15 Flashcards
(622 cards)
Inanition
State of advanced lack of adequate nutrition, food, and water or a physiological inability to utilise them
Cachexia
Weight loss or deterioration in physical condition e.g. muscle atrophy in someone not actively trying to lose weight
Effect of fat, calcitonin and insulin on appetite
Insulin decreases appetite
Calcitonin decreases appetite
Fat ingestion causes CCK release which slows gastric emptying and decreases appetite
How does opioids and GHRH effect appetite
Increase appetite
How does 5-HT, dopamine and GABA effect appetite
Decrease appetite
Common symptoms of bowel disease
- Pain, swelling, cramping in tummy
- Recurring or bloody diarrhoea
- Weight loss
- Extreme tiredness
Small intestine motility
Segmentation:
- Mixes digested food
- Oscillating movements resulting in contracted and relaxed areas
- Slow net movement towards anus
Peristalsis:
- Rapid propulsion of intestinal contents towards the anus
- Contraction of longitudinal muscles
- Reflex initiated by local distension
What causes gut motility in the fasting state?
Migrating motor complexes (MMC) which occur every 90-120mins
High frequency bursts of powerful contractions, beginning in the stomach and moving towards the terminal ileum
Pyloric sphincter open wide
Functions of migrating motor complexes?
Moves indigestible food e.g. tomato skins
Allows for removal of dead epithelial cells
Prevents bacterial overgrowth
Prevents colonic bacteria entering the small intestine
What is the gastro-ileal reflex?
Causes ileal segmentation in response to gastrin (from G cells) secreted due to presence of chyme
What is segmentation coordinated by?
Myenteric plexus and circular muscle
What is circular muscle contraction brought on by?
Acetylcholine and substance P
What is contraction of the small intestine mediated by?
Vagal excitatory contraction via substance P and acetylcholine
What is relaxation of the small intestine mediated by?
Vagal inhibitory contraction via NO and VIP
Motility of large intestine
Segmental (haustral) contractions:
- Brought about by contraction of teniae coli
- Distension of haustra stimulates contraction
- Contraction of adjacent haustra causes mixing effect
Peristalsis:
- Slower in large intestine than small intestine
- Slowly moves intestinal contents towards the anus
Mass movement:
- Describes intense contraction that begins halfway along the transverse colon and pushes intestinal contents towards the rectum
- Occurs shortly after meal and if faeces are present in the rectum, stimulates urge to defecate - gastrocolic reflex
- Partly hormonal via CCK
Bulk forming laxatives MOA
Increase the volume of non-absorbable solid residue in the gut, distending the colon and stimulating peristaltic activity
E.g. bran, methycellulose
Osmotic laxatives MOA
Poorly absorbed compounds that increase water content of the bowel by osmosis
E.g. movicol
Stimulant laxatives MOA
Increase peristalsis and water and electrolyte secretion possibly by stimulating enteric nerves
E.g. Senna
Faecal softeners (antispasmodics) MOA
Directly relax smooth muscle
E.g. mebeverine
Pathophysiology of Crohn’s disease
- Granulomatous inflammation from mouth anus
- Relapsing remitting
- NOD2/CARD15 gene
Macroscopic:
- Skip lesions
- Haemorrhagic ulcers/mesenteric lymph node hyperplasia
- Cobblestone pattern of bowel mucosa due to submucosal oedema and interconnected deep fissured ulcers
- Thickened bowel wall due to oedema and fibrosis
Microscopic:
- Transmural inflammation - all layers of bowel wall
- Non-caseating granuloma
Pathophysiology of ulcerative colitis
- Diffuse superficial inflammation
- Relapsing-remitting
Macroscopic appearance:
- May affect whole large bowel
- Bowel wall not thickened
- Shallow ulceration with pseudopolyps, hyperaemia and haemorrhage
- Diseased bowel is continuous
Microscopic appearance:
- Inflammation is limited to mucosa and submucosa with infiltration of both neutrophils and macrophages
- Crypt abscesses with ulceration, crypt atrophy and paneth cell metaplasia
Pathophysiology of malabsorption
Malabsorption is the decreased absorption of nutrients which may be caused by a number of conditions including biochemical disorders
Causes include:
- Reduced small intestine SA
- Infection
- Loss of digestive enzymes
- Drug induced mechanisms
- Lymphatic obstruction
- Rapid transit
- Failure of nutrient to reach small bowel (fistula)
- Surgical resection
Coeliac disease
- Abnormal reaction to gluten
- Damage to enterocytes
- Environmental factors allow gliadin to come into contact with transglutaminase in the lamina propria
- Gliadin is the modified by TTG and recognised as an antigen by CD4+ T cells
- Stem cells unable to keep up with rate of loss of enterocytes
- Results in villous atrophy
Consequences of malnutrition
- Frothy, greasy stools that are difficult to flush away
- Anaemia
- Diarrhoea
- Weight loss
- Abdominal distension
- Vit K deficiency