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Nutrition Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Alimentary Canal | the whole passage along which food passes through the body from mouth to anus. It includes the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. |
Anus | the opening at the end of the alimentary canal through which solid waste matter leaves the body |
Appendicitis | a serious medical condition in which the appendix becomes inflamed and painful |
Appendix | a tube-shaped sac attached to and opening into the lower end of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals. |
Bite | an act of biting into something in order to eat it |
Chemical Digestion | the process in the alimentary canal by which food is broken up physically, |
Chyme | the pulpy acidic fluid that passes from the stomach to the small intestine, consisting of gastric juices and partly digested food. |
Colon | the main part of the large intestine, which passes from the cecum to the rectum and absorbs water and electrolytes from food that has remained undigested. |
Constipation | a condition in which there is difficulty in emptying the bowels, usually associated with hardened feces. |
Diarrhea | a condition in which feces are discharged from the bowels frequently and in a liquid form. |
Esophagus | the part of the alimentary canal that connects the throat to the stomach; the gullet. In humans and other vertebrates it is a muscular tube lined with mucous membrane. |
c | |
Gall bladder | the small sac-shaped organ beneath the liver, in which bile is stored after secretion by the liver and before release into the intestine |
Gastric Juice | a thin, clear, virtually colorless acidic fluid secreted by the stomach glands and active in promoting digestion |
c | |
Large Intestine | the cecum, colon, and rectum collectively. |
Lipases | an enzyme (as one secreted by the pancreas) that catalyzes the breakdown of fats and lipoproteins usually into fatty acids and glycerol. |
Liver | a large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates, involved in many metabolic processes. |
Mechanical Digestion | |
Mucus | a slimy substance, typically not miscible with water, secreted by mucous membranes and glands for lubrication, protection, etc. |
Oral Cavity | |
Pancreas | a large gland behind the stomach that secretes digestive enzymes into the duodenum |
Pepsin | the chief digestive enzyme in the stomach, which breaks down proteins into polypeptides. |
Peristalsis | the involuntary constriction and relaxation of the muscles of the intestine or another canal, creating wavelike movements that push the contents of the canal forward. |
Ptyalin | a form of amylase found in the saliva of humans and some other animals. |
rectum | the final section of the large intestine, terminating at the anus. |
rennin | an enzyme secreted into the stomach of unweaned mammals, and in some lower animals and plants, causing the curdling of milk. |
Saliva | watery liquid secreted into the mouth by glands, providing lubrication for chewing and swallowing, and aiding digestion. |
Salivary Grands | |
Small Intestine | the part of the intestine that runs between the stomach and the large intestine; the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum collectively. |
Stomach | the internal organ in which the major part of the digestion of food occurs, being (in humans and many mammals) a pear-shaped enlargement of the alimentary canal linking the esophagus to the small intestine. |
Ulcer | an open sore on an external or internal surface of the body, caused by a break in the skin or mucous membrane that fails to heal. |
Villi | any of numerous minute elongated projections set closely together on a surface, typically increasing its surface area for the absorption of substances, in particular. |