Matt and Maria have now received and begun to eat their Chinese takeout. They ha
ID: 58862 • Letter: M
Question
Matt and Maria have now received and begun to eat their Chinese takeout. They have accomplished biting off a portion of a piece of their General Tso's chicken and rice and proceeded to chew and swallow. For this report, you will describe the path the chicken and rice follows and the physiological processing that take place to convert the chicken and rice into their nutritional components that can be used by the body for energy and homeostatic processes.
Consider the following as you proceed through your research and discussion of this topic.
1.Through which organs, and in what order does the bolus of food travel?
2. How long does the food remain in each segment of the digestive tract and what physiological processing takes place during this time?
3. What role does the autonomic nervous system play in controlling the movement of food through the digestive tract? What other physical or physiological factors can impact the movement of food though the digestive tract?
4. What specific enzyme or other digestive substances are associated with each segment of the digestive tract and which cells produce these substances? What specific components of the chicken and rice (proteins, carbohydrates, etc.) are processed by each of these substances?
5. What role do the accessory digestive organs play in the process? What are the specific cells of each of these accessory organs and what substances do they produce? Where in the digestive tract are the substances introduced into the digestive process?
6.What is the ultimate fate of the digested chicken and rice? What was the initial biological structure of the nutritional components first consumed (example proteins breaking down to their simpler components) and what are the resulting products resulting from digestion that are now ready and available for use by the body for energy and homeostasis?
7. What is the fate of the solid and fluid components that are not absorbed into the body? When and where does control of movement of digestive tract content transition from the autonomic nervous system controlled smooth muscles to peripheral nervous system control of voluntary skeletal muscles?
Explanation / Answer
4. Mouth produces saliva, which contains amylase that digests carbohydrates.
Stomach produces hydrochloric acid, pepsinogen, intrinsic factor, and mucus.
Hydrochloric acid kills the bacteria and other organisms that enter the stomach, and activates pepsinogen.
Pepsinogen is converted to pepsin, which digests protein peptides.
Pancreas produces trypsin, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidases, lipases, and phospholipases.
Trypsin, chymotrypsin, and carboxypeptidases digest proteins, whereas lipases, phospholipases digest lipid molecules.
Small intestine produces lactase, sucrase, maltase, lipases, and peptidases. Lactase, sucrase, and maltase digest carbohydrates.
5. Salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder are the accessory organs of the digestive tract.
Salivary glands produce mucus, and amylase. Amylase digests starch into simple sugars, while mucus binds food particles together and acts to lubricate during swallowing.
Pancreas produces digestive juices such as amylase, lipases, and proteinases etc. These digestive juices break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats respectively.
Liver is the largest gland in the body. It produces bile salts to emulsify lipids. It detoxifies metabolic end products to protect the body.
Gallbladder stores bile juice.
6. Chicken contains proteins. Proteins are not digested in mouth. But mouth can physically digest chicken into smaller pieces. The partially digested chicken pieces go into stomach, where it is digested by pepsin. Pancreas produces trypsin, chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidases, lipases, and phospholipases. The chicken is digested by trypsin, chymotrypsin, and carboxypeptidases in the duodenum of the small intestine. After the complete digestion, proteins present in the chicken are converted to amino acids, which can be absorbed into the blood.
Rice is a carbohydrate content. It is digested inside the mouth by amylase. Partially digested rice reaches the stomach, and then digested by pancreatic juices, and enzymes produced by small intestine. The monosaccharide units produced by the digestion of rice are readily absorbed into the blood stream.
The left over, and undigested parts of the chicken and rice are excreted by large intestine through rectum.