Name: Date:

Biology Lab Activities: Human Body

(Digestion and Excretion)
Last updated: 11/1/22

Background Questions
Read the Digestive System Overview article on the Visible Body Learn Site and explore the 3D
model of the small intestine. Use what you’ve learned to answer the following questions.

1. Where does digestion begin?

2. What is a bolus?

3. Food is moved through the digestive system by way of involuntary smooth muscle
contractions called _______________.

4. What is chyme and where is it created?

5. Where does most nutrient absorption occur?

6. Nutrients absorbed from chyme are passed into the _________________.

7. Where is indigestible waste compacted?

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Name: Date:

Lab 1: Digestive System Overview

Activity 1: Label the key structures of the digestive

system
1. Review the Digestive System Overview article and read the Digestive System Glossary
on the Visible Body Learn Site.

2. Label the digestive structures in the head and neck by matching the numbered labels in
the image below to the list included here.
○ Explore this 3D model of the oral cavity in your browser or in AR to find the
structures you need to label.
○ Fill in the blanks to label the structures from the list.

Word List
Esophagus ___
Oral cavity ___
Salivary glands ___
Tongue ___

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 3. Label the digestive structures in the abdomen and pelvis by matching the numbered
labels in the image below to the list included here.
○ Explore the 3D model of the lower digestive structures in your browser or in AR
to find the structures you need to label.
○ Fill in the blanks to label the structures from the list.

Word List:
Anal canal ___
Large intestine ___
Rectum ___
Small intestine ___
Stomach ___

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 Name: Date:

Lab 1: Digestive System Overview

Activity 2: Explore the functions of digestive system

structures
Refer to your labeled digestive system image from Activity 1 and use what you’ve learned from the
Learn Site article and glossary to match each of the following structures with its description.

Structures:
a. Anal canal
b. Epiglottis
c. Esophagus
d. Large intestine
e. Oral cavity
f. Salivary glands
g. Small intestine
h. Stomach
i. Tongue
j. Rectum

Descriptions:
___ Structures that secrete saliva to aid in chewing and swallowing of the bolus,
beginning chemical digestion
___ A structure that contains the teeth, tongue, and hard and soft palates
___ A muscular organ that mixes food in the oral cavity and works with the teeth to
break down food into small masses that can be swallowed
___ A long, hollow, muscular tube that extends from the pharynx to the stomach
___ A structure that prevents choking by folding down to close off the larynx and
trachea, directing the bolus into the esophagus
___ A structure that has four regions and three muscle layers, provides food storage,
and breaks down ingested food into chyme
___ The final segment of the large intestine, which primarily stores and expels solid
waste
___ A structure, located at the distal end of the rectum, that extends to the anus and
temporarily stores solid waste that’s ready to be eliminated from the body
___ A structure that has three regions: the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum
___ A structure—composed of the colon, cecum, appendix, rectum, and anal

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canal—that carries out the final phases of digestion, absorption, and elimination

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Name: Date:

Lab 2: Accessory Organs of the Digestive

System

Activity 1: Label the accessory digestive organs

1. Read the Accessory Organs article on the Visible Body Learn Site.

2. Match the numbered labels in the image below to the list included here:
○ Explore the 3D model of the liver in your browser or in AR to find the structures
you need to label.
○ Fill in the blanks to label the structures from the list below.

Word List:
Common bile duct ___
Common hepatic duct ___
Cystic duct ___
Gallbladder ___
Liver ___
Pancreas ___

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Name: Date:

Lab 2: Accessory Organs of the Digestive

System

Activity 2: Explore the functions of the accessory

digestive organs
Refer to your labeled accessory digestive organs image from Activity 1 and use what you’ve learned
from the Digestive System Glossary on the Visible Body Learn Site to answer the following questions.

1. The liver secretes ________ to emulsify ________ in the small intestine.

2. If bile is not needed immediately for digestion, it flows up the cystic duct into the
_______________. When necessary, this organ releases bile into the duodenum of the
_________ intestine.

3. What does the pancreas produce and secrete into the small intestine?

4. What is the endocrine role of the pancreas?

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Name: Date:

Lab 3: Digestion, Absorption, and

Elimination

Activity 1: Explore how food travels through the

digestive system

1. Read the Propulsion and Peristalsis article on the Visible Body Learn Site and explore
the 3D model of the esophagus to see how it connects the pharynx to the stomach.

2. Number the following statements, from 1 to 10, to accurately show the path food takes
through the digestive system.

___ Gastric juices, produced in the gastric gland and containing hydrochloric acid and enzymes,
digest food into chyme.

___ Solid waste is temporarily stored in the rectum before it is passed through the anal canal.

___ The tongue rises to the roof of the mouth, directing the bolus out of the oral cavity.

___ Food is consumed and taken into the oral cavity.

___ Pancreatic juice passes through the pancreatic ducts into the duodenum to aid digestion in the
small intestine.

___ The bolus passes from the oral cavity to the pharynx and into the esophagus.

___ Chyme travels through the small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream.

___ Food is chewed and mixed with saliva secreted by the salivary glands to break it down into a
small mass called the bolus.

___ Chyme travels through the large intestine, where water and specific vitamins are absorbed and
the remaining waste materials pass to the rectum.

___ Peristaltic waves move the bolus down the esophagus into the stomach.

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Name: Date:

Lab 3: Digestion, Absorption, and

Elimination

Activity 2: Simulate digestion

Adapted from Explorit Science Center’s Science Assembly Program at the University of
California, Davis

Introduction:

In this lab, you will mimic the stages of digestion, using the supplies provided. After completing
each step, use the appropriate term from the word list to fill in the chart identifying what each
activity item represents.

Directions:

1. Add a sleeve of saltine crackers and 4 tablespoons of baking soda to the plastic bag and
securely seal the bag.
2. Crush the saltine crackers using your knuckles.
3. Add ¼ cup of water to the bag.
4. Add ⅓ cup of vinegar to the bag.
5. Mash the contents of the bag, so the liquid mixture fully coats the crackers.
6. Insert the sponge into the plastic bag and seal it.
7. Move the cracker mixture around to coat the sponge until the water is absorbed.
8. Remove the sponge and air from the plastic bag.
9. Seal the bag and roll it from the bottom to the top.
10. Hold the rolled up bag over the trash can.
11. Cut one end of the bag and squeeze the contents into the trash can.

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 Word List:
Bolus
Chyme
Food
Saliva
Small and large intestines
Stomach acid

Table 1

Gastrointestina
l
Activity Structure/Obje
Items ct
Crackers
Water
Vinegar
Crackers mixed with water
Crackers mixed with vinegar
Sponge

Discussion Questions:

Use what you’ve learned from Activities 1 and 2, as well as the Propulsion and Peristalsis article on
the Visible Body Learn Site, to answer the following questions.

1. What step in Activity 2 represents mechanical digestion? Explain why.

2. What step in Activity 2 represents chemical digestion? Explain why.

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3. What is the role of saliva in digestion?

4. What is the role of stomach acid in digestion?

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5. Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC),
involve chronic inflammation of the small and large intestines.
a. Which stage or stages of digestion would be affected by these conditions?

b. How would you modify the activity you just did to model this?

6. Which element of the gastrointestinal system would cause irritation of the esophagus in
GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)?

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Name: Date:

Lab 3: Digestion, Absorption, and

Elimination

Activity 3: Explore the structures involved in absorption

and elimination
Read the Absorption and Elimination article on the Visible Body Learn Site and explore the 3D model
of the large intestine. Use what you’ve learned to complete the following activities.

1. The small intestine is where most nutrient absorption takes place. _________ that line the
walls of the small intestine absorb nutrients into _______________ of the circulatory
system and ____________ of the lymphatic system.

2. The large intestine, also called the _________, compacts liquid waste into solid waste,
called _________.

3. Number the following structures, from 1 to 7, to accurately show the path waste takes
through the large intestine.

___ Ascending colon

___ Anal canal
___ Cecum
___ Descending colon
___ Rectum
___ Sigmoid colon
___ Transverse colon

4. In a process called ______________, the body expels waste products from digestion
through the rectum and anus. This reflex is mostly ______________, controlled by the
autonomic nervous system, but the somatic nervous system helps control the timing of
elimination.

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Name: Date:

Lab 4: Urinary System Overview

Activity 1: Explore urinary system structures

Read the Urinary System Structures article and the Urinary System Glossary on the Visible
Body Learn Site. Use what you’ve learned to answer the following questions.

1. The main role of the urinary system is to filter _________ and remove _________ from
the body.

2. Urine is produced in the ___________ and stored in the ___________. Which structure
does the urine pass through to get from the kidneys to the bladder?

3. What structure allows urine to be excreted from the bladder out of the body?

4. One of the principal differences between the male and female urinary system is the
structure of the urethra. The female urethra is about 4 cm long, extending from the
bladder neck to the external urethral orifice in the vestibule of the vagina. The male
urethra is __________ than the female urethra. It is divided into _________ sections as
it extends from the bladder neck through the prostate and the penis to the urethral
orifice.

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Name: Date:

Lab 4: Urinary System Overview

Activity 2: Compare female and male urinary anatomy

As you learned in Activity 1, the size and position of lower urinary structures varies with male and
female anatomy. The position and size of the kidneys and ureters is essentially the same across the
male and female urinary systems.

1. Label the female urinary system structures by matching the numbered labels in the
image below to the list included here:
○ Explore the female urinary anatomy images in the Urinary System Glossary on
the Visible Body Learn Site to find the structures you need to label.
○ Fill in the blanks to label the structures from the list below.

Word List:
Bladder ___
Kidney ___
Renal artery ___
Renal vein ___
Ureter ___
Urethra ___

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 2. Label the male urinary system structures by matching the numbered labels in the image
below to the list included here:
○ Explore the 3D model of the male urethra on the Urinary System Structures page
of the Visible Body Learn Site to find the structures you need to label.
○ Fill in the blanks to label the structures from the list below.

Word List:
Bladder ___
Membranous urethra ___
Prostate ___
Prostatic urethra ___
Spongy urethra ___
Ureter ___

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Name: Date:

Lab 5: Urine Creation, Storage, and

Elimination

Activity 1: Explore the three stages of urine creation that

occur in the kidneys
Read the Urine Creation article on the Visible Body Learn Site and use what you’ve learned to
answer the following questions.

1. The kidneys filter unwanted substances from the blood and produce urine to excrete
them. What are the three main steps of urine formation?
a.
b.
c.

2. Complete the following sentences about the three main steps of urine formation.
a. Each kidney contains over 1 million tiny structures called __________. Each of
these structures contains a glomerulus, the site of blood filtration. _________
and small solutes are filtered out of the blood during this step of urine formation.

b. Within the glomerulus, the _____________________ keeps blood cells and large
proteins in the bloodstream. Fluid that has passed through this structure is called
____________.

c. Filtrate leaves the glomerulus and passes into the renal tubule for the second
step of urine formation, ________________. During this step, water, essential
ions, glucose, amino acids, and smaller proteins are reabsorbed into
______________.

d. _____________, the third step of urine formation, occurs at the same time as the
second step. During this step, waste ions and hydrogen ions pass from the
capillaries into the renal tubule.

3. Urine is about _____% water and _____% waste products, such as urea, creatinine,
ammonia, and uric acid. Ions such as sodium, potassium, hydrogen, and calcium are
also excreted in urine.

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Name: Date:

Lab 5: Urine Creation, Storage, and

Elimination

Activity 2: Explore the structure of the bladder and the

process of micturition
Read the Urine Storage and Elimination article on the Visible Body Learn Site and use what
you’ve learned to answer the following questions.

1. The bladder is shaped like a ___________ when it is empty.

2. Which structures allow the bladder to expand as it fills with urine?

3. What triggers the micturition reflex?

4. What involuntary muscle actions occur during micturition?

5. The ____________ urethral sphincter has voluntary control over micturition.

6. Urinary tract infections, or UTIs, occur when bacteria enter the urethra and infect the
urinary tract. (See the CDC’s website for more information about UTIs.)

Using the Urinary System Glossary on the Visible Body Learn Site, review the
differences in structure between the male and female urethra. What elements of the
female urethra would increase the risk of a UTI?

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