Lecture 17: Digestion & Absorption Flashcards
What is digestion?
a. The process of absorbing nutrients directly into tissues.
b. The process of splitting ingested food into smaller components for distribution to tissues.
c. The storage of nutrients in specialized cells.
d. The excretion of waste products from the digestive system.
Answer: b
Where does extracellular digestion occur?
a. In specialized cells like in sponges and flatworms.
b. In the stomach or intestine (lumen) of vertebrates and arthropods.
c. Inside the nucleus of cells.
d. In the liver and kidneys of mammals.
Answer: b
Which organisms primarily rely on intracellular digestion?
a. Vertebrates and arthropods
b. Mollusks and insects
c. Sponges, flatworms, and some mollusks
d. Mammals and reptiles
Answer: c
What is the function of the headgut in the gastrointestinal tract?
a. Digestion and absorption of nutrients.
b. Transporting food from the esophagus to the stomach.
c. Processing food using the tongue, buccal cavity, and lips.
d. Fermenting food in the cecum.
Answer: c
Which part of the gastrointestinal tract is responsible for digestion and absorption?
a. Foregut (esophagus and stomach)
b. Headgut (tongue and buccal cavity)
c. Midgut (small intestine)
d. Hindgut (large intestine and cecum)
Answer: c
What occurs in the hindgut?
a. Digestion of proteins and lipids.
b. Transport and excretion of waste materials.
c. Absorption of nutrients like carbohydrates.
d. Production of digestive enzymes.
Answer: b
Which of the following is a feature of extracellular digestion?
a. It occurs entirely within the cytoplasm of cells.
b. It requires enzymes released into the digestive lumen.
c. It does not involve breaking down macromolecules.
d. It is exclusive to flatworms and sponges.
Answer: b
Which of the following is a characteristic of the midgut?
a. It contains the cecum for fermentation.
b. It is responsible for the initial breakdown of food.
c. It involves digestion and absorption in the small intestine.
d. It plays no role in nutrient absorption.
Answer: c
In which group of animals would you expect to find significant intracellular digestion?
a. Mammals
b. Birds
c. Sponges
d. Arthropods
Answer: c
What is the role of the foregut in digestion?
a. Transporting food to the small intestine.
b. Performing the majority of nutrient absorption.
c. Breaking down food in the esophagus and stomach.
d. Storing bile for fat digestion.
Answer: c
What is the role of hydrolytic enzymes in digestion?
a. To store energy in large molecules.
b. To break down large molecules into smaller components for absorption.
c. To transport nutrients across cell membranes.
d. To synthesize proteins from amino acids.
Answer: b
Why are specific enzymes required for digestion?
a. Each enzyme is specific to the type of bond it breaks.
b. Enzymes are non-specific and break down all types of molecules.
c. Enzymes only work at high temperatures.
d. Digestion does not require enzymes.
Answer: a
Which of the following enzymes is used to break down cellulose?
a. Lactase
b. Cellulase
c. Chitinase
d. Amylase
Answer: b
What is true about lactase?
a. It breaks down proteins in the stomach.
b. It is produced only in cattle.
c. Its activity varies among human populations and with age.
d. It breaks down cellulose in plant material.
Answer: c
Where are intraluminal enzymes secreted?
a. Into the cytoplasm of cells.
b. Into the lumen of body cavities such as the stomach or oral cavity.
c. Onto the surface of epithelial cells.
d. Into the bloodstream for transport.
Answer: b
What is the role of membrane-associated enzymes?
a. They break down food particles within cells.
b. They are secreted into the bloodstream.
c. They are synthesized by epithelial cells and have catalytic sites exposed to the lumen.
d. They are stored in the liver and pancreas.
Answer: c
What is the role of intracellular enzymes in digestion?
a. They digest food particles taken into the cell.
b. They break down food in the lumen of the stomach.
c. They catalyze reactions on the epithelial cell surface.
d. They store nutrients for future use.
Answer: a
Which of the following organisms can digest chitin using chitinase?
a. Humans
b. Cattle
c. Bats and rodents
d. Rabbits
Answer: c
What is the relationship between catabolism and digestion?
a. Catabolism stores energy in large molecules during digestion.
b. Catabolism involves breaking down large molecules into smaller ones, releasing energy in the process.
c. Catabolism transports enzymes into the lumen for digestion.
d. Catabolism synthesizes enzymes used in digestion.
Answer: b
What type of enzymes are predominantly used in vertebrate digestion?
a. Intracellular enzymes
b. Extracellular enzymes
c. Photosynthetic enzymes
d. Hormonal enzymes
Answer: b
What is the primary role of the stomach in digestion?
a. To absorb monosaccharides directly into the bloodstream.
b. To act as the major site for digestion of macromolecules using acid and enzymes.
c. To neutralize stomach acid and transport food to the small intestine.
d. To store food for long periods of time.
Answer: b
Which cell type in the gastric pit secretes hydrochloric acid (HCl)?
a. Mucous neck cells
b. Parietal cells
c. Chief cells
d. Enteroendocrine cells
Answer: b
What do chief cells in the stomach secrete?
a. Acidic mucous
b. Pepsinogen, which is converted to pepsin in the presence of acid
c. Gastrin, a hormone regulating digestion
d. Sodium bicarbonate to neutralize acid
Answer: b
What is the function of enteroendocrine cells in the gastric pit?
a. To secrete enzymes for protein digestion.
b. To produce hormones like gastrin that regulate digestion.
c. To create a protective mucous layer in the stomach.
d. To neutralize acids during digestion.
Answer: b
Which vertebrates lack stomach acid secretion?
a. Amphibians and reptiles
b. Platypus and gastric-brooding frogs
c. Mammals and birds
d. Fish and mollusks
Answer: b
What is the primary difference between digestion and absorption?
a. Digestion involves breaking down food molecules, while absorption involves transporting these molecules into blood or lymph.
b. Digestion occurs in the small intestine, while absorption occurs in the stomach.
c. Digestion only occurs for proteins, while absorption occurs for lipids.
d. Absorption happens before digestion in mammals.
Answer: a
What molecules are absorbed during digestion?
a. Only carbohydrates and proteins.
b. Monosaccharides, free amino acids, and lipids.
c. Vitamins and water only.
d. Entire macromolecules without breakdown.
Answer: b
What mechanism is responsible for moving food from the stomach to the small intestine?
a. Passive diffusion
b. Enzymatic action
c. Smooth muscle peristalsis
d. Active transport
Answer: c
How are carbohydrates and amino acids absorbed into the bloodstream?
a. Through simple diffusion only.
b. Via active transport and facilitated diffusion.
c. By binding to stomach acid and entering lymph vessels.
d. Using endocytosis in the stomach.
Answer: b
Which of the following is an example of absorption through simple diffusion?
a. Free amino acids
b. Lipids
c. Monosaccharides
d. Proteins
Answer: b
How are carbohydrates and amino acids absorbed into the bloodstream?
a. Through simple diffusion only.
b. Via active transport and facilitated diffusion.
c. By binding to stomach acid and entering lymph vessels.
d. Using endocytosis in the stomach.
Answer: b
What mechanism is responsible for moving food from the stomach to the small intestine?
a. Passive diffusion
b. Enzymatic action
c. Smooth muscle peristalsis
d. Active transport
Answer: c
What is the primary enzyme responsible for breaking down glycogen in the mouth?
a. Pancreatic amylase
b. Salivary amylase
c. Disaccharidase
d. Cellulase
Answer: b
What is an oligosaccharide?
a. A carbohydrate containing only one sugar molecule.
b. A carbohydrate containing between 3–10 monosaccharides.
c. A carbohydrate containing more than 10 sugar molecules.
d. A carbohydrate that cannot be broken down by enzymes.
Answer: b
Where does the breakdown of disaccharides, such as sucrose, primarily occur?
a. Mouth
b. Stomach
c. Small intestine
d. Liver
Answer: c
Why can’t cellulose be digested by humans?
a. It is absorbed directly as a monosaccharide.
b. Humans lack the enzyme to break it down.
c. It is digested in the stomach, which humans do not have.
d. Cellulose is too small to be broken down further.
Answer: b
What is the primary function of pancreatic amylase?
a. To break down glycogen into oligosaccharides in the stomach.
b. To break disaccharides into monosaccharides in the mouth.
c. To convert polysaccharides into disaccharides in the small intestine.
d. To digest cellulose in the small intestine.
Answer: c
Why must polysaccharides like starch be broken down before absorption?
a. Polysaccharides are toxic in their natural state.
b. The body only absorbs smaller molecules like monosaccharides.
c. Polysaccharides are absorbed directly into the bloodstream.
d. The stomach enzymes cannot process large molecules.
Answer: b
What enzyme converts disaccharides into monosaccharides?
a. Pancreatic amylase
b. Salivary amylase
c. Disaccharidase
d. Lipase
Answer: c
What happens to sucrose consumed by a hummingbird?
a. It is absorbed in the stomach.
b. It passes through the stomach and is broken down in the small intestine.
c. It is broken down into monosaccharides in the mouth.
d. It is digested by pancreatic amylase in the liver.
Answer: b
What is the key difference between polysaccharides and disaccharides?
a. Polysaccharides are digested by disaccharidases.
b. Disaccharides contain fewer sugar molecules than polysaccharides.
c. Disaccharides are absorbed directly without further breakdown.
d. Polysaccharides cannot be consumed by humans.
Answer: b
What must happen to glycogen, oligosaccharides, or starch before they can be absorbed?
a. They must be broken down into disaccharides and then into monosaccharides.
b. They are absorbed directly into the bloodstream from the stomach.
c. They are broken down by enzymes in the liver.
d. They are stored as energy in the pancreas before absorption.
Answer: a