Digestion Vocabulary
Terms
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- chemical digestion
- process by which large food molecules are broken down into smaller food molecules
- mechanical digestion
- process by which large pieces of food are cut and crushed into smaller pieces
- Digestion
- process by which food is changed into forms the body can use
- mouth
- food enters the body through the mouth
- teeth
- enables you to bite and chew your food
- saliva
- liquid in the mouth that helps in digestion
- bolus
- a ball of food after you chew it up
- pharynx
- throat which breaks into two parts
- epiglottis
- flap of tissue that prevents food from entering the windpipe
- trachea
- your wind pipe that leads to your lungs
- esophagus
- tube the connects the mouth to the stomach
- peristalsis
- wavelike movement that moves food through the digestive tract
- rugae
- the contracting and expanding of the stomach to mechanically digest food
- chyme
- thick liquid form of food
- gastric juices
- juice produced in the stomach that contains mucus, pepsin and hydrochloric acid
- pepsin
- enzyme that digests proteins
- hydrochloric acid
- a strong acid that partly makes up the gastric juice in the stomach
- small intestine
- organ in the digestive system where most digestion takes place
- bile
- green liquid that breaks down fats and oils
- emulsification
- process of breaking down large droplets of fat into small droplets of fat
- lipase
- enzyme that digests fats and oils
- digestive juices and enzymes
- chemicals that control chemical reactions in the body.
- villi
- fingerlike projection on the lining of the small intestine
- absorption
- movement of food from the digestive system to the blood
- large intestine
- colon, part of the digestive tract
- rectum
- end of the large intestine which stores waste
- anus
- end of the rectum which eliminates waste
- pancreas
- large gland that lies below the stomach
- liver
- largest organ in the body which produces bile
- gall bladder
- a small sac under the liver which stores bile
- stomach
- J-shaped, baglike organ that stores food.