Which statement best distinguishes digestion from absorption?
Answer
Digestion breaks food into absorbable units; absorption transfers digestion products across the mucosa into blood or lymph.
Explanation
**Digestion** reduces foodstuffs to units suitable for uptake, while **absorption** is the passage of those products across the GI mucosa into blood or lymph. The alternatives confuse these processes with motility, secretion, elimination, or ingestion. Chewing contributes to ingestion and mechanical digestion, but it does not define either process by itself. This distinction matters clinically: a person may digest food but still absorb nutrients poorly if mucosal transfer is impaired. **Key takeaway:** Digestion prepares nutrients for uptake; absorption moves them into the body.\n\n**Glossary:**\n- **Mucosa**: The GI tract’s innermost layer, facing the lumen.\n- **Lymph**: Fluid carried in lymphatic vessels, one route by which absorbed materials travel.
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