Gastrointestinal tract - changes associated with ageing, Biology

Assignment Help:

Gastrointestinal Tract - Changes Associated with ageing?

Many path physiological factors limit the adequacy of the dietary intake of elderly. Loss of natural dentition may occur due to tooth decay and gum disease. Loose painful teeth and ill-fitting dentures can result in mastication difficulty. Swallowing of food without proper mechanical chewing further leads to digestive problems. Certain other age-related changes include a decline in the sense of taste and smell which result in the lessening of appetite and reduction in the quantity of food consumed. The number of taste buds decreases with ageing which reduce sensitivity to taste and food may seem to be 'less appetizing' and have lost its 'natural taste'. Decreased secretion of saliva leads to dryness of mouth, thus making swallowing difficult. In the food passages, there is an increase in non- propulsive contraction which may lead to impaired absorption of nutrients. The incidence of gastric movement and gastric emptying diminishes progressively with age. Further, there is a decrease in the amount of acid and other digestive juices secreted by the digestive tract. Pancreatic enzyme section is not very much altered in old age. The food stays in stomach for longer period of time which gives a feeling of fullness and heaviness. Fat absorption is slightly impaired. In the small intestine, the blood flow is reduced by 40% and absorptive capacity by 30%. Carbohydrates and fat absorption decreases to a lesser extent with age and the protein absorption remains intact. The volume, acidity and pepsin content of the gastric juice is sometimes reduced. In turn, there is an interference with the absorption of calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin B12.

The motility of large intestine and elasticity of the rectal wall decreases with advancing age due to decrease in muscle activity and constipation is likely to be a frequent complaint.Fats may be poorly tolerated because they further retard gastric emptying. This happens as the pancreatic production of lipase (fat-digesting enzyme) is inadequate for satisfactory hydrolysis and there may be a reduced production of bile due to chronic biliary impairment.

 


Related Discussions:- Gastrointestinal tract - changes associated with ageing

What is the name of the dna duplication process, What is the name of the DN...

What is the name of the DNA duplication process? What is the main enzyme that participates in it? The process of copying, or duplication, of the DNA molecule is called replica

Illustrates the effect of wall movement on earth pressure, Illustrates abou...

Illustrates about the effect of wall movement on earth pressure? Effect of wall movement on earth pressure About fifty years ago Terzaghi conducted a series of tests on larg

Single pair of alleles, Give three examples of human disorders which are ca...

Give three examples of human disorders which are caused by the action of a single pair of alleles. In every case say whether the harmful allele is dominant or recessive to the non-

Explain what is biomes and their types, Explain what is Biomes and their ty...

Explain what is Biomes and their types? Scientists study biological systems as units. For instance, an ecosystem unit consists of a community and its physical environment. The

Define biosynthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones, Define Biosynthesis ...

Define Biosynthesis and Secretion of Thyroid Hormones? Histologically, the functional cells of the thyroid gland are arranged in follicles, which surround a central lumen conta

Calculate the volume of a 25% urethane, Assume that the blood volume of a r...

Assume that the blood volume of a rabbit is 0.5 liters. If the effective dose of the anesthetic urethane is 10 µgrams/ml of blood, calculate the volume of a 25% urethane solution t

Eugenics, Eugenics : This is the study of improvement of human races by app...

Eugenics : This is the study of improvement of human races by applying the genetic laws. In other words Eugenics is the bio-social movement & applied science that advocates the use

Planning and implementing nursing care-nephrotic syndrome, Planning of Nurs...

Planning of Nursing Care   Promote nonnal urinary pattern or releive  excess  fluid  Administer medication  as prescribed  Protect the children from secondary  infecti

What is self-catalytic rnas, Q. What is self-catalytic RNAs? Ribozymes...

Q. What is self-catalytic RNAs? Ribozymes - Term 'ribozyme' was initially suggested by Thomas R. Cech, Nobel Prize winning biochemist, who discovered this class of RNA molecul

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd