Digestive System Flashcards
What are Gall Stones?
Deposits of Chlosterol produced in the gall bladder
What are the 4 stages food is processed in?
Indigestion, Digestion, Absorption, and Elimination
What are the 3 digestive enzymes the pancreas produces?
Amylase, Trypsin, and Lipase
What do Amylase and Lipase do?
Amylase breaks down complete carbs into sugar. Lipase breaks down fats into fatty acids and monoglycerides
What is chemical digestion?
Chemical breakdown of nutrients through the action of enzymes and other substances
What is a complex carb?
A long carbohydrate molecule formed by chains of sugar
Name 3 examples of complex carbs
Starch, Glycogen, and Cellulose
What is digestion?
The breakdown of food into simpler components that can be absorbed and used by the body
What structure is positioned between the oral cavity and the esophagus?
The pharynx
What happens when the epiglottis does not close properly when someone is eating?
The food enters the trachea
What flap of elastic cartilage, if dysfunctional, could potentially lead to difficulty swallowing?
The epiglottis
Why is mastication a useful precursor to the later chemical digestion of food?
Mastication, or chewing, provides an increase in the surface area available for digestion.
What is absorption?
The process by which molecules are taken up from the digestive tract into the cells.
The upper portion of the esophagus is composed of what type of muscle?
The striated muscle
What term describes the coordinated muscular action that helps food pass through the digestive tract?
Peristalsis
What are the key structural characteristics of the stomach?
It secretes hydrochloric acid that facilitates the activity of certain enzymes.
Chyme is a product of which type(s) of digestion?
Both mechanical and chemical digestion act together to produce chyme.
What compounds do chief cells and parietal cells secrete into the stomach?
Chief cells secrete pepsinogen, while parietal cells secrete HCl and intrinsic factor.
How does the stomach’s mucous membrane work to protect the stomach?
The mucous membrane produces mucus, an alkaline covering that protects the stomach from gastric acid
Through which structure does food leave the stomach when it passes into the duodenum?
Food passes through the pyloric sphincter.
What is chyme?
A thick liquid of partially digested food produced by the stomach
What is an enzyme?
A molecule which catalyzes a chemical reaction
What is bile?
A fluid that is made and released by the liver and stored in the gall bladder.
What part of the GI tract has villi?
The small intestine
Name two basic functions of the digestive system
Breaking down food and absorbing nutrients
What is an amino acid?
An organic molecule containing a carboxyl and an amino group
Which of the large organs allow nutrients and water to pass through their walls?
Duodenum
Which of the small organs transport absorbed nutrients to the bloodstream?
Capillaries
What organ absorbs water and vitamin K from digested food?
Large intestine
What organ produces enzymes that break down nutrients?
Pancreas
What cell produces HCl?
Parietal cells
What cell produces pepsin, which breaks down proteins?
Chief cells
How does the gall bladder affect fat digestion?
It breaks down large fat globules into smaller particles using bile
What is mechanical digestion?
Physical breakdown of food such as churning in the stomach
What is villus?
Tiny finger-like projection in the wall of the small intestine
What is a monoglyceride?
A molecule that consists of a fatty acid attached to the glycerol backbone
Where is the duodenum located?
Between the stomach and jejunum
What are the 3 small intestines? Where are they located?
Duodenum - located between the stomach and jejunum
Jejunum - Between the duodenum and Ileum
Ileum - The last part of the small intestine
What is the stomach and esophagus separated by?
A sphincter
How is Gastric Acid produced?
By smelling or seeing food, and the stretching of the stomach
What is inside the mucosa?
Rugae that allows the stomach to enlarge when food is consumed
What does gastric juice consist of?
Pepsin, Hydrochloric Acid, Lipase, and Intrinsic Factor
What is Intrisic Factor produced by?
Gastric Glands
What does a vitamin need to do to be absorbed by the small intestine?
It must combine with intrinsic factor
When too much water is absorbed from the large intestine, does diarrhea occur or constipation?
Constipation
Which systems interact with the digestive system while food is in the stomach?
Musculoskeletal & Nervous
When not enough water is absorbed from the large intestine, what occurs?
Diarrhea
What is the main site of food absorption? Where is the gall bladder located?
The main site of food absorption is the small intestine. The gall bladder is located behind the liver
Which part of the digestive system tract receives pancreatic juice? What does deficiency of Vitamin C result in?
The duodenum receives pancreatic juice. Deficiency of Vitamin C results in gum bleeding.
When a person has lactose intolerance, what produces the gas? What are symptoms of large gallstones?
The stomach lining produces the gas. Upper abdominal pain, fever, and yellow skin.
What is the ring-like muscular structure that controls how food enters the stomach from the esophagus called?
A sphincter
What helps the large intestine reduce indigestible food materials to feces through absorption?
Water and Acids
Billions of helpful ____ in the colon break down undigested material.
Bacteria
What is the organ that might need to be surgically removed to remove gallstones?
The gall bladder
In the stomach, what do cells produce to aid in digestion?
Acids and Enzymes
