Digestive System Overview

Flashcards focusing on vocabulary terms related to the digestive system, including functions, processes, and specific structures.

Metabolism

Chemical reactions that breaking down food into building blocks (catabolism) and using those building blocks to create needed molecules (anabolism).

Mechanical Digestion

The physical breakdown of large food particles into smaller ones, such as chewing.

Chemical Digestion

The breakdown of food particles into molecular components using enzymes.

Enzymes

Catalysts that speed up chemical reactions and are specific to substrates they digest.

Alimentary Canal

The organs through which food passes; the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine.

Accessory Organs

Organ secretions aid digestion; salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder.

Chyme

The semifluid paste resulting from the mixture of food and gastric juice in the stomach.

Villi

Small projections of the mucosa in the small intestine that increase the surface area for absorption.

Peristalsis

The wave-like motion that propels material through the digestive tract.

Gastric Juice

A mixture of digestive secretions produced by the stomach that includes hydrochloric acid, pepsin, and gastric lipase.

Layers of the Alimentary Canal

mucosa, submucosa, muscularis, serosa.

Amylase

Breaks starch into sugars, primarily found in saliva and pancreatic juice.

Peptidases

Enzymes that break down proteins down to amino acids, primarily found in the small intestine.

Lipases

Enzymes that break down lipids into fatty acids and glycerol, produced in the pancreas.

Sucrase

An enzyme that breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose, found in the small intestine.

Segmentation

A rhythmic contraction of the muscles in the intestine that mixes food and aids in nutrient absorption.

Pharynx

cavity located behind the mouth that serves as a pathway for both food and air, connecting the mouth to the esophagus and trachea.

Esophagus

A muscular tube that connects the throat with the stomach, allowing for the passage of food.

Stomach

in the upper-left abdominal cavity mixes food with gastric juice and initiates protein digestionby breaking it down into a semi-liquid form called chyme before passing it into the small intestine.

Small Intestine

the part of the digestive system where most of the digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs, consisting of three sections: duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.

Large intestine

the final section of the digestive system, responsible for the absorption of water and electrolytes, and the formation and excretion of feces.

Pancreas

A gland located behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes, which regulate blood sugar levels.

Liver

produces bile to aid in the digestion of fats, processes nutrients from the intestines, and detoxifies harmful substances.

Gallbladder

beneath the liver that stores and concentrates bile, releasing it into the small intestine to aid in fat digestion.