Digestive System Study Guide – Step-by-Step Guidance

Study Guide - Smart Notes

Tailored notes based on your materials, expanded with key definitions, examples, and context.

Q1. What are the processes involved in digestion? Which organ(s) are responsible for each?

Background

Topic: Digestive Processes and Organ Functions

This question tests your understanding of the main steps of digestion (mechanical and chemical) and the organs that perform each function.

Key Terms and Concepts:

Ingestion: Taking in food (mouth)
Mechanical digestion: Physical breakdown (mouth, stomach, small intestine)
Chemical digestion: Enzymatic breakdown (mouth, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, liver)
Absorption: Uptake of nutrients (small and large intestine)
Elimination: Removal of waste (rectum, anus)

Step-by-Step Guidance

List the main processes: ingestion, mechanical digestion, chemical digestion, absorption, and elimination.
For each process, identify the organ(s) primarily responsible (e.g., mouth for ingestion and mechanical digestion, stomach for chemical digestion, etc.).
Briefly describe what happens during each process (e.g., enzymes breaking down food, muscles moving food along the tract).

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q2. For each organ in the digestive tract, be able to anatomically locate it and describe its function.

Background

Topic: Anatomy and Function of Digestive Organs

This question checks your ability to identify and describe the location and role of each digestive organ.

Key Terms:

Mouth, Esophagus, Stomach, Small intestine, Large intestine/Colon, Rectum, Anus

Step-by-Step Guidance

List each organ in order from mouth to anus.
For each organ, note its anatomical position (e.g., the stomach is in the upper left abdomen).
Describe the main function of each organ (e.g., the stomach mixes and digests food with acid and enzymes).

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q3. Describe what happens in each specialized region of the digestive tract including the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine/colon, rectum, and anus.

Background

Topic: Regional Functions of the Digestive Tract

This question focuses on the specific activities that occur in each section of the digestive tract.

Key Concepts:

Mechanical and chemical digestion, absorption, propulsion, and elimination

Step-by-Step Guidance

Go through each region in order (mouth, esophagus, etc.).
For each, describe the main digestive process that occurs (e.g., the mouth performs mastication and starts starch digestion).
Include any unique features (e.g., the stomach secretes acid and pepsinogen).

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q4. Describe the roles of each of the accessory organs in digestion including salivary glands, liver, gall bladder, and pancreas.

Background

Topic: Accessory Organs of Digestion

This question tests your knowledge of organs that assist digestion but are not part of the main tract.

Key Terms:

Salivary glands, Liver, Gall bladder, Pancreas

Step-by-Step Guidance

List each accessory organ.
Describe the digestive substance each produces (e.g., bile, enzymes, saliva).
Explain how each substance aids digestion (e.g., bile emulsifies fats).

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Q5. Discuss the different types of movements in the digestive tract including peristalsis, segmentation, and mass movement.

Background

Topic: Motility in the Digestive Tract

This question is about the muscular movements that propel and mix food in the digestive system.

Key Terms:

Peristalsis, Segmentation, Mass movement

Step-by-Step Guidance

Define each type of movement (e.g., peristalsis is wave-like contractions).
Identify where each movement occurs (e.g., peristalsis in esophagus and intestines).
Describe the function of each movement (e.g., segmentation mixes contents, mass movement moves feces).

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q6. What are the starting polymers and ending monomers of the digestive processes?

Background

Topic: Digestion of Macromolecules

This question tests your understanding of how large food molecules are broken down into absorbable units.

Key Terms:

Polymer, Monomer, Protein, Peptide, Amino acid, Triglyceride, Fatty acid, Monosaccharide

Step-by-Step Guidance

List the main classes of nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats).
For each, identify the polymer (e.g., starch, protein, triglyceride).
Identify the monomer produced by digestion (e.g., glucose, amino acids, fatty acids).

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Q7. What is the role of enzymes in the digestive process?

Background

Topic: Enzymatic Digestion

This question focuses on how enzymes facilitate the breakdown of food molecules.

Key Terms:

Enzyme, Substrate, Activation, Specificity

Step-by-Step Guidance

Define what an enzyme is and its general function in digestion.
Explain how enzymes act on specific substrates (e.g., amylase on starch).
Describe the importance of enzyme activation and optimal conditions (e.g., pH, temperature).

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Q8. Describe the composition of saliva and pancreatic juice.

Background

Topic: Digestive Secretions

This question is about the chemical makeup of fluids that aid digestion.

Key Terms:

Saliva, Pancreatic juice, Enzymes, Bicarbonate, Mucus

Step-by-Step Guidance

List the main components of saliva (e.g., water, amylase, mucus, lysozyme).
List the main components of pancreatic juice (e.g., bicarbonate, lipase, amylase, proteases).
Describe the function of each component (e.g., amylase digests starch, bicarbonate neutralizes acid).

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Q9. Know the specific enzymes discussed in lecture, their activation, and their function.

Background

Topic: Digestive Enzymes

This question tests your recall of enzyme names, how they are activated, and what they do.

Key Enzymes:

Salivary amylase, Lingual lipase, Pancreatic lipase, Pepsinogen/Pepsin, Brush border enzymes

Step-by-Step Guidance

List each enzyme and where it is produced.
Describe how each enzyme is activated (e.g., pepsinogen to pepsin in acid).
State the substrate and product for each enzyme (e.g., amylase: starch to maltose).

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q10. What nutrients and chemicals are absorbed in each region of the digestive tract?

Background

Topic: Absorption in the Digestive Tract

This question is about where specific nutrients are absorbed along the digestive tract.

Key Concepts:

Absorption, Small intestine, Large intestine, Water, Vitamins, Minerals

Step-by-Step Guidance

List the main regions of the digestive tract involved in absorption (e.g., duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon).
For each region, identify the main nutrients or chemicals absorbed (e.g., most nutrients in small intestine, water in colon).
Note any exceptions or special cases (e.g., vitamin B12 in the ileum with intrinsic factor).

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Vocabulary Review

Background

Topic: Key Digestive Terms

This section is about understanding and using important vocabulary related to digestion.

Key Terms:

Deglutination, Mastication, Epiglottis, Mesentery, Bile, Pancreatic Juice, Salivary amylase, Pancreatic lipase, Lingual lipase, Pepsinogen, Pepsin, Intrinsic factor, Brush border enzymes, Polymer, Monomer, Monosaccharide, Amino acid, Protein, Peptide, Triglyceride, Fatty acid, Diffusion, Peristalsis, Segmentation, Mass movement

Step-by-Step Guidance

For each term, write a clear definition in your own words.
Give an example or context for each term (e.g., mastication occurs in the mouth).
Practice using each term in a sentence related to digestion.