Quick Review Flashcards - Click to flip and test your knowledge!
Question
What is the biological definition of digestion?
Answer
The breakdown of naturally occurring foodstuffs into a diffusible form.
Question
Why must food be converted into a soluble form in the human body?
Answer
To allow it to be absorbed by the blood for distribution throughout the body.
Question
Chemically, almost all enzymes are categorized as _____.
Answer
Proteins.
Question
What effect does boiling have on the functionality of an enzyme?
Answer
It destroys the enzyme.
Question
The specific substance upon which a particular enzyme acts is called the _____.
Answer
Substrate.
Question
In what temperature range do human enzymes typically act most efficiently?
Answer
$35^{\circ}C$ to $40^{\circ}C$.
Question
What is the total length of the human alimentary canal?
Answer
Approximately 9 metres.
Question
Which two large digestive glands are associated with the digestive tube but located outside its lining?
Answer
The liver and the pancreas.
Question
Which teeth are broad and sharp like a chisel, used specifically for biting and cutting?
Answer
Incisors.
Question
What is the primary function of the conical and sharply pointed canine teeth?
Answer
Holding and tearing food.
Question
Which teeth have two hill-like projections or 'cusps' on their surface?
Answer
Premolars.
Question
What is the term for dentition consisting of teeth with different shapes and functions?
Answer
Heterodont.
Question
What is the total number of temporary (milk) teeth in a child around 2 years of age?
Answer
20.
Question
The dental formula for a human adult is _____.
Answer
$\frac{2, 1, 2, 3}{2, 1, 2, 3}$.
Question
What is the common name for the last molar on each side of each jaw?
Answer
Wisdom tooth.
Question
What is the hardest substance in the human body?
Answer
Enamel.
Question
Which material forms the bulk of a tooth and contains minute canals with cytoplasm strands?
Answer
Dentine.
Question
What bone-like structure covers the root of the tooth and fixes it in position?
Answer
Cementum.
Question
Which part of the tooth contains the blood capillaries and nerve fibres?
Answer
Pulp.
Question
Where are the parotid salivary glands located?
Answer
Just in front of and beneath each ear.
Question
Which salivary glands are located below the tongue?
Answer
Sublingual glands.
Question
What is the normal pH of human saliva?
Answer
6.8.
Question
Which enzyme in saliva is responsible for digesting starch into maltose?
Answer
Ptyalin (salivary amylase).
Question
What is the term for the ball of chewed food formed with the help of saliva before swallowing?
Answer
Bolus.
Question
During swallowing, which structure closes the nasal passage to prevent food entry?
Answer
Soft palate.
Question
Which flap of cartilage closes the glottis during swallowing?
Answer
Epiglottis.
Question
What is the name for the wave of muscular constrictions that moves food through the gut?
Answer
Peristalsis.
Question
Which part of the alimentary canal conducts food from the throat to the stomach without producing enzymes?
Answer
Oesophagus.
Question
What is the approximate food capacity of an average human adult stomach?
Answer
2 to 3 litres.
Question
Which sphincter is located at the front end of the stomach to prevent regurgitation into the oesophagus?
Answer
Cardiac sphincter.
Question
What are the two primary functions of $HCl$ in gastric juice?
Answer
It kills germs and activates pepsinogen into pepsin.
Question
The enzyme pepsin converts proteins into _____.
Answer
Peptides.
Question
Which enzyme found in babies curdles milk protein?
Answer
Rennin.
Question
What is the pulp-like form of food produced in the stomach after churning?
Answer
Chyme.
Question
What are the three sub-regions of the small intestine?
Answer
Duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.
Question
What is the function of the villi in the small intestine?
Answer
To increase the surface area for the absorption of digested food.
Question
In an intestinal villus, what is the name of the central lymph vessel?
Answer
Lacteal.
Question
Which organ produces bile?
Answer
The liver.
Question
Where is bile temporarily stored before being released into the duodenum?
Answer
The gall bladder.
Question
What process describes the breakdown of fat into tiny droplets by bile salts?
Answer
Emulsification.
Question
Which pancreatic enzyme continues the digestion of starch into maltose in the duodenum?
Answer
Amylopsin.
Question
What is the inactive precursor to the pancreatic enzyme trypsin?
Answer
Trypsinogen.
Question
Which enzyme in pancreatic juice splits emulsified fats into fatty acids and glycerol?
Answer
Steapsin.
Question
The intestinal enzyme erepsin converts peptides into _____.
Answer
Amino acids.
Question
Which intestinal enzyme digests milk sugar (lactose)?
Answer
Lactase.
Question
Through which vessel are simple sugars and amino acids transported from the gut to the liver?
Answer
Hepatic portal vein.
Question
What are the three parts of the large intestine?
Answer
Caecum, colon, and rectum.
Question
What is the primary function of the colon?
Answer
The absorption of water.
Question
What percentage of normal faeces is composed of water?
Answer
75%.
Question
What is the term for the conversion of absorbed digested food into body material?
Answer
Assimilation.
Question
The process by which the liver converts excess glucose into glycogen for storage is _____.
Answer
Glycogenesis.
Question
What is the term for the liver's removal of the nitrogen-containing group from amino acids to form urea?
Answer
Deamination.
Question
Which anticoagulant is produced by the liver to prevent spontaneous blood clotting?
Answer
Heparin.
Question
Which two proteins required for blood clotting are synthesized by the liver?
Answer
Fibrinogen and prothrombin.
Question
How does the liver contribute to body temperature maintenance?
Answer
By producing heat through cellular metabolism.
Question
In the starch test, what colour indicates a positive result with iodine solution?
Answer
Blue-black.
Question
Which reagent is used to test for the presence of glucose (sugar)?
Answer
Fehling's solution.
Question
In the protein test, concentrated nitric acid turns the sample from white to _____.
Answer
Yellow.
Question
What simple physical test indicates the presence of fats in food?
Answer
The formation of a translucent spot on paper.
Question
Cobalt chloride paper turns from blue to _____ in the presence of water.
Answer
Pink.