Digestive System Part 1 - Oral Cavity Flashcards
what are the accessory digestive organs/glands?
- teeth
- tongue
- parotid gland
- sublingual gland
- submandibular gland
- liver
- gallbladder
- pancreas
what are the components of the digestive system that food doesn’t directly pass through?
the accessory digestive organs/glands
- many contribute chemicals to break down food
what is the pathway that our food takes from beginning to end called?
the gastrointestinal tract
what does the gastrointestinal tract start with?
the oral cavity
does the esophagus travel through the diaphragm?
yes
where does the esophagus go to?
the stomach
what is the pathway of food?
oral cavity –> pharynx –> esophagus –> stomach –> small intestine (duodenum, then jejunum, then ileum) –> large intestine/colon –> rectum –> anus
what are the three components of the small intestine in order?
- duodenum (C-shaped section)
- jejunum
- ileum
what are the 5 components of the colon?
- cecum
- ascending colon
- transverse colon
- descending colon
- sigmoid colon
where is the appendix located?
on the cecum of the large intestine
what are deciduous teeth?
- primary teeth
- milk teeth
- baby teeth
- in a child younger than 6 years old there is a set of 20 teeth
in a child, how many incisor teeth pairs do we have?
four pairs (8 total)
in a child, how many canine teeth pairs do we have?
2 pairs (four total)
in a child, how many molar teeth pairs do we have?
4 pairs (8 total)
at what age do the adult teeth start to push from beneath the milk teeth and the milk teeth fall out?
6 years of age
at what age does our adult set of teeth come in?
6 - 7 years old
in an adult, how many incisor teeth pairs do we have?
4 pairs
in an adult, how many canine teeth pairs do we have?
2 pairs
in an adult, how many premolar/bicuspid teeth pairs do we have?
4 pairs
in an adult, how many molar teeth pairs do we have?
6 pairs
how many teeth does an adult have?
32 in total
what are the third molars in an adult called?
the wisdom teeth (2 pairs)
why are they called wisdom teeth?
because they come in last (typically age 20 or younger)
what were our wisdom teeth good for?
when we were cave people and needed to eat without cutlery
why do people get wisdom teeth removed?
- can shift fixed teeth and make them crooked again
- pain/discomfort
- difficult to keep clean
what are the pairs of accessory glands in and around the oral cavity?
- parotid gland
- submandibular gland
- sublingual gland
where are the parotid glands located?
anterior and inferior to the ear on each side
where are the submandibular and sublingual gland located?
in the floor of the oral cavity on each side
what are the pairs of accessory glands in and around the oral cavity called?
the salivary glands
what does the salivary glands produce?
saliva
saliva is mainly water-based, but what else does it contain?
digestive enzymes
what are digestive enzymes?
chemical compounds that can start to break the chemical bonds in our food (chemical breakdown of food)
where is the first stage of chemical breakdown of food?
in the oral cavity
where is the first place we do mechanical breakdown of food?
the oral cavity (crushing food with our teeth)
why do we crush food with our teeth?
- we cannot swallow big chunks of food
- the more we are able to mechanically break down our food, the easier it is for the chemicals in our saliva to get at all of the chemical bonds and start breaking them down
why do we need the digestive enzymes to chemically breakdown our food?
because by the time it gets to our intestines we need all of the food to be broken down very small into their molecular components so they can be absorbed across the intestinal wall into the bloodstream
what type of glands are salivary glands?
exocrine; they all contain a duct that carries the saliva from the gland to the destination (more specific to destination)
what is an endocrine gland?
a gland that does not have a duct. it just expels its secretion directly into the bloodstream (not as specific to destination)
where does the parotid duct going to travel?
inside the cheek then pierce the muscles of the cheek to travel right through them into the oral cavity
where is the submandibular duct?
travels toward the front of the oral cavity and then comes up under the tongue
does the sublingual gland have one duct?
no, multiple
where is the sublingual duct in relation to the submandibular gland?
anteriorly and superiorly
where does all of the sublingual ducts open?
under the tongue in the floor of the oral cavity
what is the frenulum?
limits movement of the tongue posteriorly
- ligament at the bottom of our tongues
- part of the connective tissue that roots the tongue to the floor of the mouth
what is at the base of the frenulum?
the openings of the submandibular ducts
where is the openings of the sublingual ducts?
lateral to the openings of the submandibular ducts under the tongue
what is the histology of the salivary gland?
- in each of the salivary glands, there is branching of ducts
- all cells are epithelial, some produce mucous, some will produce digestive enzymes, some will produce a variety of things that will collectively form saliva which will then move out of the duct and into the oral cavity
what is the function of the tongue?
- helps with speaking/pronunciation
- involved in mechanical breakdown of food (crushing)
- moves food around so that bigger chunks of food are brought closer to the teeth
what are the tiny little bumps that cover your tongue?
papillae
there are striped/serrated papillae on the side of the tongue. what are those important for?
helping you dig things out of your teeth when things are stuck (on top of the molars typically)
what does a number of the papillae on our tongue contain?
taste buds: special receptors for taste related chemicals in our food
what are our taste buds connected to?
some of the cranial nerves
