Animal Nutrient Acquisition and the Digestive System

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts related to animal nutrition and the digestive system.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that cannot synthesize their own food and must rely on other sources of organic carbon.

Vitamins

Essential nutrients needed by the body in small amounts, not synthesized by the organism.

Minerals

Inorganic substances that serve as components of enzyme cofactors, structural materials, and electrolytes in the body.

Ingestion

The act of eating food.

Digestion

The mechanical and enzymatic breakdown of food into smaller molecules.

Absorption

The uptake of nutrients from the digestive tract into the bloodstream.

Elimination

The removal of undigested materials from the digestive tract.

Incomplete digestive tracts

Digestive systems with one opening for both ingestion and waste elimination.

Complete digestive tracts

Digestive systems with two openings, allowing for a more complex and efficient processing of food.

Peristalsis

A series of wave-like muscle contractions that move food through the digestive tract.

Chyme

The semi-fluid mass of partially digested food that is passed from the stomach to the small intestine.

Pepsin

A protein-digesting enzyme that is activated from pepsinogen by hydrochloric acid in the stomach.