Digestion Flashcards
(31 cards)
What does Saliva do in Physical Digestion?
It dissolves and lubricates our food
What are the three Salivary Glands found in the mouth?
Parotid, Submandibular and Sublingual
What is the enzyme that gets secreted from our salivary glands to start the breakdown of starch in our mouth?
Amylase
If we place a starchy food in our mouth and don’t chew it what will it start to taste like?
It will start to taste sweet because the amylase is breaking down the carbohydrates and turning it into glucose
What are the four main types of teeth we have in our mouth?
Canines, incisors, premolars and molars
What are Papillae and Taste Buds?
Papillae are little bumps on the tongue that contain taste buds. Taste buds are chemoreceptor cells which help detect the tastes in our mouth
How do the soft palate and epiglottis keep food out of our respiratory tract?
They close off the opening to our nasal cavity and trachea so food can’t go down there and cause us to choke
What is the muscular contraction that takes place in the esophagus that allows food to move down into the stomach?
It is called Peristalsis
Where is the stomach located?
At the end of the esophagus, below the diaphragm muscle, and slightly to the left of the abdominal cavity
List the components of gastric juices
Water, mucus, hydrochloric acid, and pepsin
Where does the gastric juices come from?
It comes from gastric juices which line the inner stomach
What is rugae?
The ridges that the mucus membrane that lines the inner stomach is folded into
List muscle layers that make up the stomach wall. What is their function?
The muscle layers are circular, longitudinal and oblique. Their function is to churn food and mix it with gastric secretions
What is pepsin and what does it do?
Pepsin is a enzyme that is specific to proteins. It breaks down long protein chains into smaller chains releasing some individual amino acids
What is Chyme?
Chyme is partially digested food that leaves the stomach
What is the main function of the Small Intestine?
To carry out hydrolysis reactions using enzymes to chemically breakdown large polymers into smaller subunits called monomers. It also absorbs tiny nutrient molecules into the bloodstream
What are the three portions that make up the small intestine and which is largest?
The Duodenum, Jejunum and Ileum. The ileum is longest
The wall of the small intestine is lined with folds. What covers these folds and what is the purpose of both?
The folds are called villi. Villi are covered with microvilli and the purpose of both is to increase surface area
What two accessory organs pass secretions into the duodenum?
The Pancreas and Liver
How do materials move along the small intestine, sometimes against gravity?
2 muscle layers (circular and longitudinal) that carry out peristalsis in order to squeeze food along the tract despite gravity
Why are the pancreas and gall bladder considered accessory to digestion?
They are accessory organs because no food travels through them, they just add secretions to the duodenum
What are 3 types of substances made and secreted by the pancreas?
Enzymes, hormones and sodium bicarbonate
Out of the 3 fluids produced by the pancreas, which one protects that wall of the small intestine?
The Sodium Bicarbonate protects the wall of the stomach because it helps to neutralize the high pH caused by the hydrochloric acid in there
The liver produces bile. How does bile enter the digestive tract? What nutrient does bile affect?
Bile enters the digestive tract by going through the bile duct into the duodenum. Bile affects the nutrient fat by breaking it down into smaller droplets during a process called emulsifying
