Topic 3 - The Human Digestive Sytem Flashcards
What is the digestive system responsible for?
Changing the food you eat from insoluble molecules into soluble molecules, then absorbing them into the blood
What kind of tube is the digestive system?
Muscular
What are the features of the digestive system?
- Glands
- Stomach
- Liver
- Small intestine
- Large intestine
What do the glands do?
Produces digestive juices containing enzymes
What does the stomach do?
Where digestion occurs
What does the liver do?
Produces bile
What does the small intestine do?
Where digestion occurs, and which also has a large number of villi where the absorption of soluble food occurs
What does the large intestine do?
Where water is absorbed from the undigested food, producing faeces
How are the villi adapted?
To absorb soluble food efficiently
What are the features of the villi?
- A large surface area
- Thin wall
- Good blood supply
What does the large surface area do?
Allows absorption of soluble food molecules by diffusion and active transport
What does the thin wall do?
Provide a short diffusion path
What does a good blood supply do?
To carry the food molecules away to maintain a concentration gradient
