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Digestion Questions What is the purpose of teeth? • The purpose of teeth is to tear and grind food into smaller pieces that are able to be swallowed. This also increases the surface area of food, allowing enzymes to come in close contact and begin the process of chemical digestion. How does the action of teeth aid in the action of enzymes such as salivary amylase? • When teeth crush food and increase the available surfaces, this allows digestive juices, such as salivary amylase, to contact more surface of the food and increase the rate at which digestion occurs. What are three components of gastric juice? • Gastric juice is a secretion of the glands within the stomach, the purpose of which is to enable the breakdown of foods. To aid in this, gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid, proteases (such as pepsin), and mucus, which helps to protect the lining of the stomach from stomach acid. Explain what chyme is. • Chyme is the product of the first three organs of the digestive system, the mouth, esophagus, and stomach. All of the actions that occur in these three organs help to form chyme. Chyme, therefore is chewed food, saliva (including salivary amylase), and gastric juice (including HCl (aq), pepsin, and mucus). Chyme, therefore, is a slippery slimy mass of partially digested food. Why is chyme especially important in the absorption of nutrients? • Absorption of nutrients occurs in the small intestine, which has a narrow diameter and many folds and finger-like projections. It is important that food passing into this area be in liquid form, so that it can flow into all the crevices and take advantage of the huge surface available for digestion. In solid form, many fewer nutrients would be absorbed. Where does absorption of nutrients occur? Absorption of nutrients occurs in the lining of the small intestine, which is covered by finger-like projections called villi. Each villus is also covered by microvilli. What are the three sections of the small intestine? • The three sections of the small intestine are the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum. The duodenum is about 25 cm long, the jejunum is about 2.5 m long, and the ileum is about 3 m long. What are the two major events that occur in the large intestine? • The two major events of the large intestine are the production of Vitamin K and the absorption of water. • Beneficial bacteria in the large intestine produce several helpful substances including Vitamin K, B12, and some amino acids. • The absorption of water from the large intestine prevents the unnecessary loss of water from the body, and also helps to solidify waste. Which seems infinitely better than the alternative! Why do we have an appendix? • The appendix is attached to the large intestine, but does not play a role in digestion. It’s function is now believed to be to store the beneficial bacteria that are present in the gut. After an illness resulting in diarrhea, this supply of helpful bacteria helps to re-establish the proper conditions for digestion. What is IBD? • IBD refers to Inflammatory Bowel Disease (or syndrome), and this is the general name for a group of diseases in which the lining of the intestine becomes inflamed, painful, and possibly even non-functional. In some cases, just the inner lining of the intestine is affected, but in more serious cases, the entire thickness of the intestinal wall may be damaged. The disease can be very painful and debilitating.