Instructions: Peer Responses
125 Word Minimum
RESEARCH (Label this section)
- Teach the topic to students. Responses must add new information not previously discussed. Consider new factual information tied with critical thinking. Share interesting and current research on the topic.
- Use APA citations in the post to clarify sources.
- Do not simply summarize another student’s post and agree/disagree.
- Consider starting out posts with, “A research article I found said,” “Did you know,” or “Three things I found interesting were… .”
CRITICAL THINKING (Label this section)
- Pose new possibilities or opinions not previously voiced.
- Connect the dots. Why is this an important topic for you, your community, society, or the world? How does it relate to other concepts in the text?
- Add references and word count for all posts.
Post 1
3. Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Chloride, and Phosphates
Sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, and phosphates
Research:
Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Chloride, and Phosphates are significant elements in the human body. Notably, the minerals are all electrolytes meaning they are gotten from the food and drinks one takes. Further, the number of electrolytes can be too low or too high depending on the food and fluid an individual takes. Electrolytes help in balancing body PH and body fluid, transport nutrients into the cell, transport waste materials out of the cells, and ensure that the heart, liver, and lungs perform their functions as they should.
The body requires a low amount of sodium to maintain a balance in the body fluid and ensure that muscles and nerves function smoothly. Potassium is commonly found in many food elements. Its role includes maintaining normal blood pressure, maintaining a balance of body fluid inside a cell, controlling muscle contraction, and transmitting nerve signals within the organs. Calcium is absorbed in the body with the help of vitamin C to aid blood vessels with the movement of blood and fluid. According to CDC, consuming too little potassium and much sodium can cause high blood pressure (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). This means that a balance in consuming electrolytes is significant to avoid health risk that results from imbalance. Phosphates are essential for bone and teeth formation and are also involved in energy production and the metabolism of proteins and fats. However, consuming too many phosphates can lead to calcium imbalances, weakening bones and increasing the risk of osteoporosis.
W.C. 243
Critical Thinking
Electrolytes sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, and phosphates are significant in the body and can easily be found in food and fluids. Being obtained from the food, maintaining a balance of the electrolytes is significant as their surplus or deficiency may trigger lifestyle problems such as diabetes, heart attack, and other diseases. The topic is essential in all with the increase of desire to consume fast and unhealthy food in the body. Thus, one should strive to balance electrolytes and fluid by ensuring enough fluid intake and a mineral-rich diet. In summary, these five minerals are critical for maintaining various bodily functions, and their imbalances can significantly impact human health. Maintaining a balanced diet and consuming these minerals in appropriate amounts is essential to promote optimal health.
W.C. 136
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022a, August 23). Potassium and Sodium. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/salt/potassium.htm.
Saladin, K. (2020). Anatomy & physiology: The unit of form and function (9th ed.). McGraw Hill Education.
W.C. 423
POST 2
Claimed Topic:
How do hormones regulate secretion by the liver and pancreas.
Research:
According to Tao et al. (2013), the digestive system is made up of the digestive tract and auxiliary organs like the liver and exocrine pancreas. In addition to the chyme from the stomach, the small intestine also receives digestive tract-entering fluids from the liver and pancreas. Before moving on to discuss intestinal physiology, it is essential to comprehend these secretions because they are so critical to the small intestine’s digesting activities (Saladin, 2020).
Saladin (2020, p. 946) described the liver as a reddish-brown gland that occupies the majority of the right hypochondriac and epigastric regions. It is situated immediately inferior to the diaphragm. At around 1.4 kg, it is the biggest gland in the body. It serves a huge range of purposes, but just one of them—the release of bile—helps digestion. The bile canaliculi, which are tiny passageways between the adjacent hepatocyte layers in each plate, are where the liver secretes bile. From there, bile enters tiny ductules between the lobules, and they eventually converge from the right and left hepatic channels. The common hepatic duct is formed when they come together on the inferior side of the liver. The cystic duct from the gallbladder joins this a short distance further on. The bile duct is formed by their junction.
Saladin (2020, p. 949) describes the gallbladder as a pear-shaped sac on the underside of the liver that is used to store and concentrate bile. Its length is roughly 10 cm. The cystic duct, which is reached from its neck (cervix), connects to the bile duct. Except for a small amount of mucus, the gallbladder doesn’t secrete anything on its own. It solely takes in, stores, and concentrates the bile that the liver produces. When bile is secreted from the liver, it is a light yellow-green color, but when it is concentrated in the gallbladder, it turns a deep, strong green. Minerals, cholesterol, neutral fats, phospholipids, bile pigments, bile acids, and micelles—lipid transport vesicles—all make up this fluid mixture. Bile enters the gallbladder by first filling the bile duct and then spilling over into it. Each day, the liver secretes 500 to 1000 mL of bile.
The greater curvature of the stomach and the body wall compress the pancreas, a retroperitoneal gland. It is soft and flat. Each day, the pancreas’ exocrine tissue, which accounts for 99% of its structure, secretes 120–150 mL of pancreatic juice. While the head of the pancreas has a higher exocrine content, the tail contains a relatively high number of pancreatic islets. Pancreatic juice is an alkaline mixture of sodium bicarbonate, other electrolytes, enzymes, and food (Saladin, 2020, p. 950). Pancreatic juice and bile are primarily released in response to three stimuli. Enteric neurons and the vagus nerve are the sources of acetylcholine (ACh). The pancreatic acini are stimulated by ACh to produce their enzymes. The pancreatic acini and ducts continue to store the enzymes for eventual release when chyme enters the duodenum. The proximal jejunum and duodenal mucosa secrete cholecystokinin (CCK). CCK is named for its potently stimulating impact on the gallbladder, which it does via encouraging the pancreatic acini to produce enzymes. The same section of the small intestine produces secretin, primarily in response to the chyme from the stomach’s acidity. The liver and pancreas’ ducts are stimulated by secretin to secrete large amounts of sodium bicarbonate solution. This flushes the enzymes into the duodenum in the pancreas. The hydrochloric acid coming from the stomach is buffered by sodium bicarbonate. Carbonic acid causes it to react (Saladin, 2020).
W/C: 591
Critical Thinking:
The liver is the body’s largest gland and solid organ. It performs numerous essential functions, such as those related to metabolism, digestion, immunity, and detoxification. Another gland organ that makes insulin as well as other critical hormones and enzymes is the pancreas. Together, these organs help to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. In addition to producing albumin, a protein that aids in the transportation of important substances, the liver also produces bile to aid in digestion, filters blood to remove toxins and other harmful substances, regulates amino acids to aid in protein synthesis, supports blood clotting with the help of bile, supports the immune system by destroying pathogens during blood filtration, and stores vitamins and minerals that it can release when needed. The upper left abdominal region contains the pancreas, a long, squishy organ. The primary job of the pancreas is to make the right kinds of chemicals in the right amounts to aid in food processing and digestion. It performs endocrine and exocrine processes.
The control of blood sugar is the primary interaction between the liver and pancreas. Additionally, they cooperate structurally and aid in digestion. Ducts provide a structural link between the two. The duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, is where the bile duct and pancreatic duct converge. As a component of the biliary system, the bile duct is a tube that transports bile into and out of the liver. Bile is secreted by the liver and finally joins the bile duct after passing through hepatic ducts. The gallbladder is where the body also stores some bile. Digestion is aided by bile. Pancreatic enzymes are secreted by the pancreas and go through the pancreatic ducts to the duodenum. By dissolving lipids, proteins, and carbs, these pancreatic fluids also facilitate digestion.
W/C: 297
References
Saladin, K. S. (2020). Anatomy & Physiology: The Unit of Form and Function. (9th ed.). McGrawHill
Education
Tao, T., Shi, H., Huang, D., & Peng, J. (2013). Def Functions as a Cell Autonomous Factor in Organogenesis
of Digestive Organs in Zebrafish. PLoS ONE, 8(4), e58858.
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A478311111/OVIC?u=lirn99776&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=0f8f8380
