Question

Today, through a modern scientific breakthrough, you have been miniaturized and protected by an acid-proof wetsuit. You have just entered through the open lips of today’s subject and are going to explore the digestive system. You linger for a while to describe the marvels of the oral cavity when suddenly a bolus of a bean burrito knocks you down and you begin your descent.

Describe all the structures and their secretions or products including all openings, valves, or sphincters encountered as you pass through the oral cavity and travel with the bean burrito on its journey into the large intestine. Fortunately you are able to find safety in the vermiform appendix and will await further instructions for your removal.

Answer 1

Bean Burrito contains every type of nutritional components to provide significant nutritional value to the body after being consumed in the diet. The function of digestive system is to break down the food taken in our diet, release their nutrients and absorbs those nutrients into the body.

Structures and their secretions or products with all openings, valves or sphincters involved in the process of digestion includes:

1. Mouth: teeth, salivary glands, saliva, tongue, mechanical breakdown of food

2. Pharynx: epiglottis, food propulsion and prevent backflow

3. Esophagus:cylindrical pipe, food propulsion and movement

4. Stomach: mucus, gastric juice (acid, pepsin), chemical breakdown of food, pyloric sphincter

5. Small Intestine: food propulsion, digestive juices, cholecystokinin, secretin, motilin, breakdown and absorption of some nutrients, cardiac sphincter

6. Large Intestine: breakdown of nutrients and absorption of nutrients

Accessory Organs: Liver (bile salts), gall bladder (store bile), pancreas (pancreatic juice and hormones)