Digestive System

Question 1

What are the main functions or purposes of the Digestive System?

Answer 1

• Breakdown of food
• absorption of nutrients into the blood
• elimination of waste

Question 2

What is the pathway food takes through the digestive system?

Answer 2

mouth
pharynx
esophagus
stomach
small intestine
large intestine
rectum
anus

Question 3

What are other organs which play a significant role in the digestive system?

Answer 3

• salivary glands
• teeth
• pancreas
• liver
• gallbladder

Question 4

What type of digestion happens within the mouth?

Answer 4

Mechanical digestion from chewing the food.
Chemical digestion from the saliva with enzymes such as ammylase which helps to break down carbs.

Question 5

What is saliva and what is its function?

Answer 5

• mixture of mucus and fluids
• helps to soften food and form a food bolus
• contains enzymes to begin digestion (carbohydrates)

Question 6

What is the function of the pharynx?

Answer 6

• serves as a passageway for air and food
• food is propelled to the esophagus using rhythmic squeezing (peristalsis)

Question 7

What is the esophagus and what it its function?

Answer 7

• runs from the pharynx to the stomach through the diaphragm
• conducts food by peristalsis
• passageway for food and water only (no air)
• found behind the trachea

Question 8

Where is the stomach located and what it its function?

Answer 8

The stomach is located on the upper left side of the abdominal cavity. The stomach is made up of folds which help the stomach expand when it gets filled up with food.

Question 9

What is heartburn?

Answer 9

An irritation of the esophagus caused by acid that refluxes (comes up) from the stomach

Question 10

What is the anatomy of the stomach?

Answer 10

The stomach is lined with a sticky protective mucus which helps combat the stomach acid. The stomach also has specialized cells which produce hydrochloric acid and other digestive enzymes.

Question 11

What are the functions of the stomach?

Answer 11

• acts as a storage tank for food
• site of mechanical and chemical (protein) breakdown of food
• delivers chyme (liquidly food) to the small intestine
• acid kills bacteria

Question 12

What is propulsion within the stomach and how does it work?

Answer 12

food within the stomach must be mixed well which is where propulsion comes in. Propulsion is rippling peristalsis that occurs in the lower stomach.

Question 13

What is the function of the small intestine and where is it located?

Answer 13

• body’s major digestive organ
• nutrients are absorbed into the blood
• it is a muscular tube extending from the stomach to the large intestine

Question 14

What is the duodenum?

Answer 14

• first part of the small intestine
• attached to the stomach
• curves around the head of the pancreas
• site of majority of chemical digestion

Question 15

What is the function of the pancreas?

Answer 15

produces the following
- digestive enzymes
- alkaline fluid (neutralizes chyme)
- hormones (insulin, glucagon)

Question 16

What is the liver and what is its function?

Answer 16

The liver is the largest gland in the body which produces bile. It is located on the upper right side of the body under the diaphragm and is connected to the gallbladder.

Question 17

What is Bile?

Answer 17

Bile is produced by cells in the liver and is stored within the gallbladder. It is what helps break down fat in the digestive system.

Question 18

What is the gallbladder and what is its function?

Answer 18

The gallbladder is a hollow sac found under the liver and stores bile from the liver.
Gallstones can cause blockages within the gallbladder causing issues and can ultimately lead to the removal of the gallbladder.

Question 19

How does chemical digestion within the small intestine happen?

Answer 19

Chemical digestion in the small intestine happens when enzymes from the pancreas are mixed with chyme and bile (which comes from the gallbladder) in the small intestine

Question 20

How does nutrient absorption in the small intestine happen?

Answer 20

Villi (fingerlike structures containing blood vessels) give the small intestine more surface area for absorption. The nutrients diffuse from the small intestine into the blood vessels.

Question 21

What is the structure of the large intestine?

Answer 21

larger in diameter, but shorter than the small intestine and frames it

Includes the appendix (hangs from the first part of the large intestine), colon (other name for the large intestine), rectum (holds feces), and the anus

Question 22

What is the function of the large intestine?

Answer 22

• absorption of water
• eliminates waste
• produces vitamins