Digestion of Fats quiz Flashcards
Digestion of Fats quiz
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Where does the majority of fat digestion occur in the human body?
Most fat digestion occurs in the small intestine, where enzymes and bile work together to break down fats. What is the function of lingual lipase in fat digestion?
Lingual lipase is an enzyme secreted by the tongue that begins the chemical digestion of fats in the mouth. Which enzyme continues fat digestion in the stomach?
Gastric lipase continues the chemical digestion of triglycerides into fatty acids and monoglycerides in the stomach. What role does bile play in fat digestion?
Bile emulsifies large fat droplets into smaller ones, making them more accessible to pancreatic lipases for digestion. What are the main products of triglyceride digestion by lipases?
The main products are free fatty acids and monoglycerides. What are micelles and what is their function in fat absorption?
Micelles are spherical phospholipid complexes that collect digested lipids and facilitate their absorption into enterocytes. What are enterocytes and what is their role in fat absorption?
Enterocytes are the cells lining the small intestine that absorb digested lipids from micelles. What are chylomicrons and what is their function?
Chylomicrons are lipoproteins that transport dietary lipids through the lymphatic system and into the bloodstream. Describe the process of triglyceride reassembly during fat absorption.
Inside enterocytes, free fatty acids and monoglycerides are reassembled into triglycerides before being packaged into chylomicrons. Why do chylomicrons enter the lymphatic system instead of blood capillaries?
Chylomicrons are too large to enter blood capillaries, so they enter lacteals, which are specialized lymphatic capillaries in the small intestine. What happens to small hydrophilic molecules and short-chain fatty acids during fat absorption?
They can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream without being packaged into chylomicrons. What enzyme releases fatty acids from chylomicrons in the bloodstream?
Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) breaks down triglycerides in chylomicrons, releasing free fatty acids for tissue uptake. List the three primary fates of fatty acids released from chylomicrons.
Fatty acids can be used for energy, synthesized into other lipids, or stored as triglycerides in adipose tissue. What is the function of lacteals in fat absorption?
Lacteals are specialized lymphatic capillaries in the small intestine that transport chylomicrons into the lymphatic system. How do micelles facilitate the absorption of hydrophobic lipids?
Micelles transport hydrophobic lipids through the aqueous environment of the intestine to the enterocyte surface for absorption.
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