The digestive system Flashcards
What is the digestive system?
Digestion & absorption of nutrients
What is digestion?
process in which food is broken down into smaller parts
What are the 4 stages of digestion?
Ingestion (food IN)
Digestion (break down of larger molecules into smaller molecules)
(Absorption) small nutrients are taken into bloodstream by the intestines
Egestion, excretion, elimination (wastes OUT)
How is Food Digested?
Physical/Mechanical Digestion
Chewing/crushing of food in the mouth and grinding in the stomach
Chemical Digestion
Chemical substances (bile, acids, enzymes) break down food
Starts in mouth, continues in stomach and completed in small intestine
What does the digestive system include?
- Mouth/teeth
- Esophagus
- Stomach
- Small Intestine
- Large Intestine
- Accessory Organs
What is the function of the teeth?
Mechanical/physical digestion
What is the function of the esophagus?
Pushes food down to the stomach
What is the function of the stomach?
Contains enzymes and acid for chemical digestion, churns food for mechanical digestion
What is the function of the small intestine?
Chemical digestion of food, absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream
What is the function of the large intestine?
Absorption of water.
What is the function of the liver?
Produces bile to help break large globs of fat into smaller globs
What is the function of the pancreas?
Produces enzymes
What is the function of the gallbladder?
Stores bile
What is the digestive tract is lined with?
epithelial tissue which secretes mucus.
What is the mucus in the digestive tract used for?
The mucus protects the digestive tube from digestive chemicals and allows materials to pass smoothly.
