Digestive System
Guided Notes
Digestive System Basics
Complete the sentences and answer the questions about how the digestive system works:
Food moves through which canal in the human body?
The alimentary canal includes structures such as the
What organs are primarily responsible for nutrient absorption, digestion, and excretion?
What organs are “accessory” and help with digestion, and how do they do so?
Write the name of each organ in this image:
1. 5. 9. 13.
2. 6. 10.
3. 7. 11.
4. 8. 12.
Path of Digestion
Answer the questions:
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What happens when food enters the mouth?
What powerful digestive enzymes help to break down food?
What happens when food leaves the stomach?
What happens to proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in the stomach?
What is the function of villi in the small intestines?
What moves into the large intestines?
Types of Digestion
Focus Question: How do mechanical and chemical digestion work together to process nutrients from food?
Define:
Mechanical digestion:
Chemical digestion:
Video: Digestion in the Body
Answer the questions and complete the sentences:
What is the first step in the digestive process?
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In mechanical digestion, how is food broken down?
What happens after swallowing down food?
What does the cardiac sphincter regulate?
What are other names for acid reflux?
How does acid reflux occur?
How is food churned and mixed in the stomach?
In mechanical digestion, food
Chemically digested food in the stomach occurs when
In the stomach, solids are reduced into
It takes about 2 hours for chyme to
What is completed in the small intestine?
What is absorbed in the small intestine?
The inner walls of the small intestines are packed with
What do capillaries absorb?
What do lacteals absorb?
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What is chyme mixed with in the small intestine?
Where do undigested and unabsorbed materials go?
Another name for the large intestine is
What is absorbed in the large intestine?
How do feces form, and where do they leave the body?
Complete the chart with details about both types of digestion and some benefits of food:
Mechanical Digestion Chemical Digestion
Details about the Process
Define peristalsis: Enzymes involved:
Career Connection
Write your thoughts about the nutritionist career. Would you be interested in this career? Why or why not?
Accessory Organs
Focus Question: What is the importance of each accessory organ to efficient digestion?
Answer:
What do accessory organs produce?
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Where do the secretions enter? Give an example:
What does the pancreatic duct secrete, and where does this occur?
Complete the chart with details about the functions and health impacts of each accessory organ:
Accessory Functions Health Impacts
Organ
Salivary Glands
Stomach
(Gastric) Glands
Liver
Gallbladder
Pancreas
Appendix/Colon
Answer the questions and complete the sentences:
What other system is connected to digestive system organs and sends signals/messages to the brain and spine?
Interconnections between the nervous and digestive systems are referred to as
What is the function of the sensory receptors?
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Did You Know?
Explain why some bacteria are beneficial to us and how we can promote digestive health.
Regulators of Digestion
Focus Question: What processes are involved in regulating digestion?
Answer the following questions:
How does the nervous system regulate digestion? Explain.
How do nerve impulses from the central nervous system regulate digestion?
What is the function of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine?
How does adrenaline act in digestion?
Endocrine System Regulators
How does the endocrine system regulate digestion? Explain.
Complete the chart with details about the three main hormones secreted during digestion:
Gastrin Secretin Cholecystokinin
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Digestive Disorders
Answer:
What strategies can be used to treat digestive disorders?
Complete the chart with information about some disorders of the digestive system:
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
(IBS)
Gastroesophageal Reflux
Disease (GERD)
Peptic Ulcers
Inflammatory Bowel
Disease (IBD)
Vital Signs
Complete the interactive review activity. Write true or false next to each statement:
True (T) or False (F):
Chemical digestion is seen first in the stomach. –
The esophagus is considered an accessory organ in the digestive system. –
The liver plays a key role in the production of digestive enzymes. –
The gallbladder stores and releases bile, which aids in the digestion of fats. –
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Nervous system regulation of digestion involves the autonomic nervous system, which can influence digestive
processes. –
The small intestine is the primary site for nutrient absorption in the digestive tract. –
Write the answers:
1. When you eat a sandwich made with whole-grain bread, what enzyme is released by the mouth's salivary glands
to break down the starches in the bread into simpler sugars?
2. Avocado, a source of healthy fats, is digested in the small intestine. Which accessory organ will release lipase, an
enzyme that breaks down the fats in avocados?
3. A serving of lean beef, such as a steak, contains protein. Which enzyme will be released into the stomach to
break down the protein?
4. When you eat a serving of steamed broccoli, the mechanical digestion process begins in your ___________.
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