Digestive System Flashcards

Chapter 5: Digestive System

Vocabulary

• Absorption: Passage of materials through the walls of the small intestine into the bloodstream.

• Amino acids: Small building blocks of proteins; released when proteins are digested.

• Amylase: Enzyme secreted by the pancreas and salivary glands to digest starch.

• Anus: Terminal end or opening of the digestive tract to the outside of the body.

• Appendix: Blind pouch hanging from the cecum.

• Bile: Digestive juice made in the liver and stored in the gallbladder; breaks up large fat globules; composed of bile pigments, cholesterol, and bile salts.

• Bilirubin: Pigment released by the liver in bile.

• Bowel: Intestine.

• Canine teeth: Pointed, dog-like teeth next to the incisors; also called cuspids or eyeteeth.

• Cecum: First part of the large intestine.

• Colon: Consists of the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid segments.

• Common bile duct: Carries bile from the liver and gallbladder to the duodenum; also called the choledochus.

• Defecation: Elimination of feces from the digestive tract through the anus.

• Deglutition: Swallowing.

• Dentin: Primary material found in teeth; covered by the enamel in the crown and a protective layer of cementum in the root.

• Digestion: Breakdown of complex foods to simpler forms.

• Duodenum: First part of the small intestine; measures 12 inches long.

• Elimination: Act of removal of materials from the body.

• Emulsification: Physical process of breaking up large fat globules into smaller globules.

• Enamel: Hard, outermost layer of a tooth.

• Enzyme: Chemical that speeds up reactions between substances; enzyme names end in –ase.

• Esophagus: Tube connecting the throat to the stomach.

• Fatty acids: Substances produced when fats are digested; a category of lipids.

• Feces: Solid wastes; stool.

• Gallbladder: Small sac under the liver; stores bile.

• Glucose: Simple sugar.

• Glycogen: Starch; glucose is stored in the form of glycogen in liver cells.

• Hydrochloric acid: Substance produced in the stomach; necessary for digestion of food.

• Ileum: Third part of the small intestine.

• Incisor: One of four front teeth in the dental arch.

• Insulin: Hormone produced by endocrine cells of the pancreas; transports sugar from the blood into cells and stimulates glycogen formation by the liver.

• Jejunum: Second part of the small intestine.

• Lipase: Pancreatic enzyme needed to digest fats.

• Liver: Large organ located in the RUQ of the abdomen; secretes bile; stores sugar, iron, and vitamins; produces blood proteins; destroys worn-out RBCs; filters out toxins; normal adult liver weighs about 2 ½ to 3 pounds.

• Lower esophageal sphincter (LES): Ring of muscles between the esophagus and stomach.

• Mastication: Chewing.

• Molar teeth: Sixth, seventh, and eighth teeth from the middle on either side of the dental arch.

• Palate: Roof of the mouth.

• Pancreas: Organ behind the stomach; produces insulin and enzymes.

• Papillae (singular: papilla): Small projections on the tongue.

• Parotid gland: Salivary gland within the cheek, just anterior to the ear.

• Peristalsis: Rhythmic contractions of the tubular organs.

• Pharynx: Throat, the common passageway for food from the mouth and for air from the nose.

• Portal vein: Large vein bringing blood to the liver from the intestines.

• Protease: Enzyme that digests protein.

• Pulp: Soft tissue within a tooth, containing nerves and blood vessels.

• Pyloric sphincter: Ring of muscle at the end of the stomach, near the duodenum; opens when a wave of peristalsis passes over it.

• Pylorus: Distal region of the stomach, opening to the duodenum.

• Rectum: Last section of the large intestine, connecting the end of the colon and the anus.

• Rugae: Ridges on the hard palate and the wall of the stomach.

• Saliva: Digestive juice produced by salivary glands; contains the enzyme amylase.

• Salivary glands: Parotid, sublingual, and submandibular glands.

• Sigmoid colon: Fourth and last, S-shaped segment of the colon, just before the rectum; empties into the rectum.

• Sphincter: Circular ring of muscle that constricts a passage or closes a natural opening.

• Stomach: Muscular organ that receives food from the esophagus.

• Triglycerides: Fat molecules composed of three parts fatty acids and one part glycerol; subgroup of lipids.

• Uvula: Soft tissue hanging from the middle of the soft palate.

• Villi (singular: villus): Microscopic projections in the wall of the small intestine that absorb nutrients into the bloodstream.

Terminology – Combining Forms: Parts of the Body

• an/o: anus

• append/o, appendic/o: appendix

• bucc/o: cheek

• cec/o: cecum

• celi/o: belly, abdomen

• cheil/o: lip

• cholecyst/o: gallbladder

• choledoch/o: common bile duct

• col/o, colon/o: colon

• dent/i: tooth

• duoden/o: duodenum

• enter/o: intestines, usually small intestine

• esophag/o: esophagus

• faci/o: face

• gastr/o: stomach

• gingiv/o: gums

• gloss/o: tongue

• hepat/o: liver

• ile/o: ileum

• jejun/o: jejunum

• labi/o: lip

• lapar/o: abdomen

• lingu/o: tongue

• mandibul/o: lower jaw, mandible

• odont/o: tooth

• or/o: mouth

• palat/o: palate

• pancreat/o: pancreas

• peritone/o: peritoneum

• pharyng/o: throat

• proct/o: anus and rectum

• pylor/o: pyloric sphincter

• rect/o: rectum

• sialaden/o: salivary gland

• sigmoid/o: sigmoid colon

• stomat/o: mouth

• uvul/o: uvula

Terminology – Combining Forms: Substances

• amyl/o: starch

• bil/i: gall, bile

• bilirubin/o: bilirubin (bile pigment)

• chol/e: gall or bile

• chlorhydr/o: hydrochloric acid

• gluc/o: sugar

• glyc/o: sugar

• glycogen/o: glycogen, animal starch

• lip/o: fat

• lith/o: stone

• prote/o: protein

• py/o: pus

• sial/o: saliva, salivary

• steat/o: fat

Terminology - Suffixes

• -ase: enzyme

• -chezia: defecation, elimination of wastes

• -iasis: abnormal condition

• -prandial: meal