General Drip Drop

Question 1

Duodenum

Answer 1

First part of the small intestine. The main function is to facilitate the breakdown of food products into smaller absorbable components. It is also plays a small role in the actual absorption of fats, carbs, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Question 2

Jejunum and Ileum

Answer 2

Parts 2 & 3 of the small intestine. This is where the vast majority of absorption of fluids, electrolytes, fats, carbs, proteins, vitamins and minerals occur in the human gut. Absorbing nearly 8.5 L of fluid per day.

Question 3

Colon

Answer 3

AKA the large intestine. The major function of the colon is the absorption of fluid and electrolytes to prevent dehydration. A healthy colon absorbs ~1.5 L of fluid per day.

Question 4

Hyponatremia

Answer 4

A relatively low concentration of sodium in the blood stream. Manifestations include nausea, vomiting, headache, weakness, malaise, and potentially seizure and coma.

Question 5

Hypernatremia

Answer 5

A relatively high concentration of sodium in the blood stream. Manifestations include weakness, confusion, tiredness, and possible seizure and coma.

Question 6

Osmolarity

Answer 6

The amount of “solute” (in our case, we are usually referring to the major salts/ions in the human body like sodium, chloride, potassium, bicarbonate and carbon dioxide) that is within a fluid. For instance, adding salt to a bottle of water increases the osmolarity. Adding more water dilutes it, decreasing the osmolarity.

Question 7

Dysphagia

Answer 7

Difficulty swallowing. More specifically, the subjective feeling of having difficulty passing contents from the mouth down into the digestive tract.

Question 8

Renal Failure

Answer 8

Loss of kidney function that results in an inability to filter waste products from the body. The inability to regulate salt and water balance is also likely to occur.

Question 9

Short Bowel Syndrome

Answer 9

Loss of function of a significant portion of the bowels that results in signs/symptoms of malabsorption. i.e. a person who has a large amount of bowel removed can no longer digest fats properly and has diarrhea.

Question 10

Homeostasis

Answer 10

The function of keeping things “normal”. In our case, the kidney play a huge role in the homeostasis of electrolytes in our body by filtering out more salt if we have too much, and retaining more salt if we don’t have enough.