Digestive system and absorption Flashcards
What is ‘mechanical digestion’ ?
When food is broken
into smaller pieces by the teeth and contractions of
stomach and intestines
What is chemical digestion ?
Break down of large food
molecules into small ones by enzymes
What is the stomach ?
A muscular bag filled with hydrochloric acid which breaks down food through contractions of muscles and the protease enzymes
Where do the small digested food molecules go ?
They are absorbed into the bloodstream
What is the function of the acid in the stomach?
Killing bacteria on the food
Where are the waste products of our body stored ?
They are stored in the rectum until leaving the body through the anus
Which enzyme is found in the stomach?
Protease
How does mechanical digestion happen in the stomach and small intestines?
Muscular contractions / peristalsis
Where does most digestion and absorption take place ?
The small intestine
What happens in the large intestine ?
Water is absorbed
What does the mouth do ?
- Carries out mechanical digestion of food by the teeth and mixes food with saliva.
-Enzymes start off chemical digestion.
What does the oesophagus do ?
-Moves food from the mouth to the stomach
by peristalsis
What does the Stomach do ?
-Mechanical digestion by contractions of the
stomach muscles.
-Acid kills bacteria.
-Protease starts the digestion of protein.
What does the Small intestine do ?
-Where digestion is completed.
-Small molecules diffuse into the bloodstream and are absorbed.
What does the large intestine do ?
-Where water is absorbed from undigested food
