The Digestive System

Question 1

What is the digestive system

Answer 1

The digestive system is a group of organs known as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that work together to convert food into energy and nutrients to feed the entire body. The digestive tract also eliminates what the body doesn’t absorb during the digestive process.

Question 2

Upper gi tract

Answer 2

The mouth, pharynx, esophagus, and stomach

Question 3

Lower gi tract

Answer 3

Small and large intestines

Question 4

Accessory organs

Answer 4

Liver, gallbladder, and pancreas

Question 5

Anastomosis

Answer 5

Surgical connection between two hollow or tubular structures

Question 6

Ascending

Answer 6

Upward

Question 7

Bariatrics

Answer 7

The field of medicine dealing with the treatment of obesity

Question 8

Bowel

Answer 8

Intestine

Question 9

Deglutition

Answer 9

Swallowing

Question 10

Dentition

Answer 10

Condition of the teeth

Question 11

Descending

Answer 11

Downward

Question 12

Eructation

Answer 12

Belching or burping

Question 13

Fissure

Answer 13

Crack-like sore of the skin

Question 14

Flares or flare-ups

Answer 14

Intervals of intensification of active disease

Question 15

Hernia

Answer 15

The protrusion of an organ or part through the tissues that normally contain it

Question 16

Ligation

Answer 16

The tying off of blood vessels

Question 17

Mastication

Answer 17

Chewing

Question 18

Morbid obesity

Answer 18

A condition in which excess body fat adversely affects the person’s health

Question 19

Occult blood

Answer 19

Blood that is not visible and can be detected only by lab testing

Question 20

Parenteral

Answer 20

Outside or bypassing the digestive system

Question 21

Prolapse

Answer 21

The slipping or dropping down of an organ or body part from its normal position

Question 22

Reflux

Answer 22

Stomach contents flowing backwards into the esophagus

Question 23

Sphincter

Answer 23

A ring of muscles that function to close a body opening

Question 24

Stricture

Answer 24

Abnormal narrowing of a bodily passage

Question 25

Transverse

Answer 25

Across

Question 26

Ulcer

Answer 26

Open lesion of the skin or mucous membrane

Question 27

Varices

Answer 27

Enlarged or swollen veins

Question 28

What does the upper GI tract do?

Answer 28

Responsible for the initial stages of digestion.

Question 29

What does the lower GI tract do

Answer 29

A network of organs essential for digestion and waster elimination

Question 30

What do the accessory organs do

Answer 30

Aid in the digestive process

Question 31

Mouth

Answer 31

Food begins it’s journey through the digestive system in the mouth. Other organs of the oral cavity also aid in the digestion of food: lips, tongue, palate, teeth, and salivary glands. The lips hold the food in the mouth while the teeth chop it up into small pieces. The food is moistened by salvia before the tongue pushes it into the throat. The soft palate prevents food and liquid from moving upward into the nasal cavity during swallowing.

Question 32

Pharynx

Answer 32

Allows the chewed up food to pass from the mouth to the esophagus. A flap of tissue, known as the epiglottis, closes off the entrance to the trachea during swallowing.

Question 33

Esophagus

Answer 33

A muscular tube that Carrie’s food and liquids from the pharynx to the stomach. The esophagus walls propel food to the stomach by rhythmic waves of muscular contractions called peristalsis.

Question 34

Stomach

Answer 34

A hollow sac that serves as a storage area for food. It also moves the food with acid and enzymes, so it is more easily digested. Mucus coats the cells of the stomach lining to protect them from damage by the acid and enzymes.

Question 35

Large intestine

Answer 35

Wraps around the top and sides of the small intestine. Here, the waste products of digestion are processed in preparation for excretion from the body. The many bacteria that inhabit the large intestine can further digest some material. The major parts of the large intestine are the cecum, colon, rectum, and anus.

Question 36

Small intestine

Answer 36

The stomach releases food into the small . This coiled organ takes up most of the space in the abdominal cavity and consists of three sections: duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. Ultimately, by the time food leaves the small intestines, about 90% of the nutrients have been absorbed into the bloodstream.

Question 37

Liver

Answer 37

There largest internal organ in the body. The liver has many different functions, but its primary function in digestion is to produce bile and secrete it into the small intestine. Bile is a greenish-yellow fluid that is necessary for the digestion of fat.

Question 38

Gallbladder

Answer 38

Stores bile for later use

Question 39

Pancreas

Answer 39

A glandular organ in the upper abdomen. It secretes pancreatic juices (water, salt, sodium bicarbonate, and digestive enzymes) to aid in digestion and help neutralize stomach acids.