Download WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR FOOD Sean brings a plate of donuts to

WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR FOOD
Sean brings a plate of donuts to class, and your mouth begins to water (_salivary glands at work). You
put one of those delicious fritters in your mouth (_oral__ cavity). It hits your tongue (roots:_lingu__,
__glosso__), where it tastes delicious. The bumps on your tongue (_papillae_) sense the sweetness of the
sugar. You begin to chew (_mastication__, which is _mechanical_ digestion at work). _salivary
amylase, an enzyme, in your spit begins the process of __chemical digestion. The ball of spit and food is
now called a (_bolus__).
Some of the sugar sticks to your __enamel_(tooth coating, and the hardest substance in your body),
which will later cause tooth decay (___dental caries___), and at your gums (__gingiva__). Some of the
delicious frosting gets stuck to the roof of your mouth (__palate_); it makes running your tongue along
the ridges there (_rugae__) a wonderful experience.
You swallow (_deglutition_). The pastry passes below the (_uvula_) and between the (_palatine
tonsils_ _____________) into the (_(oro)pharynx__). If Andrew or Megan makes you laugh at this
point, you might snort some of the food into the space behind your nasal sinus (__nasopharynx__).
Still, it travels down the (_esophogus_) to the muscle just before your stomach (__cardiac/esophageal
sphincter). It passes all three areas of your stomach, (__fundus_),(__body_), and (__pylorus_), in that
order.
While in your stomach, the stomach muscles churn the bolus with (___hydrochloric acid_) and digestive
enzymes, forming (_chyme___). The stomach also has ridges, which are called the exact same thing as
the ridges on your palate (__rugae__).
At this point, you’re pretty satisfied with the delicious pastry. You belch (__eructation_), letting out the
gases that are sometimes a biproduct of chemical digestion or swallowing air. Or, if AJ shows you the
film of worms being removed from the bowel, you might puke (_emesis_). The mess on the floor is now
called (_emesis_) or (vomitus).
Once the chyme is sufficiently mixed, it passes through the (____pyloric sphincter___) into the
(_duodenum) the first part of the (_small intestine___ OR __bowel___). (_bile_), a yellow-green
mixture of enzymes, from the accessory organs (more on those later) mixes with the the chyme there. It
then passes into the (_ileum_), the second part of the small bowel, where millions of tiny fingerlike
projections (__villi) that get nutrients from the food to your bloodstream (a process called
(__absorption)).
The nutrients travel through your bloodstream directly to the liver. The liver is amazing, and some
societies have historically named it the place in the body where the soul resides (no joke!). The liver:
 Produces (_bile) to break up (or _emulsify_) fats
 Metabolizes (_fat_),(_sugar__), and (__protein__)
 Stores sugar (_glucose_) as (___glycogen_) [look at the roots to make your own notes about the
processes involved here]
 Also stores (_vitamins): [letters go here] A, D, K, E, B12
 Synthesizes (_cholesterol__) and (_lipoproteins__), the latter in order to transport fat.
 (_phagocytosis__) to recycle red blood cells
 (__detoxification) to render toxins less toxic.
All the enzymes breaking down your food come from two sources, the (_pancreas__) and the (_liver__).
The liver sends its enzymes to the (__gallbladder) for storage and concentration. Both the liver and the
pancreas send their amazing chemicals at the donut through the (___common bile duct__), which
empties into the duodenum.
The pancreas (which, by the way, was not nearly as revered as the liver) is both an (_exocrine_) and
(__endocrine__) gland; it excretes body-altering chemicals into both our internal system and our
digestive system, the contents of which ultimately end up outside of our bodies.
The final part of the small bowel is called the (_ileum_), which opens into the (_large intestine_____ OR
bowel) via this circular muscle (ileocecal sphincter). The first part of the large intestine is called the
(_cecum_), and off of it hangs our most useless little organ, the (__vermiform appendix_). Through the
marvelous act of (_peristalsis_), the flexion of smooth muscle, the now unrecognizable donut travels up
the (_ascending colon__), around a curve called the (____hepatic flexure__), and into the (__transverse
colon__), which crosses the body. Then the poopy pastry goes around the (___splenic flexure__) and
down the (__descending colon_) into the (_sigmoid colon_). While all this is happening, the large
bowel is absorbing (_water_) and (_vitamin K_). Finally, what used to be delicious is now called
(__feces_); it goes into your (_rectum_) and then finally exits via the (_anus_) in a process called
(_defecation_).