Digestion Process: Crohn's Disease, Proton Pumps, Aspirin

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Questions for the Digestive tract

1. Pretend you are a piece of solid food. Describe:
a. The process of being chewed. Swallowed, and the events that occur in stomach until you are squirted as chime into the duodenum (secretions, and the digestive process).
As food is chewed, saliva is produced (it is also produced just by smelling food). Saliva contains compounds and enzymes that break down food. Your teeth help to make the food into smaller, more manageable pieces (by grinding and mashing the food) so that the digestive enzymes can further break food down. Substances are also released to disinfect and neutralize acidity (potassium bicarbonate, lysozyme). The tongue molds the softened food into a ball or bolus for swallowing. When you swallow, the food passes into the pharynx. The passages to the lungs and nose are closed, so the food then enters the esophagus, a muscular tube that moves food to the stomach. This is performed through a series of muscle contractions called peristalsis. At the bottom of the esophagus is a ring shaped muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter, which relaxes to let food into the stomach, and closes to prevent vomiting.

Once the food arrives in the stomach, the muscular walls churn the food into a liquid-like substance called chyme, a semi-fluid mass of partly digested food. The stomach also secretes additional enzymes (pepsinogen, renin) and acids (hydrochloric acid) that help break down proteins, fats, and alcohol. Gelatinase helps to digest meat, gastric amylase digests starch not yet digested by mouth, and gastric lipase digests butter fat. The stomach can expand or contract depending upon how much food it contains. The stomach is lined with mucosa, a membrane that secretes a protective substance (mucus), which protects the stomach lining. Solid food can remain in the stomach for up to 5 hours. ...