Digestive & Blood Glucose Quiz
Digestive System
Be able to label (or draw) a diagram of the human digestive system
Know the location of all human digestive organs & their role in food processing (ingestion, digestion, absorption, elimination):
Mouth, teeth, tongue, salivary glands, pharynx, epiglottis, esophagus
stomach, liver, gall bladder, pancreas, small intestine
appendix, large intestine (colon & rectum), anus
Mouth, teeth, tongue, stomach: mechanical digestion
Esophagus, mouth :
small intestine,
Mechanical v. chemical digestion: difference? Examples? Where does each happen?
Mechanical digestion:
happens in mouth
physical breakdown of food by chewing and churning of the stomach
Chemical Digestion:
Breakdown of food by enzymes
Where does hydrolysis of each macromolecule (proteins/carbs/lipids) happen?
Proteins:
Stomach: pepsin (enzyme) breaks down
small intestine: enzymes in the duodenum break down proteins
Carbohydrates:
Mouth: Salivary Amylase breaks it down
Small Intestine: happens in duodenum – enzymes break it down
Lipids:
Mouth
Small intestine: Duodenum
Stomach: lipase breaks down
(UNIT CONNECTION) What are the hydrolysis products of each of these macromolecules?
(UNIT CONNECTION) What enzymes digest each type of macromolecule? (see table in our notes)
Carbs (starch): In mouth: salivary amylase, in the small intestine starch to disaccharides by pancreatic amylase, then disaccharides into monosaccharides by sucrase and lactase – now monosaccharides can be absorbed
Proteins: Pepsin in the stomach – into small polypeptides, in the small intestine large polypeptides into smaller polypeptides then small polypeptides into amino acids – now amino acids can be absorbed
Lipids: Triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol by lipase – fatty acids and glycerol can be absorbed
What is a bolus?
chewed up food
What does the epiglottis do?
flap which opens and closes – food pipe + air pipe
What is peristalsis?
muscle contractions which push food throughout the digestive tract
What are the roles of HCl in the stomach? (there are three - check your notes!)
helps kill bad bacteria
What prevents HCl from destroying the stomach lining?
Mucus coating protects the stomach from HCl.
What enzyme is active in the stomach, and what does it do?
Pepsin active in the stomach – breaks down proteins into smaller peptides.
What is chyme? What part/structure allows it to leave the stomach?
Chyme is partially digested food – that leaves the stomach after 2-6 hours
stomach churning lets chyme leave through the pyloric sphincter.
What is H.pylori and what health problem can it cause?
H. Pylori is a bacteria that dissolves mucus in the stomach – damage to cells lining the stomach
results in a gastric ulcer (sore)
Where is bile produced? Liver Where is it stored? Gall Bladder
Where does bile eventually go & what is it for? (be specific)
eventually goes to the small intestine where it can break down big globs of fat into smaller droplets (triglycerides into fatty acids + glycerol)
What does the pancreas do in digestion?
produces many enzymes and bases to neutralize acid – food doesn’t go through
these enzymes are squeezed into the small intestine
What is the function of villi in the small intestine?
needed to absorb nutrients from digested food
nutrients absorbed from the small intestine (villi) and then into the blood
What would happen if someone’s villi were greatly reduced in size due to illness? (be specific)
If Villi is reduced in size/less bumpy → celiac disease
Celiac disease: people who can’t process gluten
What is the role of E.coli and other beneficial bacteria in the large intestine?
helps maintain a healthy gut microbiome
helps absorb fiber and water – then water is absorbed
Are they beneficial or harmful in other parts of the body? (Like if the intestine bacteria were to leak into the abdominal cavity.)
it can be very harmful
if it leaks into the abdominal cavity it would cause the appendix to burst and can cause infections
What is our microbiome? How is our intestinal microbiome impacted by the food we eat? (be specific)
microbiome: good bacteria living in the large intestine
More fiber = more diverse gut microbiome
processed foods = less dvariedgut microbiome
the more varied the microbiome the better
How can one increase or decrease the diversity of one’s intestinal microbiome?
More fiber = more diverse gut microbiome
processed foods = less varied gut microbiome
Which is better, more or less diversity in one’s intestinal microbiome?
More diversity is better in one’s intestinal microbiome
Digestive Problems: What are these? What causes them (if we know) & how can they be treated?
Ulcers (Where do they mostly occur?)
most occur in the stomach
happens when the lining of cell walls is damaged
medications that reduce stomach acidity can help
Acid Reflux (what is it and how can you treat it?)
when acid escapes the stomach and goes into the esophagus
treated by base which neutralizes it
lactose intolerance
diarrhea
constipation
celiac disease
when villi become less bumpy
caused by an immune reaction to eating gluten
Blood Glucose Regulation
What is the relationship between blood glucose and insulin levels?
high blood sugar: high insulin levels
low blood sugar: the body responds by releasing more glucose and sending it to the bloodstream – new glucose comes from the liver
do insulin and glucagon regulate blood glucose levelagon?
higher blood sugar level: insulin helps it go down (type 1 + 2 diabetes)
lower blood sugar level glucagon brings it back up
Helps maintain homeostasis
What is the role of the pancreas, the liver, & the cells of the body in blood glucose regulation and metabolism?
liver: produces insulin
the pancreas releases insulin when blood glucose levels are too high, when too low it releases glucagon which goes into the liver to produce glucose – releases insulin to help the body absorb glucose after eating carbs
Cells: absorb glucose – blood glucose levels go down after this
Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes – causes, symptoms, treatments & how different?
Type 1:
blood glucose levels are too high so glucose can’t be absorbed out of the blood
the pancreas cannot make insulin
very high blood glucose levels
treatments: insulin injections when eating
Type 2:
when blood glucose levels do not respond to insulin
when glucose can’t get into the cell the blood sugar levels rise
Treatments: exercise, insulin therapy
cause: when muscle and fat cells and the liver become resistant to insulin
obesity, overweight causes as well
pancreas making less insulin than used to
What are hyper- and hypo-glycemia?
Hypoglycemia: Low blood sugar
Hyper-glycemia: high blood sugar