Human Body Flashcards
What are the main functions of the human skeleton?
Support, protect, and help the body to move.
What is a joint?
Where two bones meet to produce movement.
What are muscles attached to?
Muscles are attached to bones by tendons.
How do muscles produce movement?
Contractions shorten the muscle and pulls the bone it is attached to into a new position.
Why do muscles have to work in pairs?
Because they can only pull on bone, they cannot push.
This means one muscle can pull a bone in one direction, but another muscle is required to pull it into the other direction.
What is the digestive system?
A series of organs that breaks down food into other substances that can be absorbed into our bloodstream.
Where does food enter the digestive system?
The mouth.
What happens to food in the mouth?
It is broken down into smaller pieces by chewing whilst being mixed with saliva.
This makes the food easier to swallow and digest.
What are the three types of teeth and what do they do?
- Incisors - bite and chew food
- Canines - tear and rip food
- Molars - crush and grind food
How does food go from your mouth to your stomach?
Through the oesophagus.
Why is stomach acid so important?
It kills many harmful microorganisms that may be in the food.
It produces enzymes which break the food down so it can be absorbed.
Where does food go after leaving the stomach?
The intestines.
What are the two types of intestine?
Small and Large.
What happens in the small intestine?
Food that has been digested is absorbed by passing through the wall of the intestine and into the bloodstream.
What happens in the large intestine?
Food that reaches the large intestine is often unable to be absorbed by the body making it waste.
This waste is known as faeces (or poo) which we get rid of when we use the toilet.
