16.4 Stomach Flashcards
What is the stomach
It is a J-shaped sac-like chamber lying in between the esophagus and the small intestine
What are the three sections of the stomach?
- Fundus
- Body
- Antrum
Where is the fundus?
it is the part of the stomach that lies above the esophageal opening.
Where is the body ?
It is the middle part of the stomach
Both the fundus and the body have_________ smoth muscle layers
relatively thin
Where is the antrum?
The lower part of the stomach
Why is that the antrum has more heavier musculature than the fundus and body which relatively have thin smooth muscle?
For now let’s just say these differences play important roles in terms of gastric motility in these regions.
Where is the pyloric sphincter located and what is its function?
it is the terminal portion of the stomach and it acts as a barrier between the stomach and the duodenum.
Is the stomach ever totally empty?
no, never. if no food is present, there is fluid still present
WHAT ARE THE THREE MAIN FUNCTIONS THE STOMACH PERFORMS?
- (most NB) It stores ingested food until it can be emptied into the small intestine at a rate optimal for digestion and absorption.
- It secretes HCl and enzymes to start up protein digestion
- Due to its mixing movements, the ingested food is pulverised and mixed with gastric secretions to produce chyme
What is chyme?
is the semi-fluid, partially digested mixture of; food, stomach acid, and digestive enzymes that forms in the stomach and moves into the small intestine for further digestion.
What must stomach contents be converted into before they are emptied into the small intestine?
chyme
Gastric motility is quite __________
complex
What are the four aspects of gastric motility?
- Filing
- storage
- mixing
- emptying
Explain the filing aspect of gastric motility
This involves receptive relaxation which is mediated by the vagus nerve and allows the stomach to accommodate the meal with little change in intragastric pressure. The process occurs through the expansion of the stomach facilitated by deep folds in the stomach’s interior, which flatten out as the stomach relaxes with each mouthful.
When emptying the stomach has a volume of about_____but can expand to about_________during a meal.
50mL, 1L(1000mL)
What happens to the intragastric pressure when 1L of food is consumed?
It rises and there is discomfort due to the stomach being overdistended.
Where does gastric storage take place?
In the body of the stomach
What are the interstitial cells of Cajal?
They are a group of pacemaker cells located in the upper fundus and generate slow-wave potentials that move down the stomach toward the pyloric sphincter at a rate of 3mv/min. This BER of the stomach occurs continuously and may/may not result in contractions of the stomach’s circular smooth muscle layer.
What does the stomach’s smooth muscle level of excitability determine?
It determines whether these slow-wave potentials will reach the threshold and generate action potentials, which then initiate peristaltic waves following BER
What is basic electrical rhythm(BER)
Rhythmic patterns of spontaneous depolarization
Once peristaltic waves are initiated what happens?
They move down from the fundu, body to the antrum and pyloric sphincter.
Why are the peristaltic contractions in the fundus and body weak compared to the strong vigorous ones in the antrum?
This is due to the thicker smooth muscle at the antrum compared to the thin one at the fundus and body
Where do weak mixing movements occur in the stomach?
The fundus and body
Where does strong mixing occur in the stomach?
the antrum
What part of the stomach typically contains only a pocket of gas rather than storing food?
The fundus
The strong peristaltic waves of the antrum mix food with gastric secretions to form?
chyme
What causes the pyloric sphincter to be almost typically, but not completely closed?
tonic contractions
What is the significance of tonic contraction of the pyloric sphincter ?
It allows water and other fluids to pass through into the duodenum easily but prevents large particles bigger than 2mm from passing through
What happens when peristaltic waves reach the pyloric sphincter?
The pyloric sphincter closes tightly forcing larger particles to move back to the body of the stomach. This antral chyme will then be pushed again by the next peristaltic wave and tumbled back creating retropulsion. This occurs until the particles are broken down enough to be able to pass through the pyloric sphincter.
What factors largely control gastric emptying?
factors in the duodenum
The greater the excitability of the smooth muscle of the antrum………….
The more frequently BER generates action potentials, the stronger the antral peristaltic contractions, and the higher the emptying rate into the duodenum.
What is the driving force for gastric emptying and gastric mixing?
antral peristaltic contractions
What are the gastric factors that affect ga stric emptying ?
(amount of chyme in stomach)
1. stomach distension triggers increased gastric motility
2. fluidity of chyme
What are the 4 duodenal factors that affect gastric emptying?
( it can reduce the strength of antral peristaltic waves until it is ready to accommodate the incoming chyme.)
1. Fat is the most effective nutrient in delaying gastric emptying because its digestion and absorption take the longest and occur only in the small intestine. Triglycerides in the stomach trigger the release of CCK which inhibits antral contractions and induces pyloric sphincter contraction until the small intestine can accommodate more fat.
2. Acid- highly acidic chyme from the stomach enters the duodenum where it will need to be neutralised by sodium bicarbonate released by the pancreas to prevent damage to the duodenal mucosa and inactivation of pancreatic enzymes. The presence of unneutralised acidic chyme triggers the release of secretin which slows down gastric emptying until neutralisation occurs.
3. hypertonicity- Digestion of proteins and carbs in the duodenum increases the osmolarity of duodenal contents because of the presence of amino acids and glucose molecules. High osmolarity causes intestinal distension and circulatory disturbances due to decreased plasma volumes so gastric emptying will be slowed down so absorption rates can catch up with digestion rates.
4. distension- This is caused by excessive chyme in the small intestine. This causes the slowing down of gastric emptying until the small intestine has managed the chyme and is ready to accommodate more.
The four duodenal factors that influence gastric emptying activate duodenal receptors triggering __________ and ___________ responses to slow down the rate of gastric emptying.
neural, hormonal
explain the enterogastric reflex of the neural response.
the response is mediated through the intrinsic plexus (short reflex) and the autonomic nerve( long reflex) collectively called the enterogastric reflex.
Explain the hormonal response that slows down gastric emptying
this involves the release of hormones called enterogastrones from the small intestine mucosa into the blood. These hormones then inhibit antral contractions to slow down gastric emptying.