Organs of the Alimentary Canal

    Cards (83)

    • Digestive System - specifically functions to ingest food, digests it into nutrient molecules, absorbs the nutrients into the blood-stream, and defecates it as wastes
    • What are the two main organ groups of the digestive system?
      Alimentary Canal, Accessory Organs
    • Alimentary Canal - performs the whole menu of digestive functions as it propels the foodstuffs along its length
    • Accessory Organs - assist digestion in various ways
    • What is the other term for Alimentary Canal?
      Gastrointestinal Tract
    • What is the common or layman's term for Alimentary Canal?
      Gut
    • Alimentary Canal - a continuous, coiled, hollow muscular tube that winds through the ventral body cavity from mouth to anus
    • Mouth - where the food enters to the digestive tract
    • Mouth - a mucous membrane-lined cavity
    • What is the other term for the mouth?
      oral cavity
    • Lips - protect the mouth's anterior opening from foreign objects and provide a surface for speech
    • What is the other term for the lips?
      Labia
    • Cheeks - forms the lateral walls of the mouth
    • Hard Palate - forms the mouth's anterior roof
    • Soft Palate - forms the mouth's posterior roof
    • Uvula - a fleshy fingerlike projection of the soft palate, which dangles from the posterior edge of the soft palate
    • Vestibule - it is the space between the lips and cheeks externally and the teeth and gums internally
    • Lingual Frenulum - a fold of mucous membrane, which secures the tongue to the floor of the mouth and limits its posterior movements
    • Pharynx - from the mouth, food passes posteriorly into here, which is also the common passageways for food, fluids, and air
    • Esophagus - runs from the pharynx through the diaphragm to the stomach, which is essentially a passageway that conducts food to the stomach
    • What are the four tissue layers that the alimentary canal organs are made up of?
      Mucosa, Submucosa, Muscularis Externa, Serosa
    • Mucosa - the innermost layer, a moist mucous membrane that lines the hollow cavity of the organs
    • Submucosa - found just beneath the mucosa
    • Submucosa - a soft connective tissue containing blood vessels, nerve endings, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), and lymphatic vessels
    • Muscularis Externa - a muscle layer typically made up of an inner circular layer and an outer longitudinal layer
    • Serosa - the outermost layer of the alimentary canal walls
    • What are the layers that the serosa is made up of?
      Visceral Peritoneum, Parietal Peritoneum
    • Intrinsic Nerve Plexuses - are networks of nerve fibers that help regulate the motility and secretory activity of GI tract organs
    • What are the two intrinsic nerve plexuses in the alimentary canal walls?
      Submucosal Nerve Plexuses, Myenteric Nerve Plexuses
    • Stomach - is on the left side of the abdominal cavity, nearly hidden by the liver and diaphragm
    • What are the different regions of the stomach?
      Cardia, Fundus, Body, Pyloric Antrum, Pylorus
    • Cardioesophageal Sphincter - where the food enters the stomach from the esophagus
    • Cardia - named for its position near the heart
    • Fundus - the expanded part of the stomach lateral to the cardial region
    • Body - is the midpoint of the stomach
    • Greater Curvature - is the convex lateral surface of the stomach body
    • Lesser Curvature - it is the concave medial surface of the stomach body
    • Pylorus - the funnel-shaped and the terminal part of the stomach
    • Pyloric Sphincter - part of the stomach that is continuous with the small intestine
    • Chyme - after food has been processed in the stomach, it is thick like heavy cream, where it enters the small intestine through the pyloric sphincter