UNIT 5: Human Physiology
NCERT Chapter 16: Digestion and Absorption
FAQs or Question Answers from the “Digestive Glands Topic” 👇👇
🔰 Also Read: FAQs on the Basics of the Digestion Process (NCERT)
Q1: What are the digestive glands associated with the alimentary canal?
Answer: The digestive glands associated with the alimentary canal include the salivary glands, the liver, and the pancreas.
Q2: How many pairs of salivary glands are there?
Answer: There are three pairs of salivary glands.
Q3: What are the names of the three pairs of salivary glands?
Answer: The three pairs of salivary glands are the parotids, the sub-maxillary/sub-mandibular, and the sublinguals.
Q4: Where are the parotid glands located?
Answer: The parotid glands are located in the cheek.
Q5: Where are the sub-maxillary or sub-mandibular glands located?
Answer: The sub-maxillary or sub-mandibular glands are located in the lower jaw.
Q6: Where are the sublingual glands located?
Answer: The sublingual glands are located below the tongue.
Q7: What is the main secretion of the salivary glands?
Answer: The main secretion of the salivary glands is saliva.
Q8: Where are the salivary glands situated about the buccal cavity?
Answer: The salivary glands are situated just outside the buccal cavity.
Q9: What is the function of the salivary glands?
Answer: The function of the salivary glands is to secrete salivary juice into the buccal cavity.
Q10: What is another name for the sub-maxillary glands?
Answer: Another name for the sub-maxillary glands is the sub-mandibular glands.
Q11: Which glands are responsible for producing saliva?
Answer: The three pairs of salivary glands (parotids, sub-maxillary/sub-mandibular, and sublinguals) are responsible for producing saliva.
Q12: Into which part of the body is salivary juice secreted?
Answer: Salivary juice is secreted into the buccal cavity.
Q13: What is the role of saliva in the digestive process?
Answer: Although not mentioned in the paragraph, generally, saliva begins the digestive process by breaking down starches into simpler sugars.
Q14: Are the salivary glands located inside the buccal cavity?
Answer: No, the salivary glands are located just outside the buccal cavity.
Q15: What term is used for the region where saliva is released?
Answer: The term for the region where saliva is released is the buccal cavity.
Q16: What type of glands are parotids, sub-maxillary/sub-mandibular, and sublinguals?
Answer: Parotids, sub-maxillary/sub-mandibular, and sublinguals are salivary glands.
Q17: Do all digestive glands secrete substances into the buccal cavity?
Answer: No, only the salivary glands secrete substances into the buccal cavity; other digestive glands like the liver and pancreas secrete into other parts of the alimentary canal.
Q18: What does the buccal cavity refer to?
Answer: The buccal cavity refers to the mouth cavity where initial digestion begins.
Q19: Is saliva produced in the alimentary canal itself?
Answer: No, saliva is produced by glands situated just outside the alimentary canal and then secreted into the buccal cavity.
Q20: Which gland is located below the tongue?
Answer: The sublingual glands are located below the tongue.
Q21: What is the largest gland in the human body?
Answer: The liver is the largest gland in the human body.
Q22: What is the approximate weight of the liver in an adult human?
Answer: The liver weighs about 1.2 to 1.5 kg in an adult human.
Q23: Where is the liver located in the body?
Answer: The liver is located in the abdominal cavity, just below the diaphragm.
Q24: How many lobes does the liver have?
Answer: The liver has two lobes.
Q25: What are the structural and functional units of the liver called?
Answer: The structural and functional units of the liver are called hepatic lobules.
Q26: What do hepatic lobules contain?
Answer: Hepatic lobules contain hepatic cells arranged in the form of cords.
Q27: What type of cells are found in the liver?
Answer: Hepatic cells are found in the liver.
Q28: How are hepatic cells arranged within the liver?
Answer: Hepatic cells are arranged in the form of cords within the liver.
Q29: Is the liver located above or below the diaphragm?
Answer: The liver is located below the diaphragm.
Q30: What is the main function of hepatic cells?
Answer: While not mentioned in the paragraph, hepatic cells are primarily involved in metabolism, detoxification, and bile production.
Q31: What is the significance of hepatic lobules in the liver?
Answer: Hepatic lobules are essential as they are the liver’s structural and functional units.
Q32: Does the liver consist of a single lobe or multiple lobes?
Answer: The liver consists of multiple lobes; specifically, it has two lobes.
Q33: In which body cavity is the liver situated?
Answer: The liver is situated in the abdominal cavity.
Q34: What organ is located just above the liver?
Answer: The diaphragm is located just above the liver.
Q35: Are hepatic cells randomly scattered in the liver?
Answer: No, hepatic cells are arranged in the form of cords in the liver.
Q36: What is the primary location of hepatic lobules within the liver?
Answer: Hepatic lobules are spread throughout the liver as its basic structural units.
Q37: Is the liver a single structure or does it contain subdivisions?
Answer: The liver contains subdivisions, specifically two lobes and numerous hepatic lobules.
Q38: What is the role of the liver’s lobes?
Answer: The two lobes of the liver house hepatic lobules and perform various metabolic and detoxification functions.
Q39: How many hepatic lobules are there in the liver?
Answer: Although the exact number is not given in the paragraph, the liver contains numerous hepatic lobules.
Q40: Is the liver’s weight the same in all adult humans?
Answer: The liver’s weight may vary slightly, but it typically weighs between 1.2 to 1.5 kg in an adult human.
Q41: What is each lobule of the liver covered by?
Answer: Each lobule is covered by a thin connective tissue sheath called the Glisson’s capsule.
Q42: What is the Glisson’s capsule?
Answer: The Glisson’s capsule is a thin connective tissue sheath that covers each lobule of the liver.
Q43: Where does the bile secreted by hepatic cells pass through?
Answer: The bile secreted by hepatic cells passes through the hepatic ducts.
Q44: Where is bile stored and concentrated?
Answer: Bile is stored and concentrated in a thin muscular sac called the gall bladder.
Q45: What is the function of the gall bladder?
Answer: The gall bladder stores and concentrates bile.
Q46: What is the duct of the gall bladder called?
Answer: The duct of the gall bladder is called the cystic duct.
Q47: Which ducts combine to form the common bile duct?
Answer: The cystic duct from the gall bladder and the hepatic duct from the liver combine to form the common bile duct.
Q48: What is the role of the common bile duct?
Answer: The common bile duct transports bile from the liver and gall bladder to the small intestine.
Q49: What type of tissue covers each hepatic lobule?
Answer: A thin connective tissue sheath called the Glisson’s capsule covers each hepatic lobule.
Q50: What is bile?
Answer: Although not described in the paragraph, bile is a digestive fluid produced by the liver that aids in the digestion of fats.
Q51: How is bile transported from the liver to the gall bladder?
Answer: Bile is transported from the liver to the gall bladder via the hepatic ducts.
Q52: What is the cystic duct?
Answer: The cystic duct is the duct of the gall bladder that connects it to the common bile duct.
Q53: Where is bile concentrated before it is released into the digestive system?
Answer: Bile is concentrated in the gall bladder before it is released into the digestive system.
Q54: How does the liver contribute to bile production?
Answer: The liver produces bile through its hepatic cells, which is then transported via the hepatic ducts.
Q55: What is the connection between the gall bladder and the liver in terms of bile flow?
Answer: The hepatic duct from the liver and the cystic duct from the gall bladder join to form the common bile duct, facilitating bile flow to the intestine.
Q56: Does the Glisson’s capsule play a role in bile secretion?
Answer: No, the Glisson’s capsule only covers each lobule; it does not play a direct role in bile secretion.
Q57: What is the importance of the common bile duct?
Answer: The common bile duct is important as it channels bile from the liver and gall bladder to the small intestine for digestion.
Q58: In what type of sac is the bile stored before entering the intestine?
Answer: Bile is stored in a thin muscular sac called the gall bladder before entering the intestine.
Q59: Do hepatic cells secrete bile directly into the gall bladder?
Answer: No, hepatic cells secrete bile into the hepatic ducts, which then flows to the gall bladder via the cystic duct.
Q60: What two ducts form a connection to aid in bile storage and release?
Answer: The hepatic duct from the liver and the cystic duct from the gall bladder form the common bile duct to aid in bile storage and release.
Q61: Where do the bile duct and pancreatic duct open together?
Answer: The bile duct and pancreatic duct open together into the duodenum.
Q62: What is the combined opening of the bile and pancreatic ducts into the duodenum called?
Answer: It is called the common hepato-pancreatic duct.
Q63: What guards the opening of the common hepato-pancreatic duct?
Answer: The opening is guarded by a sphincter called the sphincter of Oddi.
Q64: What is the sphincter of Oddi?
Answer: The sphincter of Oddi is a muscle that controls the release of bile and pancreatic juice into the duodenum.
Q65: Where is the pancreas located?
Answer: The pancreas is located between the limbs of the ‘U’-shaped duodenum.
Q66: What type of organ is the pancreas?
Answer: The pancreas is a compound organ, meaning it has both exocrine and endocrine functions.
Q67: What does the exocrine portion of the pancreas secrete?
Answer: The exocrine portion of the pancreas secretes an alkaline pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes.
Q68: What does the endocrine portion of the pancreas secrete?
Answer: The endocrine portion of the pancreas secretes the hormones insulin and glucagon.
Q69: What is the role of the pancreatic juice secreted by the exocrine portion?
Answer: The pancreatic juice contains enzymes that aid in digestion.
Q70: What hormones are produced by the endocrine portion of the pancreas?
Answer: The endocrine portion of the pancreas produces insulin and glucagon.
Q71: Why is the pancreas considered a compound organ?
Answer: The pancreas is considered a compound organ because it has both exocrine (enzyme secretion) and endocrine (hormone secretion) functions.
Q72: What is the shape of the duodenum around which the pancreas is located?
Answer: The duodenum is ‘U’-shaped around the pancreas.
Q73: What is the function of the sphincter of Oddi?
Answer: The function of the sphincter of Oddi is to regulate the flow of bile and pancreatic juice into the duodenum.
Q74: What is the nature of the pancreatic juice secreted by the exocrine pancreas?
Answer: The pancreatic juice is alkaline.
Q75: Which digestive enzymes are present in the pancreatic juice?
Answer: Although not specified in the paragraph, pancreatic juice generally contains enzymes like amylase, lipase, and protease.
Q76: What is the role of insulin and glucagon secreted by the pancreas?
Answer: Insulin and glucagon regulate blood glucose levels.
Q77: Is the pancreas solely an endocrine gland?
Answer: No, the pancreas has both endocrine and exocrine functions.
Q78: Which part of the pancreas is responsible for hormone secretion?
Answer: The endocrine portion of the pancreas is responsible for hormone secretion.
Q79: What is the primary function of the exocrine portion of the pancreas?
Answer: The primary function of the exocrine portion is to secrete digestive enzymes into the duodenum.
Q80: How do the bile duct and pancreatic duct contribute to digestion?
Answer: The bile duct delivers bile, and the pancreatic duct delivers pancreatic juice, both of which aid in digestion in the duodenum.
