Unit5 ATE

Alimentary Canal

Tubular part of the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus.

Bolus

Food that is chewed and mixed with saliva, rolled into a mass by the tongue.

Duodenum

Where most of the chemical digestion occurs; receives chyme, gastric juices, enzymes from the pancreas, and bile from the gallbladder and liver.

Feces

Non-digested food, also known as waste or stool.

Ileum

Where important vitamins like A, B12, E, D, and K are absorbed; has the ileocecal valve at the end that connects to the large intestine.

Ingestion

The act of eating; occurs only in the mouth.

Intestinal Villi

Small structures that maximize surface area for nutrient absorption into the blood.

Jejunum

Where most nutrient absorption into the blood takes place.

Lumen

The passageway that allows for the passage of digested food; the opening inside a tubular body structure.

Mesentery

A sheet of two serous membranes that provides routes for blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels to the small intestines while holding organs in place and storing fat.

Mucosa

The innermost layer of the alimentary canal.

Muscularis

Smooth muscle layers of the alimentary canal.

Peristalsis

Rhythmic waves of muscular contraction in the walls of certain tubular organs.

Propulsion

The movement of food through the GI tract, primarily through peristalsis.

Pyloric Sphincter

Located at the bottom of the stomach; it controls when chyme can enter the duodenum.

Serosa

The outer covering of the alimentary canal.

Submucosa

The layer of the alimentary canal located beneath the mucosa.