2 - Gastrointestinal 01 Flashcards
List the layers of the gastrointestinal wall, from the outside to the inside
serosa
longitudinal smooth mm
circular smooth mm
submucosa
mucosa
Gastrointestinal smooth mm fibers are connected by _____ junctions
gap
allows low-resistance movement of depolarization between cells
Electrical signals can travel faster along the muscle fiber _____ than _____
lengthwise
sideways
Each muscle layer in the GI tract functions as a _______
syncitium
when an action potential is elicited anywhere in the muscle mass, it travels in all directions at once
Muscle fibers in the GI smooth muscle have two basic types of electrical waves:
slow waves (cause undulating change in membrane potential)
spikes (true action potentials that cause muscle contractions)
What is the average resting and threshold potential in the gut?
Resting -50 to -60
Threshold -40
What are factors that depolarize gut membranes?
stretching
acetylcholine release from PS
gastrointestinal hormones
What are factors that hyperpolarize the gut membrane?
catecholamines
sympathetic nn stim
The GI tract has its own nervous system, called the:
enteric nervous system
What are the two plexi of the enteric nervous system, and where are they located?
Auerbach’s Plexus (between longitudinal and circular layers)
Meissner’s Plexus (in the submucosa)
The myenteric plexus controls ______,
and the submucosal plexus controls ________
GI movement
GI secretion and blood flow
When the myenteric plexus is stimulated, what are its principal effects? (4)
- increased tone
- increased intensity of contraction
- increased rate of contraction
- increased velocity of conduction within the gut wall
The myenteric plexus inhibits _______
sphincters that prevent movement of food
Acetylcholine _______ GI activity
Norepinephrine ______ GI activity
excites
inhibits
The two types of movements in the GI tract are:
- Propulsive movements
- Mixing movements
What is the usual stimulus for peristalsis?
Distention of the gut
What is the “law of the gut?”
Why is it universally true?
All peristaltic movement moves toward the anus with downstream relaxation
The myenteric plexus is polarized in the anal direction
Peristalsis does not occur where the myenteric plexus is not present. Ever.
Blood vessels of the gut are part of the ________ circulation
splanchnic
All the venous blood from the gut, pancreas, and spleen empties into the:
protal vein
What happens to all the fat absorbed from the intestines?
It isn’t put into the portal vein with everything else
It’s absorbed into the intestinal lymphatics and carried to the circulating blood through the thoracic duct
It bypasses the liver
Blood flow to the gut increases with gut activity.
How is this increase stimulated?
- Vasodilating peptide horomones released from the mucosa
- Kinins released from GI glands
- Decreased O2 concentration
- Increased adenosine
Why are the villi particularly sensitive to low blood flow states?
Counter-current flow
At baseline, about 80% of oxygen passes directly from arterioles into adjacent venules without ever going to the tips of the villi
This is adaptive for high absorption, but leaves little wiggle room for hypoxia
What is the difference between hunger and appetite?
Hunger is an intrinsic desire for food
appetite is the type of food a person preferentially seeks
Most of the muscles of chewing are innervated by what nerve?
motor branch of CN5 (Trigeminal)
Why is chewing so important for digestion?
Digestive enzymes only work when they directly contact the surfaces of food particles
the more varied the surfaces, the more digestion occurs
What are the three stages of swallowing?
- Voluntary
- Pharyngeal (involuntary)
- Esophageal (involuntary)
Essentially all sensory impulses from the mouth wind up in which area of the brain?
tractus solitarius in the medulla
The esophagus exhibits two kinds of peristalsis:
Primary (continuation of the wave that began in the pharynx)
Secondary (esophagus initiates additional waves if the primary one is insufficient to move food out)
What kind of muscle controls the pharyngeal wall and the upper 1/3 of the esophagus?
Striated!
controlled by skeletal nerves from the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves
NOT SMOOTH MUSCLE
What happens to the stomach as a wave from the esophagus approaches?
It relaxes and is inhibited
Describe the gastroesophageal sphincter
Tonically contracted at baseline
receptively Relaxes in response to waves from the esophagus
What prevents stomach reflux?
- Gastroesophageal Sphincter
- The esophagus has a valve like closure at the end
What are the three functions of the stomach?
- Storage of food until space opens up in the intestines
- mixing of food with secretions until it forms chyme
- Slow emptying of chyme into SI at a rate the intestines can handle
What is the capacity of a fully relaxed stomach?
0.8-1.5 L
The distal opening of the stomach is called the ______
pylorus
When a large amount of fats enters the duodenum, how does it communicate with the stomach to inhibit gastric emptying?
Hormones!
The fats extract these hormones from the wall of the duodenum
the hormones are carried via the blood to the stomach, where they inhibit the pyloric pump and increase the tone of the pyloric sphincter
Why do fats in particular play a role in inhibit gastric empyting?
They take the longest time to digest
they are the rate limiting factor, so the amount of fat should determine the speed of digestion
The number one hormone that inhibits gastric emptying is:
Cholecystokinin
Inhibits the motility caused by gastrin
Gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP) is also released when fat enters the duodenum. What does it do?
inhibits gastric motility slightly
mainly stimulates secretion of insulin from the pancreas