Critical Thinking Questions
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
- Explain how the enteric nervous system supports the digestive system. What might occur that could result in the autonomic nervous system having a negative impact on digestion?
- What layer of the alimentary canal tissue is capable of helping to protect the body against disease, and through what mechanism?
- Offer a theory to explain why segmentation occurs and peristalsis slows in the small intestine.
- It has been several hours since you last ate. Walking past a bakery, you catch a whiff of freshly baked bread. What type of reflex is triggered, and what is the result?
- The composition of saliva varies from gland to gland. Discuss how saliva produced by the parotid gland differs in action from saliva produced by the sublingual gland.
- During a hockey game, the puck hits a player in the mouth, knocking out all eight of their most anterior teeth. Which teeth did the player lose and how does this loss affect food ingestion?
- What prevents swallowed food from entering the airways?
- Explain the mechanism responsible for gastroesophageal reflux.
- Describe the three processes involved in the esophageal phase of deglutition.
- Explain how the stomach is protected from self-digestion and why this is necessary.
- Describe unique anatomical features that enable the stomach to perform digestive functions.
- Explain how nutrients absorbed in the small intestine pass into the general circulation.
- Why is it important that chyme from the stomach is delivered to the small intestine slowly and in small amounts?
- Describe three of the differences between the walls of the large and small intestines.
- Why does the pancreas secrete some enzymes in their inactive forms, and where are these enzymes activated?
- Describe the location of hepatocytes in the liver and how this arrangement enhances their function.
- Explain the role of bile salts and lecithin in the emulsification of lipids (fats).
- How is vitamin B12 absorbed?
