarbonate and phosphate buffers (with a high pH) help neutralize rumen acids from fermentation
What can cause acidosis in ruminants
Large amounts of carbohydrate feeds result in an increase in the process of fermentation and the build up of acids in the rumen
True or false
Salivary fluid and buffers are recycled in ruminants
True
A row of teeth is called an
Arcade
A tooth is embedded in a socket, a socket is called an
Alveolus
The crown is the part of the tooth
Above the gums
The root is the part of the tooth
Below the gum in the alveolus
Internal structure of the tooth:
Enamel is the____
Dentin is the____
Pulp cavity is the___ and contains ___
Enamel is the outer surface of the tooth
Dentin is the majority of the tooth
The pulp cavity is the central cavity and contains blood vessels and nerves
The soft palate separates
The oropharynx(throat) and the nasopharynx
Two orientations of muscle in the esophagus
Longitudinal and circular
Explain Deglutition (swallowing)
Starts a voluntary action (tongue moves food to o the back of the throat)
Relaxation of the esophagus and closure of the larynx
Peristalsis in the esophagus by contraction of the longitudinal muscles on aboral side
Contraction of circular muscles on the oral side and relaxation of circular muscles on the aboral side
Aboral
Away from the mouth
Cardiac sphincter prevents what
Reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus
True or false
Horse can vomit
False
The cardiac sphincter prevents this
Myasthenia Gravis or megaesophagus
Interference with muscles function and tone in the esophagus and causes muscle tone loss and dilation of the esophagus
Food cannot move down the esophagus and is often regurgitated
Normally mistaken for vomiting
Makes animal more prone to pneumonia
Vomiting (emesis) is controlled where
A centre in the brainstem
Emetics
Drugs that Stimulate the brainstem to induce vomiting
Antiemetics
Drugs that prevent vomiting
Process of vomiting (emesis)
Pyloric sphincter relaxes
Reverse peristalsis moves food from SI to stomach
Relaxation of cardiac sphincter
Inspiratory movements and contraction of abdominal muscles result in vomiting
Closed epiglottis prevents aspiration and the soft palate directs food out of the mouth
Rumination
Masticated partially digested food gets regurgitated and chewed on again, swallowed and re-digested
Called “chewing a the cud”
Why do ruminants ruminate their food
Efficient fiber digestion: mixed with saliva and chewed again to increase surface area exposed to microbes
How long does each rumination cycle last
About 1 minutes between regurgitation and swallowing
Where is the reticulum in ruminants
Most cranial compartment
What appearance does the reticulum have
A honey comb appearance to increase surface area
Reticulorumen contractions
Coordinated contractions to move food to the rumen
The rumenoreticular fold
Separates the rumen from the reticulum
Where is the rumen in ruminants
Occupies the left half of the abdominal cavity
True or false
the rumen is the largest forestomach compartment
True
What appearance does the rumen have
Pile rug appearance
Function of the rumen
Site of fermentation digestion
What separates the rumen into different compartments
Rumenal pillars -long muscular folds
Compartmentalization in the rumen
Contractions that assist in mixing of rumen contents controlled by the vagus nerve (parasympathetic NS)
What affects compartmentalization in the rumen
Distension of the rumen PH Presence of VFAs Consistency of contents And feedback from other areas
Eurctation
The expulsion of CO2 and methane gas from fermentation that accumulates in the rumen
Contractions of rumen and relaxation of the esophagus result in belching
Why is cellulose and pectin indigestible in monogastrics
Due to the fiber linkage of the molecules
Microbes convert saccharides into
Volatile fatty acids
3 most important VFAs in rumen
Propionic acid
Butyric acid
Acetic acid
VFAs are absorbed across the rumen wall and go to the liver for conversion to
Glucose (mostly propionic acid) to make adipose tissue or to be burnt for energy
True or false
Things are normally absorbed where they are created
True
Cellulase breaks down cellulose to _____, microbes convert this to _____, liver of ruminants converts VFAs back to _____
Glucose
Propionic acid
Glucose