You and your friend are having dinner and you tell a funny joke. Your friend laughs at the same time he tries to swallow some water, and the water comes out his nose. Why has this happened?

General anesthesia eliminates the swallowing reflex but does not eliminate the feedback loops that cause vomiting. Considering this, explain why patients are advised not to eat or drink anything for at least 12 hours prior to undergoing surgery.

Drugs with anticholinergic side effects block ACh receptors in the peripheral nervous system, including those on digestive organs. Predict the effects such drugs would have on motility and secretion on the specific organs of the digestive system.

Mr. Williams presents to your clinic with a complaint of abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. He says that the pain worsens when he eats, particularly when he eats fatty meals. He has noticed that his stool has been an unusual clay color recently. You perform an ultrasound of his abdomen and find that gallstones are blocking his common bile duct, preventing bile from entering the duodenum.

Why are his symptoms worse when he consumes a high-fat meal? Would you expect his symptoms to worsen or lessen when he consumes a meal consisting only of carbohydrates? Explain.

Mr. Williams presents to your clinic with a complaint of abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. He says that the pain worsens when he eats, particularly when he eats fatty meals. He has noticed that his stool has been an unusual clay color recently. You perform an ultrasound of his abdomen and find that gallstones are blocking his common bile duct, preventing bile from entering the duodenum.

You test Mr. Williams's stool and find high amounts of undigested fats. Explain this finding.

Mr. Williams presents to your clinic with a complaint of abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. He says that the pain worsens when he eats, particularly when he eats fatty meals. He has noticed that his stool has been an unusual clay color recently. You perform an ultrasound of his abdomen and find that gallstones are blocking his common bile duct, preventing bile from entering the duodenum.

Explain why his feces have become a clay color instead of a normal brown color.

A surgical procedure known as gastric bypass involves removing all or part of the stomach.

Ms. Anthony has undergone gastric bypass, and her stomach has been removed entirely. She goes out to dinner and eats an extremely large meal. Explain what will happen in her small and large intestine following this meal.

A surgical procedure known as gastric bypass involves removing all or part of the stomach.

How would stomach removal affect absorption of vitamin B12? Explain.

Individuals experiencing prolonged vomiting lose a great deal of hydrochloric acid with the vomitus. Predict the effect this loss of acid will have on the pH of the blood. How will the respiratory system respond to the change in pH?

Irritant laxatives increase the amount of water in the feces by triggering an inflammatory response in the intestinal mucosa. Explain why an inflammatory response causes this effect.

Predict what types of nervous system damage might lead to a loss of the defecation reflex.

Your friend insists that absorption is the most important process carried out by the digestive system. What do you think of this claim? How would you respond?

Which of the following is not one of the six basic processes carried out by the digestive system?

a. Propulsion

b. Gas exchange

c. Secretion

d. Absorption

The peritoneal cavity is located:

a. Around each of the digestive organs

b. Between layers of mesentery

c. Superior to the greater omentum

d. Between the parietal and visceral peritoneum