Vocabulary Review

Digestive System

Digestion

Process in which the food we eat is broken down into usable materials

Duodenum

First 25 centimeters of the small intestine

Absorption

Process through which digested nutrients pass through the small intestine into the blood stream

Villi

Microscopic fingerlike projections in the small intestine that increase surface area for absorption of nutrients

Bolus

Ball of partially digested food passed from the mouth, down the esophagus to the stomach

Peristalsis

Wavelike contractions of the smooth muscle in the digestive tract that moves food through the alimentary canal.

Fiber

Indigestible carbohydrate such as cellulose that stimulates peristalsis in the digestive tract.

Carbohydrates

One of three basic food types, may be in the form of sugar, starches, or fiber found in cereals, breads and vegetables

Starches

Complex carbohydrates such as pasta, bread or rice

Pepsin

An enzyme in the stomach that breaks down proteins

Gastric Juice

A combination of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and pepsin that is responsible for the chemical digestion of proteins.

Chyme

A pulpy mixture of food and gastric juice that passes into the small intestine for further chemical digestion and absorption.

Enzyme

Protein capable of speeding up chemical reactions in the body

Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats

What are the three basic food types?

Minerals

Chemicals that occur naturally that our bodies need like calcium or magnesium.

Vitamins

Compounds that have been made by living organisms that our body needs but cannot make on its own

Bile

Greenish yellow liquid that acts like dish soap breaking large fat molecules into smaller pieces

Nutrient

Substance that an organism needs to live

Mechanical Digestion

Digestion that increases the surface area of the food we eat by physically breaking into smaller and smaller pieces

Chemical Digestion

Process in which digestive enzymes and acids change our food into substances our body can absorb and use.

Stomach

Muscular balloon shaped sac that mechanically breaks down our food and the place where protein digestion begins.

Duodenum

Site of most chemical digestion in the body