Nutrition Flashcards
What is a parasite?
An organism that obtains nutrients at the expense of another species, the host causing some degree of harm or often death.
What does a parasite living in a human gut have to withstand?
A lack of oxygen. Extreme acidic or alkaline conditions. Food mix with digestive juices including digestive enzymes. Food being churned by the digestive system and moved along by peristaltic waves. Being washed away by food and juices. The hosts immune system. Killing the host, as it would results in the parasites death. Competition, to avoid becoming prey.
What are endoparasites?
They live in the hosts body
What are ectoparasites?
Live on the hosts surface
What is the primary host of a pork tapeworm?
The human
What is the secondary house of a pork tapeworm?
The pig
Where does the adult tapeworm live within the human?
In the intestine
Describe the cycle of a tapeworm?
The adult take one leaves in human testing which produces eggs which are then carried in a human faeces. A pig becomes infected when the vegetation (food) is contaminated with human faeces. The pigs ingest the eggs which hatch into larvae which spread through the blood and infect the animals muscle tissues. Larvae forms cysts in the muscle. If a person must eat undercooked pork, then the cysts would be introduced into the body, moving through the digestive system, where they would attach at the intestine and mature into an adult tapeworm. This cycle continues.
What must a tape worm do in order to survive the hostile environment?
Penetrate the host
Attach to the host
Protect itself from the hosts immune system
Develop essential organs for survival
Produce a large number of eggs, increasing the chance of transmission to the secondary host
Have an intermediate host
Have resistant stages to overcome the period away from the host
How long is the tapeworm?
10m long
Describe the structure of the tapeworm?
It has a ribbon like structure allowing plenty of space for the hosts food to move past. Its anterior end, the scolex is made of muscle containing suckers and hookers which attach strongly to the duodenum wall. Its body has a series of segments called proglottids.
What is the role of the suckers and double row of curved hookers?
To attach to the duodenum/gut wall. Prevents movement of the tapeworm during the peristlltaltic movements of the gut.
How does the tapeworm prevent the host from digesting it?
It produces enzyme inhibitors which prevent the hosts digestive enzymes from digesting it.
Describe the tapeworms simple structure?
It is geared for reproduction only. Simple excretory in nervous system is present. As they live in a fairly stable environment unnecessary organs are degenerated so the main focus is reproduction.
What does it mean when they say a tapeworm is a hermaphrodite?
Each proglottid contains both female and male reproductive organs. An uninfected gut can only accommodate one tapeworm, a large number of eggs are produced to increase transmission to the secondary host.
How many eggs does a mature segment contain?
40,000 eggs which are passed through into the faeces
Why does it have a thick body covering?
The cuticle is found on the segment surfaces which protects the tapeworm, and prevents digestion by the host’s enzymes and any host immune responses
What are the harmful effects of a tapeworm?
Another tapeworm can cause discomfort but can cause long-term infection which can produce taeniasis, giving abdominal pains and weakness. It is treated with drugs. If a person becomes infected by eating the eggs directly, dormant embryos can form cysts in various organ ie eyes and brain which can cause damage to surrounding tissue and is harder to treat.
How has the effect of a tapeworm being reduced?
Reducing the incidence of tapeworm infection is caused by education on the cause and public health measures i.e. improved sanitation and frequent inspection of the meat
What is a pediculus - ectoparasite?
It is lice, which are wingless insects which can’t fly and their legs are poorly adapted to jumping, so are transferred vis direct contact. If removed from the host, the parasite dies. Head lice suck on the blood found at the hosts scalp, with their claws latching onto the hair and eggs gluing to the base of the hairs.
What are the three stages of a louse life cycle?
The nits are empty eggs which are visible on hair or clothing etc. After 1-2 weeks an egg hatches into a nymph ( like an adult but smaller). The nymph then becomes an adult about 10 days later.
What type of energy does living organisms use?
They use chemical energy which derives from complex organisms ie food as living organisms can’t use direct light energy from the sun.
What is meant by the term autotroph?
An organism which synthesises its own complex organic molecules from simpler molecules using either light or chemical energy.
What is meant by the term heterotroph?
An organism which obtains complex organic molecules from other organisms
What is meant by the term saprotroph?
An organism which derives energy and raw materials for growth from extracellular digestion of dead and decaying material.
What does autotrophic organisms do?
They synthesise complex molecules from simple organic raw materials, CO2 and water
What are the two types of autotrophic organisms?
Photoautotrophic and chemoautotrophic.
What are photoautotrophic organisms?
They use light energy from photosynthesis. They are green plants some protoctista and bacteria. This is described as holophytic.
What are chemoautotrophic organisms?
They use energy from chemical reactions. These are all prokaryotes and carry chemosynthesis. This is less efficient in photosynthesis and the organisms that do this are no longer dominant lifeforms.
What are heterotropic organisms?
They can’t produce their own food so consume complex organic molecules which are produced by autotrophs (they are consumers). They either eat autotrophs or organisms which in cells have eaten autotroph’s. These are dependent on the produces for food. Heterotrophs include animals, fungi, some protoctista and some bacteria.
What is saprotrophic nutrition?
It is used by fungi and some bacteria which feed on dead or decaying matter. They have no specialised digestive system but feed by secreting enzymes onto food outside the body for extracellular digestion. These enzymes include protease, amylase and lipase and cellulase. They absorb the soluble products of digestion across the membrane by diffusion and active transport.
What are decomposers?
These are microscopic saprotrophs which are important in decaying leaf litter and recycling nutrients
ie nitrogen
What is parasitic nutrition?
Eight obtains nutrition from another living organism the host. The host always suffers harm or death. Parasites a highly specialised for their way of life.
What is holozoic nutrition?
It is used by most animals. Ingest –> digest –> Egest
(undigestible remains). The food is processed in the body, in the digestive system. Digested material is absorbed into the body tissues and is used by cells.
What do herbivores eat?
Plant material only
What do carnivores eat?
Other animals only
What do omnivores eat?
Both plant material and animals
What do detritivores eat?
Feed on dead and decaying material
What is fungal feeding?
Fungi secrete enzymes from the growing tip called the hyphae. Digestion occurs extracellularly, the growing tip penetrates food, secreting enzymes which diffuse out of the cell wall onto the food’s surface. The soluble products are absorbed into the hyphae through the cell wall by FD or AT. These products are transported around the fungi and excess is stored. E.g sugars, amino acids, glycerol, fatty acids are absorbed through the cell wall.
What type of nutrition does amoeba use?
Holozoic nutrition
Describe the nutrition of unicellular organisms?
As they have a large SA:V ratio, nutrients is absorbed and obtained by diffusion, FD or AT across the membrane. Large molecules are taken in by endocytosis into food vacuoles which fuse with lysosomes with their contents being digested by lysosomal enzymes. The products are then absorbed in the cytoplasm, with the undigestible remains digested by exocytosis.
Describe the nutrition of the hydra?
It has a single body opening, with a sac like structure. They are more complex and contain diploblastic ie contains two layers of cells the ectoderm and the endoderm which is separated by a jelly layer containing a network of nerve fibres. It is cylindrical shape, with tentacles at the top, where the mouth is. The hydra can extend their tentacles, so when organisms brush their stinging cells which discharge and paralyse the prey. The tentacles move the food through the mouth to the hollow body cavity. Endothermal cells secrete protease, lipase NOT amylase, with the prey being digested extracellularly. The digestion products are absorbed into the cells and the indigestible remains are egested out the mouth.
Where does the food enter and exit in a human?
Food enters the gut at the buccal cavity and leaves via the anus (known as the alimentary canal)
What happens to more complex animals in terms of their gut?
More advanced organisms with a varied diet, have an evolved tube gut that is divided into various parts along its length and each part is specialised to carry out a particular function.
What is the gut like within simple organisms?
It is undifferentiated as they feed off one type of organism
Why does food need to be digested?
Because the food molecules are too large and insoluble to pass through the membrane to get absorbed into the blood. It needs to be broken down into its monomer units in order to be rebuilt into molecules needed by the body cells.
What direction does materials flow in?
In one direction only
What are the 4 main functions of a human gut?
Ingestion, digestion, absorption and egestion
What the 2 types of digestion?
Mechanical and Chemical digestion
What is mechanical digestion?
It is the breakdown of food by the crushing and cutting action of the teeth and tongue (mastication). As well as moistened by saliva. Muscle contractions increases the surface area at which the enzymes act on.
What is chemical digestion?
It is when digestive enzymes are secreted, with bile and stomach acid contributing to chemical digestion.
What happens during ingestion?
It is when food is taken into the body via the mouth
What happens during digestion?
It id the breakdown of large, insoluble molecules into smaller and soluble molecules, which can then be absorbed into the blood.
What happens during absorption?
The small, soluble molecules and ions travels through the gut into the small intestine and then into the blood stream.
What happens during egestion?
The elimination of waste, not made by the body as well as undigested food, this exits as faeces via the colon, rectum and anus.
What is the outermost part of the gut?
The serosa
What is the serosa and its role?
It is made by rough connective tissue, which protects the gut wall. As the gut moves as food is processed, it reduces friction against any abdominal organs.
What are the two layers found within the muscularis externa ?
The inner circular muscles and the outer longitudinal muscles.
What does the circular and longitudinal muscles do?
They make rhythmic contractions called peristalsis, where the circular muscles contract and the longitudinal muscles relax pushing the bolus along.
What is the submucosa made from and its role?
It is made of connective tissue containing lymph vessels and blood, where products of digestion are absorbed and nerves coordinate peristalsis.
What is the innermost part of the gut?
The mucosa
What is the mucosa made from and its role?
It lines the gut wall. The epithelium secretes mucus which lubricates and protects the mucosa. In some regions it secretes digestive enzymes and in other regions it absorbs digested food.
What does starch break down into and what enzyme is required?
Maltose, amylase
What does lactose break down into and what enzyme is required?
Glucose + Galactose, lactase