Alimentary Flashcards
Layers of the gut
Mucosa- epithelium, glands and lamina proper
Submucosa-connective, submucosal plexus
Muscularis-circular and longitudinal
Serosa/Adventita
Oesophagus
Stratified squamous
Upper oesophagus- skeletal muscle
Lower oesophagus- smooth muscle
Oesophageal sphincters
Upper-2 muscles- constrictor pharyngeal medius
-constrictor pharynges inferior- voluntary
Lower- 2 components- internal- circular
External- formed by diaphragm
Change from oesophagus to stomach
Z line
Stratified Squamous to columnar
Swallowing
Originally both spinsters closed
Then both open as food goes to end of pharynx
Then upper sphincter and superior rings contract and inferior rings dilate
Then after food passes through lower sphincter it contracts- pushing it into stomach
Functions of stomach
Digestion
Storage- reservoir until downstream ready
Immunological protection
Stomach wall
Similar structure to rest of GI tract but has extra oblique layer of smooth muscle in circular muscle- aiding grinding motion
Gastric pits
Deep pores in mucosa containing gastric glands that produce HCL, enzyme, zymogens and mucus
Mucous Cells
Produce mucous that protects mucosa from highly acidic substances, since it also contains bicarbonate.
Also protects the layer from enzymatic action
Parietal Cells
Produce HCL, usually in response to gastrin
Causes activation of carbonic anhydrase, in which bicarbonate is exchanged for Cl- and H+ is exchanged for K+ which enters the cell via Na/K pump
Chief Cells
Produce zymogen pepsinogen (prevents breakdown of chief cell)
Which is activated by low pH to pepsin which breaks down dietary proteins
Also produces gastric lipase
G cells
Endocrine cell that produces gastrin in response to vagus innervation, presence of peptides and stomach distention
Travels via blood and causes smooth muscle contraction, acid secretion, pyloric sphincter relaxation
Enterochromaffin like cells
Respond to gastrin and produce histamine which activated HCL production
D cell
Secrete somatostatin which inhibits GI function such as histamine and HCL production
Phases of stomach activity
Cephalic- response to smell and though of food
Vagus causing production of mucus, HCL and pepsin- for short period
Gastric- response to distention of stomach and chemoreceptors
Vagus causing secretions for prolonged periods
Intestinal- response to duodenal stretch and reduced pH in duodenum
I cells- CCK and S- Secretin causing decrease in secretions
But can be stimulated if there’s long peptides in chyme
Sphincters of small intestine
Pyloric sphincter
Ileocaecal valve
Sections of small intestine and function
Duodenum- 0.25m- contians submucosal glands that neutralise acidic chyme
Jejenum- 2.5m- large submucosal folds- plicae circularis- larger than rest of SI folds
Ileum- 3.75m- many peyers patches
Features in small intestine
Villi
Crypts of liebemkuhn
Cells of the small intestine
Enterocytes- tall columnar with microvilli, glycocalyx traps mucus and enzymes
Goblet- used to hydrate contents since a lot is being
absorbed, therefore increase in number further down
Enteroendocrine-G Gastrin,I CCK,S Secretin,D somatostatin
Paneth- immunological cell, near bottom of crypts, contain lysozyme
Motility of small intestine
Peristalsis- aids movement of substances further down GI tract
Segmentation- aids mixing- with enzymes
Migrating motor complex- periodic contractions from stomach to distal end of ileum, during fasted state, in order to cleanse SI of residue food
Digestion and absorption of Carbohydrates
Salivary amylase- breaks down polysaccharides
Pancreatic amylase- also breaks them down to disaccharides
Sucrase, maltase and lactase in small intestine breaks them down to monosaccharides- located one brush border
Glucose and galactose absorbed via secondary active transport by SGLT1 on apical
Fructose absorbed via facilitated diffusion by GLUT5 on apical
All 3 absorbed by facilitated diffusion by GLUT2 on basal
Digestion of Protein
Parietal cells produce HCl which activates pepsin, which breaks down proteins into polypeptides
Pancreas produces Trypsinogen, procarboxypeptidase, chymotrypsinogen. Trypsinogen is activated to trypsin by enterokinase which is produced by duodenal cells. Trypsin further activates the other zymogens to carboxypeptidase and chymotrypsin which breakdown the polypeptides to di/tripeptides
Carboxypeptidase, endopeptidase, dipeptidase and aminopeptidase are located in the brush border which digest to amino acids
Absorption of peptides
Single amino acids are absorbed by secondary active transport via AA/Na symporter
Di/tripeptides can also be transported in via this mechanism
AA are them absorbed by facilitated diffusion on basal membrane but peptides cannot and have to be broken down by cytoplasmic peptidase enzymes first
Digestion of lipids
Linguinal and gastric lipase start to digest triglycerides
Churning of stomach starts to emulsify
Bile enters duodenum and emulsifies fats
Pancreatic lipase breakdown TAG to MAG and fatty acids
Absorption of lipid products
Combine with bile salts at brush border- which transport them across aqueous unstirred layer overlying enterocytes
Then lipid products are absorbed, bile salts stay in lumen and get absorbed in terminal ileum
TAG resynthesised via 2 pathways- monoglyceride acylation or phosphatidic
Packaged into chylomicrons- lymphatics- villis lacteals
5 parts of pancreas
Uncinate process, head, neck, body, tail
Pancreas’s ducts enter duodenum at
Join with common bile duct at ampulla of vater
Controlled by sphincter of oddi
Drainage of pancreas
Hepatic portal vein
Cells of the pancreas
Acinar cells- secrete zymogens (if active would degrade tissue), active lipase and amylase in granules. At end of duct, secreting viscous, enzyme rich fluid
Duct cells- line duct cells, secrete watery, dilute bicarbonate into pancreatic fluid
Islet of endocrine tissue- beta (70%), alpha (20%), delta (10%)
Centroacinar cells- function like duct cells
Mechanism of duct cell secretion
Co2 diffuses in allowing production of bicarbonate and H+
Na from interstitum moves paracellularly to the duct lumen which water follows, creating watery secretion
Bicarbonate is secreted into duct lumen via secondary active transport, since Cl- are actively transported out into the lumen then bicarbonate is exchanged with Cl-
There will be accumulation of H+ in the cell which needs to be removed- done via secondary active transport
Na+ is pumped out via Na/K pump, then Na is exchanged for H+, and K+ can move out cell via channel
Duct cells vs Parietal cells
Duct cells pump bicarbonate into lumen and protons into interstitial
Parietal pump H+ into lumen and bicarbonate into interstitial
Control of Trypsin
And when this goes wrong
Inhibitor is also secreted by pancreas
Gallstones blocking can cause a build up of enzymes in pancreas, causing trypsinogen to convert in absence of EK, causing pancreas auto-digestion and pancreatitis
Hormonal Control of bicarbonate
Low pH in duodenal wall, activates S cell to produce Secretin, this goes into the blood to the pancreas
Binds to basolateral receptors on duct cells, increase cAMP and activates Cl- channels on apical causing more bicarbonate being bicarbonate moving into lumen
Hormonal effect on enzymatic secretion
Mixed meal detected in duodenum by I cells which secrete CCK(cholecystokinin) which binds to CCK1 receptor on acinar cells activating PLC causing exocytosis of granules into duct
Nervous stimulation of enzyme secretion
Vagus secretes Ach, causing increased IP3 and Ca2+, causing increased granules exocytosis
Phases of pancreatic secretion
Cephalic and gastric- innervated by vagus nerve
Intestinal phase- hormal main innervator
This has negative feedback loop since hormones cause pH to rise which then stops hormone production
Hormonal signal interaction
CCK no real affect on bile secretion alone
Secretin has an increased affect alone
But together massive amplification- CCK interacts with signals of duct cells
Secretin has no affect on CCK mediated release of acinar cells
Liver functions
Catabolic and metabolic
Bile secretion and removal of waste
Detoxification and immunological
Bile fucntion
Emulsify fast
Cholesterol homeostasis
Toxin excretion (endogenous- bilirubin and exogenous-drugs)
Anatomy and blood supply of liver
Hepatic portal vein and hepatic artery supply
3 Small hepatic veins drain- left, right and middle
2 main lobes, 9 segments (independent)
Hepatic lobule
Made up mainly of hepatocytes
In a hexagonal structure
Portal triad and hepatic acinus
3 hepatic lobules share a branch of the hepatic portal vein, hepatic artery and bile duct
Acinus is the functional part of the liver- is 2 adjacent 1/6th of lobules that share 2 portal triads
Portal veins splits into in the liver
Sinusoids, which have no basement membrane, fenestrated, discontinuous endothelium
Making them very leaky
Cells of the liver
Kuppfer cells- adhere to endothelium, sinusoidal macrophages- stellate shapes
Hepatic stellate cell-perisinosoidal cell that stores Vitamin A, activates and populates during disease(acts as fibroblast)
Hepatocyte- cuboidal and receive nutrients from sinusoids-synthesise albumin, bile salts, clotting factors
Cholangiocyte- biliary epithelial, secretes bicarbonate and water- which combine to form bile
Also reabsorb sugars and acids
Biliary Tree
Bile canaliculi next to hepatocytes
Drain to small ductules which go to small bile ducts
Which drain to large bile ducts of each segment
Merge as R and L hepatic duct- common hepatic duct
Primary salts
Cholic acid
Chenodeocycolic acid
95% absorbed in terminal ileum
Secondary salts
Gut bacteria convert salts to
Deoxycholic acid
Lithocholic acid
Enteroheptic Circulation
Cycle between liver and gut, via the hepatic portal vein and the bile duct
Cycle increases half life of drugs