Body Bits Glossary

Cells

The tiny parts that make up every living creature

Mouth

Where the teeth and tongue start the digestive system

Ingestion

food entering a living creatures body

Tissues

A group of cells that work together

Teeth

Breaks up pieces of food

Digestion

Where food is broken up into smaller pieces

Organs

Something made up of more than one tissue and has a function in the body

Oesophagus

Squeezes the food from your mouth to your stomach

Physical digestion

Where the teeth/tongue break the food into smaller pieces

Organ systems

A group of organs that work together

Stomach

Creates acid and an enzyme called pepsin, dissolves food

Chemical digestion

Where enzymes break food down into simpler forms

Carbohydrates

Things the body uses for energy (Starchy foods)

Small intestine

Absorbs nutrients and mixes in bile/lipase to break down fatty foods

Absorption

Food/nutrients getting from the small intestine to the blood

Proteins

Helps the body repair cells (Meat, fish, eggs)

Large intestine

Absorbs water

Egestion

Food waste leaving the body

Fats

Builds cell membranes, nerve tissue and hormones (Butter, oil)

Rectum

Stores solid food waste

Enzymes

Chemicals made by the body that break things down

Starch

Complex form of carbohydrates

Incisors

Teeth with an edge to chew things

Substrate

Chemical broken down by an enzyme

Sugar

Simple form of carbohydrates

Canines

Pointy teeth for tearing, piercing, killing

Amylase

Breaks down carbs into glucose (Found in saliva)

Lipids

Scientific name for fats

Molars

Flat top teeth used for grinding

Pepsin (protease)

Breaks down proteins into amino acid

Heart

The main organ of the circulatory system

Respiration

Chemical reaction that cells use to turn oxygen into glucose

DNA

A large chemical found in the nucleus of nearly every cell

Artery

A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart

Gas exchange

Oxygen entering the body, carbon dioxide leaving

Nucleotide

One sugar, one phosphate, one base

Vein

A blood vessel that carries blood to the heart

Carbon dioxide

Leaves the body through gas exchange

Trait

The effect of a gene

Aorta

The largest artery, carried blood from the heart to most of the body

Oxygen

Travels through the body/blood through breathing and gas exchange

Gene

A place on your DNA that controls a trait

Vena cava

Vein that brings blood back from most of the body

Rib muscles

Help your lungs move in and out to help you breath

Allele

Different variations of a gene

Pulmonary vein

Carries blood from the lungs to the heart

Alveoli

Tiny, thin air sacs that perform gas exchange

Chromosome

Large sections of DNA (Humans have 23 pairs)

Pulmonary artery

Carries blood from the heart to the lungs

Bronchioles

Connected to the bronchi and the alveoli

Mitosis

Exact replication cell division

Ventricle

Pumps blood to the body

Bronchi

Connected to the trachea and the bronchioles

Meiosis

Gamete making cell division

Atrium

Where the blood arrives in the heart

Diaphragm

A flat muscle that moves downwards to expand the lungs

Gamete

Special cells with half the amount of chromosomes (used for reproduction)

Pulse

How many times a heart beats per minute (BPM)

Trachea

(Windpipe) Moves air from the mouth to the lungs

Variation

Differences of members of the same species