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Gastric Digestion Research Paper

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1. Firstly, the cracker enters the mouth. This is where the cracker is physically broken down by chewing, and chemical digestion of carbohydrates begins. Salivary glands in the mouth produce saliva which moistens dry food and contains salivary amylase, a digestive enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates. The cracker is then swallowed. Paristalsis (involuntary muscle contractions) push food down the esophagus. In the stomach the cracker bathes it in gastric juices. Gastric juice is composed of three main parts; hydrochloric acid, mucus, and pepsin. Hydrochloric acid helps to digest the cracker chemically and protects the body by killing bacteria present in the cracker. Mucus acts as a protective barrier preventing the gastric juice from burning …show more content…

This is called inhalation. Exhalation occurs when the diaphragm moves upward, forcing the chest cavity to get smaller and pushing the air up and out of the nose and mouth.

Every few seconds, with each inhalation, air fills a large portion of the millions of alveoli. In a process called diffusion, oxygen moves from the alveoli to the blood through the capillaries lining the alveolar walls. Once in the bloodstream, the hemoglobin in red blood cells picks up oxygen. This oxygen-rich blood then flows back to the heart. It leaves the heart and goes out into the body (e.g. it pumps through the body to the femoral vein in the thigh). Oxygen in the blood diffuses into tissues as blood travels. Finally, oxygen diffuses into the mitochondria.

3. In the tiny capillaries of the body tissues, oxygen is freed from the hemoglobin and moves into the cells. Carbon dioxide, which is produced during the process of diffusion, moves out of these cells into the capillaries, where most of it is dissolved in the plasma of the blood. The blood is now deoxygenated, and returns to the heart via the veins. From the heart, this blood is pumped to the lungs, where carbon dioxide passes into the alveoli and back into the lungs to be …show more content…

From the right atrium the blood moves into the right ventricle through the AV valve. When the ventricles contract the blood is moves through the semilunar valve into the pulmonary artery. This artery then branches off into the left lung and the right lung so that the blood can become oxygenated. The oxygen-rich blood returns to the left atrium of the heart through the pulmonary veins.

4. The kidneys filter the blood to remove wastes, like excess water, and produce urine. The ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra together form the urinary tract, which drain urine from the kidneys. They also store the urine then release it during urination. The kidneys filter metabolic wastes, excess ions, and chemicals from the blood to form urine.

Gravity as well as peristalsis of muscle tissue in the walls of the ureters move urine toward the bladder. The ends of the ureters extend into the urinary bladder and are attached to the ureterovesical valves. These valves prevent urine from flowing back towards the kidneys.

The urinary bladder is used for the storage of urine. Urine entering the urinary bladder from the ureters slowly fills the bladder and stretches

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