Im STRUGGLING to define physiology.
Is it the micro things that happen or is it both macro and micro stuff that happens ?
Is it the micro things that happen or is it both macro and micro stuff that happens ?
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I have a masters degree in human physiology, so this is right up my alley. Physiology refers to the biochemical activities of cells, tissues and organs. It includes hormonal actions, DNA actions, digestive processes on the enzyme level and the absorption level, all having to do with chemical actions on a molecular level.
Mastication is not a physiological function, it a physical process which has a purpose to aid the physiology of digestion. Oh, man..I just put my foot into it, didn't I? Let me explain.
By this I mean that chewing is a physical process that breaks the food into smaller particles, but in itself does not begin the digestion of the food. It does make it easier to swallow and it also increases surface area by making the food into smaller chunks so that enzymes in saliva, stomach and other digestive organs will have more surface to work on as they break up the food into nutrient molecules.
It might help to know that different animals have different shaped teeth based on their primary food sources. Horses, cows etc have large teeth specialized for grinding, since they are herbivores. We are omnivores..we eat both plant and animal tissue, so we have sharper teeth in the front of our mouths for tearing the food, and flat molars in the back of the mouth for grinding.
Purely carnivorous animals have sharper teeth all around, even their molars have points on them, because they need to rip and tear their food, since it is (evolutionarily) raw muscle and organs of the prey animals they eat. These are all physical adaptations to the type of food; it is not physiological.
Physiology is the study of the biochemistry of the body, and of course anatomy must also be understood, but the stress is on the biochemical reactions and how and why they happen on a cellular level.
Physical functions are just changing state from large chunks to smaller (mastication), tossing the food around and make it liquid instead of solid (the stomach fluid and action of the stomach muscles), which is different from talking about digestive enzymes and how they break down food into nutrient molecules, and how those nutrients are absorbed into the blood stream and then how they are used in the cells.
Does this help at all?
Mastication is not a physiological function, it a physical process which has a purpose to aid the physiology of digestion. Oh, man..I just put my foot into it, didn't I? Let me explain.
By this I mean that chewing is a physical process that breaks the food into smaller particles, but in itself does not begin the digestion of the food. It does make it easier to swallow and it also increases surface area by making the food into smaller chunks so that enzymes in saliva, stomach and other digestive organs will have more surface to work on as they break up the food into nutrient molecules.
It might help to know that different animals have different shaped teeth based on their primary food sources. Horses, cows etc have large teeth specialized for grinding, since they are herbivores. We are omnivores..we eat both plant and animal tissue, so we have sharper teeth in the front of our mouths for tearing the food, and flat molars in the back of the mouth for grinding.
Purely carnivorous animals have sharper teeth all around, even their molars have points on them, because they need to rip and tear their food, since it is (evolutionarily) raw muscle and organs of the prey animals they eat. These are all physical adaptations to the type of food; it is not physiological.
Physiology is the study of the biochemistry of the body, and of course anatomy must also be understood, but the stress is on the biochemical reactions and how and why they happen on a cellular level.
Physical functions are just changing state from large chunks to smaller (mastication), tossing the food around and make it liquid instead of solid (the stomach fluid and action of the stomach muscles), which is different from talking about digestive enzymes and how they break down food into nutrient molecules, and how those nutrients are absorbed into the blood stream and then how they are used in the cells.
Does this help at all?
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Personally, I chew with my teeth rather than my oral cavity. Therefore, chewing isn't any kind of function of the oral cavity. I keep my teeth in my oral cavity or, at least, I try to.