Deck 9: Food Digestion

Question 1

If an organ of the digestive tract were missing or dysfunctional the tract might be compromised EXCEPT in the case of the:

A) oral cavity, which contributes to palatability and swallowing
B) stomach, which enables vitamin B-12 to be absorbed
C) duodenum, which allows pH adjustment and pancreatic enzyme admixture
D) appendix, which absorbs micronutrients and processes sugars
E) colon, which ferments non-starch polysaccharide and starch resistant to digestion

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What are three organs involved in the production of digestive enzymes?

A) kidneys, liver, spleen
B) hypothalamus, salivary glands, gall bladder
C) gall bladder, spleen, kidneys
D) salivary glands, stomach, pancreas
E) enterocytes, liver, spleen

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following enzymes is secreted by the pancreas and breaks down proteins?

A) amylase
B) lipase
C) trypsin
D) lactase
E) pepsinogen

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Damage to the ileum will most likely result in malabsorption of:

A) carbohydrate
B) amino acids
C) water
D) fat
E) alcohol

Question 5

If all or part of the pancreas is dysfunctional, digestion of which nutrients may be affected?

A) carbohydrates and proteins
B) carbohydrates and fats
C) proteins and fat-soluble vitamins
D) fats and fat-soluble vitamins
E) all nutrients

Question 6

The movement of sugars across a cell membrane from high concentration (gut lumen) to low concentrations (interior of cells) is an example of:

A) osmosis
B) diffusion
C) pinocytosis
D) active transport
E) counter transport

Question 7

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) The liver is the first organ that has the opportunity to process or store nutrients after absorption.
B) The circular folds, the villi and the brush borders at the surface of the small intestine, effectively increase the surface area in contact with food molecules.
C) Insulin and glucagon are two important pancreatic enzymes for the digestion of carbohydrates, especially to yield glucose.
D) The microorganisms in the colon obtain energy principally by breaking down dietary fibre, which cannot be broken down by the pancreatic enzymes.
E) Gut transit time is the period that food takes to pass through the stomach, small intestine and large intestine. Ideally the gut transit time should be about 12-48 hours.

Question 8

Which of the following is a main function of the stomach?

A) The secretion of enzymes to digest carbohydrate.
B) The production of liquid chyme by mixing food and digestive secretions.
C) The provision of a storage space to allow microbial fermentation of plant-based food.
D) The initial mixing of bile with fat to facilitate its digestion and absorption.
E) The absorption of excess water.

Question 9

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) The chyme remains acid while it passes through the small intestine to the large intestine.
B) The proteolytic activity of zymogens is activated in the small intestine.
C) A small fraction of protein can escape digestion and only minute amounts of whole protein can be absorbed into the body.
D) The lipase enzyme hydrolyses triglyceride fats, producing free fatty acids and 2-monoglycerides.
E) Monosaccharides can move across a membrane from a region of low concentration to a region of high concentration; this uptake process is called active transport.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Adaptive and feedback strategies enable the digestive system to handle different types of diets and frequencies of eating episodes.
B) More energy-dense foods satisfy hunger for longer periods of time, i.e. they score higher on the satiety index.
C) Ghrelin and leptin hormones, once reaching the hypothalamus, have opposite effects on food intake.
D) The hormone leptin hormone, which is secreted exclusively by adipose tissue, has satiety-inducing effects and serves as an indicator of the body's total energy stores.
E) Insulin can stimulate food intake by induction of hypoglycaemia.

Question 11

What is peristalsis, and why is it important in the digestive process?

Question 12

Outline the implications of having slow and fast gut transit times.

Question 13

What are the roles of the hormones ghrelin or leptin in regard to the control of food intake by appetite and satiety?