Chapter 21 Nutrition.ppt

Chapter 21Nutrition Digestion Getting Their Fill of Krill Animals obtain and process nutrients in a variety of ways Humpback whales eat small fishes and crustaceans called krill This painting shows how the whales corral their food using “bubble nets” Humpback whales strain their food from seawater using large, brushlike plates called baleen In a typical day, a humpback whale’s digestive system will process as much as 2 tons of fish and krill Animals ingest their food in a variety of ways Animal diets are highly varied Herbivores are plant-eaters Carnivores are meat-eaters Omnivores eat both plants and other animals Some animals are suspension feeders, consuming particles from water Carnivores Some are fluid feeders, sucking liquids The Four Stages of Food Processing Ingestion Digestion: A Closer Look Mechanical digestion Chemical digestion Digestive Compartments In animals, chemical digestion is contained safely within some kind of compartment Relatively simple animals have a sac with a single opening In most animals, the digestive compartment is an alimentary canal The human digestive system consists of an alimentary canal and accessory glands When food is swallowed, it is moved through the alimentary canal by peristalsis Peristalsis is rhythmic muscle contraction in the walls of the digestive tract Ringlike sphincter muscles regulate the passage of food Digestion begins in the oral cavity The teeth break up food Saliva moistens it Salivary enzymes begin the hydrolysis of starch The tongue pushes the chewed food into the pharynx The Pharynx The pharynx During swallowing a reflex tips the epiglottis to close the windpipe entrance The Esophagus The esophagus The Stomach The stomach Connection: Bacterial infections can cause ulcers New evidence suggests that a spiral-shaped prokaryote causes gastric ulcers Helicobacter pylori growth erodes protective mucus and damages the stomach lining The Small Intestine The small intestine Alkaline pancreatic juice neutralizes s