Human Nutrition Flashcards
Name 4 accessory digestive organs
Tongue Salivary glands Liver Gall bladder Pancreas
Function of mouth
Ingestion
Function of tongue
Helps with chewing & tasting
Function of salivary glands
Secrets saliva to break down the food
Function of oesophagus
Takes food bolus from mouth to stomach by peristalsis
Function of stomach
Breaks down food mechanically & chemically
- secrets hydrochloric acid (provides acid medium for enzyme action)
Function of liver
Receives absorbed nutrients which it processes & stores
Makes bile
Breaks down toxic substances (alcohol, drugs & hormones)
Emulsifies fate
Function of gall bladder
Stores bile
Function of pancreas
Secrets pancreatic juices
Produces:
- insulin: decreases blood sugar levels
- glucagon: increases blood sugar levels
Function of 3 parts of small intestine
Duodenum - receives bile & pancreatic juices
Jejenum - secretes intestinal juices
Ileum - area of most absorption & digestion
Function of 3 parts of large intestine
Ileo-caecal valve - allows food remains into large intestine
Colon - re absorption of water
Rectum - storage of faeces
Function of anus
Sphincter muscle controls egestion
Name 5 processes of nutrition
Ingestion
Digestion
Absorption
Assimilation
Ingestion ?
Food is taken into alimentary canal
Digestion ?
Large insoluble molecules of food are broken down into small molecules
Absorption?
The small molecules are absorbed into blood
Egestion?
Indigestible food removed from body in the form of faeces
Assimilation?
Absorbed nutrients are taken in the blood plasma to all body cells
Name 3 ways of physical digestion
Chewing & tongue actions
Peristalsis
Churning in stomach
Chewing?
Teeth have different shapes for different functions
Tongue actions ?
Push food between teeth for chewing
Mixing food with saliva to form a bolus which it pushes into the pharynx for swallowing
Peristalsis?
Alternating waves of contraction & relaxation of circular muscles in gut wall causing the bolus to be moved onwards
Churning?
Food is further broken down by strong muscular contractions of the stomach wall until it forms a fluid called chyme
What is chemical digestion?
The breaking down of large insoluble molecules into small soluble ones by a process called hydrolosis