Digestive system structure & function terms

Question 1

All structures of the alimentary canal, from the mouth to the anus, and the accessory organs

Answer 1

GI system

Question 2

Taking a bite of food

Answer 2

Ingestion

Question 3

The mouth

Answer 3

Oral or buccal cavity

Question 4

The process in which food is broken down into smaller parts by the teeth and tongue

Answer 4

Mechanical digestion

Question 5

Allows us to taste food and helps to form chewed food into a bolus

Answer 5

Tongue

Question 6

A fluid secreted by the salivary glands; contains a chemical that starts to break down starches

Answer 6

Saliva

Question 7

A rounded mass of chewed food that is ready to be swallowed

Answer 7

Bolus

Question 8

Soft tissue that hangs from the upper back of the mouth and prevents food from entering the nasal cavity as we eat

Answer 8

Uvula

Question 9

Funnel-shaped tissue at the back of the mouth that extends down to the esophagus

Answer 9

Pharynx

Question 10

A long, tubelike structure that passes through the diaphragm and connects to the stomach

Answer 10

Esophagus

Question 11

Doorway to the trachea; a small flap of cartilage at the top of the esophagus that keeps food from entering the respiratory tract

Answer 11

Epiglottis

Question 12

Muscular contractions that move the food bolus downward into the stomach and move chyme through the small intestine

Answer 12

Peristalsis

Question 13

A muscular opening between the esophagus and the stomach that prevents backflow of gastric secretions

Answer 13

LES

Question 14

A membrane that lines the abdominal cavity

Answer 14

Peritoneum

Question 15

Folds that line the stomach allowing it to expand when we eat a large amount of food

Answer 15

Rugae

Question 16

The upper, middle, and lower portions of the stomach

Answer 16

Fundus, body, pyloris

Question 17

Very acidic fluids that continue to break down food, preparing it for absorption within the intestines

Answer 17

Gastric secretions

Question 18

A material made up of chewed food, saliva, and digestive juices

Answer 18

Chyme

Question 19

Releases chyme from the pylorus into the small intestine a little at a time

Answer 19

Pyloric sphincter

Question 20

A very long, narrow, tubelike structure in which the majority of digestion is completed and most nutrients are absorbed

Answer 20

Small intestine

Question 21

Upper, middle, and end portion of the small intestine

Answer 21

Duodenum, jejunum, ileum

Question 22

Fingerlike structures that increase the surface area of the small intestine

Answer 22

Villi

Question 23

A valve through which products of digestion pass from the small intestine to the large intestine

Answer 23

Ileocecal valve

Question 24

The first part of the large intestine

Answer 24

Cecum

Question 25

A structure that hangs from the cecum in which normal bacteria may be stored to repopulate the GI tract

Answer 25

Appendix

Question 26

The structure that progresses upward from the cecum

Answer 26

Ascending colon

Question 27

The portion of the colon that passes horizontally across the uppermost part of the abdomen

Answer 27

Transverse colon

Question 28

The portion of the colon found along the left side of the abdomen

Answer 28

Descending colon

Question 29

The portion of the colon that descends into the rectum

Answer 29

Sigmoid colon

Question 30

The waste product that is excreted through the process of defecation

Answer 30

Feces

Question 31

The largest glandular organ of the body

Answer 31

Liver

Question 32

A small sac found on the inner surface of the liver; acts as a storage pouch for bile

Answer 32

Gallbladder

Question 33

An organ that secretes substances, which neutralize stomach acids and break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates; secretes the hormones insulin and glucagon, which work cooperatively to maintain healthy blood glucose levels

Answer 33

Pancreas