Gastrointestinal System

Question 1

saliva

Answer 1

contains enzymes that initiate the breakdown of starch in digestion

Question 2

digestion begins in the ____ and once food is swallowed it moves down to the ____, into the ____ and is en route to the ____

Answer 2

mouth; pharynx; esophagus; stomach

Question 3

what are the 3 main functions of the stomach?

Answer 3

1. mixing and storing food
2. dissolving and degrading food via secretions
3. controlling passage of food into the small intestine

Question 4

where does protein digestion begin?

Answer 4

stomach

Question 5

peristalsis

Answer 5

smooth muscle moves food, contracting and relaxing to move nutrients along

Question 6

where does absorption occur?

Answer 6

small intestine

Question 7

the liver is the largest ____ and largest ____
- where is it located?

Answer 7

solid organ; gland
- below the diaphragm on the right side of the chest

Question 8

what is the liver made up of?
- how is it secured to the diaphragm and abdominal walls?

Answer 8

4 lobes: right, left, quadrate, and caudate lobes
- by 5 ligaments that are falciform (form a membrane- like barrier between the right and left lobes): coronary, right triangular, left triangular, and round ligaments

Question 9

what does the liver do?

Answer 9

processes all of the blood that passes through the digestive system

Question 10

what role does the hepatic portal vein play in digestion?
- hepatic artery?
- hepatic veins?

Answer 10

supplies the liver with nutrient rich blood
- supplies the liver with oxygen rich blood
- how blood leaves the liver

Question 11

what is the livers functional unit?

Answer 11

lobules (made up of layers of liver cells)

Question 12

how does blood enter the lobules?

Answer 12

through branches of the portal vein and hepatic artery, then the blood flows through small channels called sinusoids

Question 13

what 3 things does the liver produce?

Answer 13

1. bile
2. certain blood plasma proteins
3. cholesterol

Question 14

what does the liver store?

Answer 14

excess glucose in the form of glycogen

Question 15

what does the liver regulate?

Answer 15

amino acids and blood clotting

Question 16

what does the liver process?

Answer 16

hemoglobin (to store iron)

Question 17

the liver converts ____ to ____

Answer 17

ammonia; urea

Question 18

what does the liver purify?

Answer 18

blood

Question 19

how does the liver control infection?

Answer 19

by boosting immune factors

Question 20

where is the pancreas located?

Answer 20

at the back of the abdomen, behind the stomach

Question 21

what is the wider, right side of the pancreas called?
- the narrower, left side?

Answer 21

head
- tail

Question 22

the head of the pancreas lies near the ____ and the tail near the ____

Answer 22

duodenum
- spleen

Question 23

what kind of tissues is the pancreas made up of?

Answer 23

exocrine and endocrine tissues

Question 24

what does the exocrine tissue in the pancreas do?

Answer 24

secretes digestive enzymes from a series of ducts that collectively form the main pancreatic duct

Question 25

where is the main pancreatic duct located?

Answer 25

it connects to the common bile duct near the duodenum

Question 26

what does the endocrine tissue in the pancreas do?

Answer 26

secretes hormones into the bloodstream

Question 27

how does blood reach the pancreas?

Answer 27

from the splenic artery, gastroduodenal artery, and the superior mesenteric artery

Question 28

what role does the pancreas play in digestion?

Answer 28

it secretes enzymes to the small intestine that help to break down many foods, especially fats and proteins

Question 29

zymogens

Answer 29

precursors to the enzymes that the pancreas secretes; are produced by acini (a group of exocrine cells)

Question 30

what happens once zymogens enter the small intestine?

Answer 30

they are converted to active enzymes (such as pancreatic lipase and amylase)

Question 31

why does the pancreas secrete large amounts of sodium bicarbonate?

Answer 31

to neutralize the stomach acid that reaches the small intestine

Question 32

where do the exocrine secretions of the pancreas go?
- where are they delivered from there?

Answer 32

wirsung’s duct (main pancreatic duct)
- the duodenum

Question 33

where is bile stored between meals?

Answer 33

gallbladder

Question 34

what is the lining of the small intestine covered with?

Answer 34

villi, tiny absorptive structures that increase the surface area for interaction with chyme (semi liquid mass of partially digested food)

Question 35

microvilli
- what is microvilli’s role in the small intestine?

Answer 35

epithelial cells at the surface of villi
- increase the ability of the small intestine to serve as the main absorption organ of the digestive tract

Question 36

what is the large intestine AKA?
- what does it do?

Answer 36

colon
- concentrates, mixes and stores waste material

Question 37

where is the colon located?

Answer 37

ascends on the right side of the abdominal cavity, cuts across transversely to the left side, descends and attaches to the rectum

Question 38

rectum

Answer 38

short tube for waste disposal

Question 39

what needs to be stimulated to facilitate the expelling of waste?

Answer 39

a muscle sphincter at the end of the anus