Questions and Answers
What is the job of the digestive system?
To take complex foods and turn them into smaller, simpler macromolecules.
Intracellular digestion, as a part of _____, involves the oxidation of fatty acids and glucose that is extracted from food via ___ ____ digestion.
metabolism, extra-cellular
What is extra-cellular digestion?
The process by which nutrients from the outside world are extracted from food.
Where does extracellular digestion occur?
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What are sphincters?
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What is the alimentary canal and what else is it known as?
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What does digestion involve?
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Starches and carbohydrates are broken down into what?
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Lipids are broken down into what?
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Glycerol and proteins are broken down into what?
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What are the two subgroups of digestion?
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What is mechanical digestion?
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What is chemical digestion?
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What is absorption?
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What is the digestive tract and what are its components?
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What are the accessory organs involved in digestion?
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What is the colon also known as?
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What is the enteric nervous system?
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What is peristalsis?
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What component of the nervous system heavily regulates peristalsis?
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The parasympathetic division of the nervous system _____ digestive activities through (increase/decrease) _____.
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Study Notes
Overview of the Digestive System
- Transforms complex foods (polysaccharides, fats, proteins) into simpler macromolecules (monosaccharides, fatty acids, amino acids).
- Composed of both extracellular and intracellular digestion processes.
Types of Digestion
- Extracellular digestion: Involves obtaining nutrients from food outside the body; occurs within the lumen of the alimentary canal.
- Intracellular digestion: A metabolic process that oxidizes fatty acids and glucose extracted from food during extracellular digestion.
The Alimentary Canal
- Also known as the GI tract, it consists of a passage from the mouth to the anus.
- Sphincters, smooth muscles surrounding the canal, allow for compartmentalization of digestive functions.
Breakdown of Food
- Digestion entails breaking down food into organic molecules.
- Starches and carbohydrates → monosaccharides.
- Lipids → free fatty acids.
- Glycerol and proteins → amino acids.
Digestion Mechanisms
- Two subgroups: mechanical (physical breakdown without chemical bond cleavage) and chemical (enzymatic cleavage of bonds like peptide and glycosidic bonds).
Absorption Process
- Involves extracting and transporting final digested products from the digestive tract into the circulatory system for tissue distribution.
Digestive Tract Components
- Oral cavity → pharynx → esophagus → stomach → small intestine → large intestine → rectum.
Accessory Organs
- Salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gall bladder provide lubrication and enzymes crucial for digestion, collectively known as accessory organs.
Nervous System Regulation
- The enteric nervous system controls digestive function, comprising 100 million neurons within the digestive tract walls.
- Triggers peristalsis, the rhythmic contraction needed to move food through the system.
Peristalsis
- Rhythmic contraction of the gut tube, facilitated by the enteric nervous system.
- Governed by the autonomic nervous system, which can function independently of the brain and spinal cord.
- The parasympathetic division stimulates digestive activities while the sympathetic division inhibits them.
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Description
Test your knowledge on the structure and function of the digestive system. This quiz covers key concepts related to extracellular and intracellular digestion, as well as the anatomy of the alimentary canal. Understand how complex foods are transformed into simpler macromolecules and the mechanisms involved.
