Exam 2 Vocab Flashcards
Digestion Process (there are four steps):
1) Begins in the (pre-)oral cavity (buccal)
2) Saliva enters this cavity from salivary/labial glands
3) food then passes into the pharynx
4) then food passes into the esophagus
Buccal Cavity
digestion begins here in the pre-oral cavity
Pharynx
carries food to the esophagus using large and powerful muscles
Esophagus
food passes through from the pharynx to the stomach.
3 main regions of the insect gut
1) Foregut
2) Midgut
3) Hindgut
Foregut
- primarily for the storage and release of food
- consists of crop and proventriculus
- connecting to the Midgut via the Stomodeal Valve
- its lining is sclerotized
crop
enlargement of the digestive tract
proventriculus
aka. “gizzard”; a thin-walled, glandular stomach
stomodeal valve
- the valve present between the gizzard and midgut
- regulates the flow of food and prevents regurgitation
Intima
sclerotized gut lining
- the innermost coat of an organ (as a blood vessel)
- consists of an endothelial layer backed by connective tissue and elastic tissue
Midgut
- site of most digestion and absorption
gastric caeca
a blind-ending lateral diverticula
peritrophic membrane
a network of chitin filaments in a protein-glycoprotein matrix
Hindgut
- The primary function is water and mineral reabsorption
- includes the anterior intestine (ileum/colon)
- is lined with sclerotized intima
Fat Body
- a white or yellow tissue formed of loose sheets or lobes
- serves a wide variety of metabolic functions
- similar to the vertebrate liver
Excretion
nitrogenous waste products excreted by insects, such as:
- ammonia
- uric acid
- urea
Malpighian Tubules
- the main organs of nitrogenous waste excretion
- suspended in the hemocoel and processing hemolymph like the nephron of a vertebrate kidney
Rectum
plays a major role in reabsorption of water and material
Open Circulatory System
where the “Hemolymph” circulates within the “Hemocoel”
Hemolymph
- the insect body fluid that circulates within the “Hemocoel”
- can be 20% or more of total body weight
- contains plasma, food, hormones, and cells
Hemocoel
the general body cavity where “Hemolymph” circulates through
Hemocytes
- are all nucleated
- serve 4 major functions:
1) Phagocytosis
2) Encapsulation of foreign bodies/microbes
3) Hemolymph coagulation
4) Storage & distribution of nutrients
Dorsal Vessel
- a major vessel running from back to front just under the dorsal surface
- contracts in pulses to propel the Hemolymph forward