DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

• function of the digestive system


  prepare food for intake by body cells
• nutrients must be broken down by

  mechanical and chemical;
• wave-like contractions of the organ walls, move food through the digestive tract and also move undigested waste material out of the body

  peristalsis
• needed throughout the digestive process

  enzymes
• name of the most enzymes can be recognized by the ending

  -ase
• essentially a long tube modified into separate organs with special functions

  alimentary canal or gastrointestinal (GI) tract
• covers the organ in the abdominal cavity, supporting and separating them

  peritoneum
• used to bite and chew food

  mouth
• swallows food by reflex action and moves it into the esophagus

  pharynx
• moves food into the stomach by peristalsis

  esophagus
• stores food

  stomach
• secrete enzymes

  small intestines
• forms, stores and eliminates undigested waste material

  large intestine
• digestion begins in the mouth

  oral cavity
• food is chewed into small bits by the

  teeth
• bite food

  incisors
• grinding food

  molars
• formed by bone

  hard palate
• made of soft tissue

  soft palate
• speech production, hangs from the soft palate

  uvula
• help in care of the mouth and teeth

  dental hygienists
• secrete saliva into the mouth and are considered to be accessory digestive organs

  salivary glands
• move the food through the esophagus and into the stomach

  peristalsis
• secrete bile salts that break down fats

  liver
• stores bile and release it into the digestive tract when needed

  gallbladder
• secretes a variety of digestive enzymes. secretes bicarbonate ot neutralize stomach acid and water to dilute food

  pancreas
• esophagus has muscle tissue that contracts to keep stomach contents from refluxing

  flowing backward
• food is further broken down as it is churned and mixed with secretion containing the enzyme ___ and powerful ____ both of which break down proteins

  pepsin & hydrochloric acid (HCI)
• ____ does not aid in digestion but contains ____ and may ____

  appendix, lymphatic tissue, function in immunity
• colon travels upward along the _____ as the _____, crosses below the stomach as the ____, and then continues down the ______ as the descending colon

  right side of the abdomen, ascending colon, transverse colon, left side of the abdomen, descending colon
• as food is pushed through the colon, ______ and _____

  water is reabsorbed and stool or feces is formed
• salivary glands, which secret into the mouth

  first accessory organs to act on food
• process blood, removing toxins and converting nutrients

  major activity of liver
• carries blood to the liver from the other abdominal organs

  hepatic portal system
• neutralizes the strong stomach acid

  bicarbonate
• infection of the appendix

  appendicitis
• infection of the peritoneal cavity

  peritonitis
• lesion of the skin or a mucous membrane marked by inflammation and tissue damages

  ulcer
• other called for gastric juices

  peptic juices
• lining of the GI tract is termed

  peptic ulcers