Biology Topic 3 - Digestion

Diet

everything you consume

metabolism

sum of all chemical reactions in your body

digestion

the chemical and mechanical breakdown of food which converts large insoluble moleculess into small soluble molecules which can be absorbed into the blood

ingestion

taking food into the body through the mouth

physical digestion

the physical break down of food into smaller pieces (e.g. chewing)

chemical digestion

the conversion of large insoluble molecules into small soluble molecules by enzymes

egestion

removal of faeces from the body

peristalsis

contractions of the longitudinal and circular muscles of the intestine that push food around

absorption

the uptake of small soluble molecules into the blood

assimilation

use of absorbed molecules to build new parts of cells