Digestive System Vocabulary Flashcards
The mucous membrane-lined tube of the digestive system that extends from the mouth to the anus and through which foodpasses, digestion takes place, and wastes are eliminated; it includes the pharynx, esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
Alimentary Canal or G.I. Tract
the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder.
Accessory Digestive Organs
The constructive process by which living cells convert simple substances into more complex compounds, especially into living matter
Anabolism
The part of the colon between the ileocecal orifice and the right colic flexure.
Ascending Colon
a fluid secreted by the liver, concentrated in the gallbladder, and poured into the small intestine via the bile ducts,which helps in alkalinizing the intestinal contents and plays a role in emulsification, absorption, and digestion of fat; its chief constituents are conjugated bile salts, cholesterol, phospholipid, bilirubin, and electrolytes.
Bile
glands in the submucosa of the duodenum, opening into the small intestine; called also duodenal glands.
Brunner’s Glands
the first part of the large intestine, forming a dilated pouch distal to the ileum and proximal to the colon, and giving off the vermiform appendix.
Cecum
the act or process of converting food into chemical substances that can be absorbed and assimilated.
Chemical Digestion
The semifluid, creamy material produced by digestion of food.
Chyme
The evacuation of fecal matter from the rectum.
Defecation
The act or process of swallowing.
Deglutition
The chief substance of the teeth, surrounding the tooth pulp and covered by enamel on the crown and by cementum on the roots.
Dentin
Inflammation of a diverticulum, especially of the small pockets in the wall of the colon that fill with stagnant fecal material and become inflamed.
Diverticulitis
The first or proximal portion of the small intestine, extending from the pylorus to the jejunum
Duodenum
Peristaltic contraction of the small intestine induced by the entrance of food into the stomach.
Enterogastric Reflex
The musculomembranous passage extending from the pharynx to the stomach.
Esophagus (gullet)
A small, pear-shaped muscular sac, located under the right lobe of the liver, in which bile secreted by the liver is stored until needed by the body for digestion
Gallbladder
a solid crystal deposit that forms in the gallbladder which can migrate to other parts of the digestive tract and cause severe pain with life-threatening complications.
Gallstones
a general term denoting a recess or sacculation, as of the colon.
Haustra
burning sensation in the chest that can extend to the neck, throat, and face; it is worsened by bending or lying down. It is the primary symptom of gastroesophageal reflux, which is the movement of stomach acid into the esophagus. On rare occasions, it is due to gastritis (stomach lining inflammation).
Heartburn
Enlarged veins in the anus or lower rectum. They often go unnoticed and usually clear up after a few days,but can cause long-lasting discomfort, bleeding and be excruciatingly painful.
Hemorrhoids
A circulating lipoprotein that picks up cholesterol in the arteries and deposits it in the liver for reprocessing or excretion.
High-density Lipoproteins (HDLs)
The bilabial prominence of the terminal ileum into the large intestine at the cecocolic junction in cadavers; it appears as a truncated cone with a star-shaped orifice in the living.
Ileocecal Valve
The distal portion of the small intestine, extending from the jejunum to the cecum.
Ileum
The four front teeth, two on each side of the midline, in each jaw.
Incisors
That part of the small intestine extending from the duodenum to the ileum.
Jejunum
Phagocytic cells of the mononuclear phagocyte series found on the luminal surface of the hepatic sinusoids.
Kupffer Cells
The portion of the intestine that extends from the ileum to the anus, forming an arch around the convolutions of the small intestine and including the cecum, colon, rectum, and anal canal.
Large Intestine
The large, dark-red gland in the upper part of the abdomen on the right side, just beneath the diaphragm. Its functions include storage and filtration of blood, secretion of bile, conversion of sugars into glycogen, and many other metabolic activities.
Liver
A lipoprotein of blood plasma that is composed of a moderate proportion of protein with little triglyceride and a high proportion of cholesterol and that is associated with increased probability of developing atherosclerosis
Low-density Lipoproteins (LDLs)
The process by which food is broken down into simple chemical compounds that can be absorbed and used as nutrients or eliminated by the body. In most animals, nutrients are obtained from food by the action of digestive enzymes.
Mechanical Digestion
The peritoneal fold attaching the small intestine to the posterior body wall.
Mesentery
Tiny hairlike folds in the plasma membrane that extend from the surface of many absorptive or secretory cells. They are most clearly visible with an electron microscope but may be seen as a “brush border” with a light microscope.
Microvilli
The permanent, primary cheek teeth that are not preceded by premolars. They are typically big teeth used for grinding and with ridges on their occlusal surfaces (lophodont) in horses, worn rounded cusps (bunodont) in pigs, or including crescents (selenodont) in cattle, and either cutting edges or flattened areas in carnivores.
Molars
A relatively mild short-term viral infection of the salivary glands that usually occurs during childhood. Typically, mumps is characterized by a painful swelling of both cheek areas, although the person could have swelling on one side or no perceivable swelling at all.
Mumps
A five-inch-long gland that lies behind the stomach and next to the duodenum. The pancreas releases glucagon, insulin and some of the enzymes which aid digestion. Pancreatitis is the swelling of the pancreas which can nausea, jaundice, and severe pain and may be fatal.
Pancreas
The wormlike movement by which the alimentary canal or other tubular organ shaving both longitudinal and circular muscle fibers propel their contents, consisting of a wave of contraction passing along the tube for variable distances.
Peristalsis
Oval, elevated patches of closely packed lymph follicles in mucous and submucous layers of the small intestine. Called also aggregated lymphatic nodules.
Peyer’s Patches
Moving of food through the digestive tube.
Propulsion
Pertaining to the pylorus, the opening between the stomach and duodenum.
Pyloric
The irregular ridges in the mucous membrane covering the anterior part of the hard palate.
Rugae
Division into similar parts.
Segmentation
The narrow, winding, upper part of the intestine where digestion is completed and nutrients are absorbed by the blood. It extends from the pylorus to the cecum and consists of the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum.
Small Intestine
The musculomembranous expansion of the alimentary canal between the esophagus and duodenum, consisting of a cardiac part, a fundus, a body, and a pyloric part. Its (gastric) glands secrete the gastric juice which,when mixed with food, forms chyme, a semifluid substance suitable for further digestion by the intestine
Stomach
A local defect, or excavation of the surface, of an organ or tissue, produced by sloughing of necrotic inflammatory tissue.
Ulcers
