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Digestive System Anatomy Flashcards
Free Anatomy Cards for Nursing and Medicine Students
From the oral cavity to the large intestine, these free Anatomy flashcards take you through the structure and function of each organ in the digestive tract. Useful for nursing and medical revision.
Question
What are the two main divisions of the digestive system?
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Answer
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract (alimentary canal): mouth → oesophagus → stomach → small intestine → large intestine → rectum → anus. And accessory organs: liver, gallbladder, pancreas, salivary glands.
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Question
What are the layers of the GI tract wall from inside to outside?
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Answer
Mucosa (innermost — secretion and absorption), submucosa (connective tissue, blood vessels, nerves), muscularis externa (inner circular and outer longitudinal smooth muscle — peristalsis), and serosa/adventitia (outer covering).
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Question
What is the enteric nervous system?
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Answer
The "second brain" — an intrinsic nervous system within the GI wall containing ~500 million neurons. Controls motility, secretion, and blood flow via the myenteric (Auerbach's) and submucosal (Meissner's) plexuses.
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Question
What is the mesentery?
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Answer
A fold of peritoneum attaching the intestines to the posterior abdominal wall — suspending the bowel and carrying blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves. Now classified as a single continuous organ.
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Question
What is the peritoneum?
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Answer
A serous membrane lining the abdominal cavity (parietal peritoneum) and covering abdominal organs (visceral peritoneum). The space between is the peritoneal cavity containing peritoneal fluid for lubrication.
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Question
What are the anatomical regions of the stomach?
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Answer
Cardia (junction with oesophagus), fundus (dome-shaped top), body (main part), antrum (pre-pyloric), and pylorus (junction with duodenum, contains the pyloric sphincter).
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Question
What are the four parts of the duodenum?
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Answer
First (superior/bulb — most common site of peptic ulcers), second (descending — ampulla of Vater opens here), third (horizontal), fourth (ascending — joins jejunum at duodenojejunal flexure/ligament of Treitz).
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Question
What is the ileocaecal junction?
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Answer
The junction between the small intestine (ileum) and large intestine (caecum). The ileocaecal valve regulates the flow of chyme and prevents backflow. The appendix is attached to the caecum here.
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Question
What are the parts of the large intestine in order?
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Answer
Caecum → ascending colon → hepatic flexure → transverse colon → splenic flexure → descending colon → sigmoid colon → rectum → anal canal → anus.
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Question
What is the blood supply to the gut?
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Answer
Foregut (oesophagus to mid-duodenum): coeliac artery. Midgut (mid-duodenum to two-thirds of transverse colon): superior mesenteric artery (SMA). Hindgut (remaining colon to upper rectum): inferior mesenteric artery (IMA).
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