Digestive System Study Guide

What is constipation

Constipation is when stool is hard, dry, and difficult or infrequent to pass

What is diarrhea?

Diarrhea is when stool is loose, watery, and frequent.

What is IBS?

a common, long-term functional disorder of the large intestine, causing chronic abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea, constipation, or both.

What is peptic ulcer disease?

a condition characterized by the formation of sores or ulcers on the lining of the stomach or the first part of the small intestine. Symptoms include stomach pain, bloating, and indigestion.

What is GERD?

a condition where stomach acid flows back into the esophagus, causing irritation and symptoms like heartburn.

Digestive system organs and accessory organs

Key organs include the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small/large intestines, and anus. Accessory organs include liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.

What is maceration

Soaking food in liquid to make it soft

What is deglutition?

the act or process of swallowing

What is peristalsis?

the automatic, wave-like muscular contraction and relaxation that moves food and liquids through the digestive tract.

What is mastication?

the mechanical process of breaking down food into smaller pieces using teeth, muscles, and saliva

What is the uvula?

a muscular, teardrop-shaped tissue hanging at the back of the throat that helps prevent food/liquid from entering the nasal cavity during swallowing

What is the pathway of digestion?

Oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, cardiac sphincter, stomach, pyloric sphincter, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon, sigmoid colon, rectum, anus

What is the function of the liver?

filters blood, produces bile for digestion, and detoxifies chemicals

What is the function of the gallbladder?

stores and concentrates bile produced by the liver

What is e-coli?

a group of bacteria that can cause infections in your gut, urinary tract, and other parts of your body

What is a bolus?

food that has been chewed and mixed in the mouth with saliva

What is chyme?

a thick semifluid mass of partially digested food and digestive secretions that is formed in the stomach and intestine during digestion

What is crohns disease?

a chronic, autoimmune inflammatory bowel disease causing long-term inflammation along the digestive tract (small intestine)

Signs/ symptoms of crohns diease

dirrhea, abnormal immune response, dysbiosis

Squamous cell vs adenocarcinoma

Squamous cell is the upper esophagus, adenocarcinoma is the lower esophagus

Internal vs external hemorrhoids

Internal hemorrhoids develop inside the rectum, external hemorrhoids form under the skin

Ulcerative colitis

a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-lasting inflammation and sores (ulcers) in the innermost lining of the rectum and colon. It causes symptoms like bloody diarrhea, urgency, and abdominal pain.

What is dysphagia?

difficulty swallowing

What is emesis?

vomitting

What is a borborygmus?

the rumbling, gurgling, or growling noise caused by gas and fluids moving through the intestines.

What is jaundice?

yellowing of the skin

What is a hemoccult?

a diagnostic tool used to detect hidden blood in the stool

What is pica?

an eating disorder characterized by the persistent craving and consumption of non-food items

Anorexia vs bulimia

Anorexia is self-starvation and bulimia is a disorder in which a person eats large amounts of food and then rids the body of that food before it can be absorbed

Soft diet

Puree diet

Clear liquid diet

Full liquid diet

Thicken liquid diet

What is the ileocecal valve

a sphincter muscle located at the junction of the small intestine (ileum) and large intestine (colon).