Digestive System Flashcards
What is the essential property of life related to nutrition?
Acquiring energy from the environment
What are producers in the context of nutrition?
Plants that acquire energy from sunlight and prepare their food
What are consumers and decomposers in the context of nutrition?
Animals that acquire energy from plants, other animals, or organic materials
Define herbivores.
Plant eaters, e.g. goat
Define carnivores.
Flesh or meat eaters, e.g. lion
Define omnivores.
Mixed food eaters, e.g. bear, crows
Define detritivores.
Organisms that consume dead organic matter, e.g. earthworms
What is dentition?
The arrangement and types of teeth in animals according to their mode of nutrition
What are the four types of teeth in humans?
- Incisors
- Canines
- Premolars
- Molars
What is the function of the oral cavity in digestion?
Food selection, grinding food, lubrication, and chemical digestion
What enzyme is found in saliva?
Amylase
What is the function of the pharynx in the digestive system?
Helps in swallowing by closing the trachea and nasal cavity pathways
What is peristalsis?
The series of muscular contractions that move food down the esophagus
What is the primary function of the stomach?
Storage of food and digestion of proteins
What is the role of gastric juice?
- Contains mucus
- Hydrochloric acid
- Pepsinogen
What does pepsin do?
Converts proteins to peptides
Name the three parts of the small intestine.
- Duodenum
- Jejunum
- Ilium
What occurs in the duodenum?
Most of the digestion occurs here
What is the function of bile?
Helps in fat digestion and emulsification
What happens in the ilium?
Absorption of nutrients takes place
What is the function of the large intestine?
Absorption of water from undigested matter
What is feces?
The remaining semi-solid mass stored in the rectum
What is the effect of increased motility in the large intestine?
Less water reabsorption leading to diarrhea
What is the effect of decreased motility in the large intestine?
Constipation, resulting in feces with less than normal water
What is the role of the liver in digestion?
Produces bile and performs various metabolic functions
What is deamination?
The process of converting ammonia to urea in the liver
Fill in the blank: The digestive system in human beings is adapted for _______.
omnivorous nutrition
List the basic components of the human digestive system.
- Alimentary canal
- Accessory glands
How do humans determine the quality of food?
By looking at and smelling the food
List various functions of the small intestine.
- Digestion of food
- Absorption of nutrients
- Emulsification of fats
List various functions of the liver and pancreas.
- Liver: produces bile, deamination, blood cell destruction
- Pancreas: produces digestive enzymes
