Digestion in Humans

Question 1

Why do we need food?

Answer 1

It fulfills our daily nutrients, to energize ourselves, increase physical growth, for survival, to repair worn out tissues, grow cells, and produce heat to maintain our body temperature.

Question 2

What are the 3 main types of nutrients?

Answer 2

Carbohydrates, proteins and fats

Question 3

What does fat break down into?

Answer 3

fatty acids and glycerol

Question 4

What is digestion?

Answer 4

process of breaking down large complex molecules into simple, smaller molecules

Question 5

What are the types of digestion?

Answer 5

mechanical and chemical

Question 6

What are enzymes?

Answer 6

complex proteins that speed up the rate of chemical reactions.

Question 7

What suffix do the scientific names for enzymes have?

Answer 7

-ase

Question 8

What is the optimal temperature for enzymes to react?

Answer 8

45ºC

Question 9

What are the 2 parts to the digestive system?

Answer 9

True and Accessory

Question 10

What is the true digestive system?

Answer 10

the tract where food goes through — from the mouth to the anus

Question 11

What is the accessory digestive system?

Answer 11

the accessory organs to the true digestive system

Question 12

What organs are in the true digestive system?

Answer 12

mouth, gullet, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, anus

Question 13

What organs are in the accessory digestive system?

Answer 13

liver, pancreas, gallbladder

Question 14

What does the mouth do?

Answer 14

It turns food into mush through mechanical digestion. The salivary glands within it also release salivary amylase.

Question 15

What does salivary amylase do?

Answer 15

breaks down carbohydrates

Question 16

What does the tongue do?

Answer 16

it turns food into a ball of mush — called a bolus — then sends it through the gullet (or swallowing)

Question 17

What are the parts of the teeth?

Answer 17

incisors, canines, bicuspids, molars

Question 18

What do incisors do?

Answer 18

they cut food

Question 19

What do canines do?

Answer 19

they stab and rip food

Question 20

What do bicuspids do?

Answer 20

they crush food

Question 21

What do molars do?

Answer 21

they grind food

Question 22

What does the gullet do?

Answer 22

it rolls food with peristaltic movement

Question 23

What is peristaltic movement?

Answer 23

movement described by the contraction of the gullet to push food into the stomach

Question 24

What do esophageal sphincters do?

Answer 24

prevent food from going back into the gullet

Question 25

What is heartburn?

Answer 25

when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) malfunctions and involuntarily releases stomach acid into the gullet

Question 26

What does the stomach do?

Answer 26

It mechanically digests the food by contracting. It also produces pepsin and hydrochloric acid to chemically digest food.

Question 27

What is pepsin?

Answer 27

an enzyme that breaks down proteins

Question 28

What does hydrochloric acid do?

Answer 28

it contains enzymes that split proteins and also kills bacteria with acid

Question 29

Where does the body indefinitely store hydrochloric acid?

Answer 29

Nowhere. Hydrochloric acid cannot be stored inside the body (except the stomach for a limited period of time). Hence, HCl is only produced when there is food to digest.

Question 30

What does the pyloric sphincter do?

Answer 30

prevents food from going back into the stomach from the small intestine

Question 31

What does the small intestine do?

Answer 31

it digests fats and allows nutrients to diffuse into the bloodstream via diffusion

Question 32

What are the three main parts of the small intestine?

Answer 32

duodenum, jejunum, ileum

Question 33

What does villi do?

Answer 33

villi increases surface area for nutrient diffusion and adds digestive secretions

Question 34

What does the large intestine do?

Answer 34

it stores feces, absorbs vitamins produced by mutually symbiotic bacteria, and reabsorbs water

Question 35

What do the rectum and anus do?

Answer 35

excrete dried fibers as feces

Question 36

What does the pancreas do?

Answer 36

makes enzymes and releases them through pancreatic juices into the stomach to assist in digestion

Question 37

What does the liver do?

Answer 37

produces bile

Question 38

What does the gallbladder do?

Answer 38

stores and releases bile into the duodenum

Question 39

What is bile?

Answer 39

a substance that controls the pH of food and emulsifies fats