CH. 20 The Gastrointestinal System Flashcards
How is the gastrointestinal system divided? and what belongs to each division?
- Gastrointestinal tract: mouth - pharynx - esophagus - stomach - small intestine - colon - rectum - anus
- Accessory glands: several glands outside the GI tract that secrete fluids and enzymes into the lumen of the GI tract
What are the 4 walls of the GI tract?
- Mucosa: lining of the lumen
- Submucosa: connective tissue
- Muscularis externa: smooth muscle
- Serosa: connective tissue
What are the 3 layers of the mucosa?
- Mucous membrane: separates GI lumen from internal environment
- Lamina propria: connective tissue
- Muscularis mucosae: thin layer of smooth muscle functions in mixing lumenal contents
What are the three different types of enterocytes?
- absorptive cells
- exocrine cells
- endocrine cells
What are the two layers of smooth muscle of the muscularis externa and how do they function?
- inner circular layer: changes diameter
2. outer longitudinal layer: changes length
What are the two parts of the enteric nervous system?
- submucosal plexus (Meissner’s plexus): from submucosa layer
- myenteric plexus (Auerbach’s plexus): from muscularis externa
What kind of tissue is the inner layer of the serosa vs. the outer layer?
Inner layer: connective tissue
Outer layer: epithelial tissue (mesothelium)
What does digestion begin with and what is secreted to aid this process?
Begins with mastication in the mouth.
- saliva is secreted that contains salivary amylase to breakdown cell walls and digest starch and glycogen (carbs)
What is the function of the pharynx?
common passageway for air and food and where respiratory and digestive system meet
How is the esophagus broken down?
tube from pharynx to stomach
- upper esophageal sphincter: skeletal muscle between pharynx and esophagus
- lower esophageal sphincter: smooth muscle between esophagus and stomach
How does the stomach function?
stores food after it is swallowed and secretes gastric juice to help break it down
- then releases food as chime into small intestine
What are the secretory products of the gastric pits and what are they secreted by?
- pepsinogen: secreted by chief cells
- hydrogen ions: secreted by parietal cells
- intrinsic factor: secreted by parietal cells
- gastrin: secreted from G cells
- mucus: secreted from neck cells
What purpose does the acidic environment of the stomach serve?
- necessary for activating pepsinogen
- denatures proteins
- kills bacteria
What acts as a protective barrier in relation to the acidic environment of the stomach?
gastric mucosal barrier
What is the primary site of digestion and absorption and how is it divided?
small intestine
- duodenum
- jejunum
- ileum
What two secretions enter the duodenum?
- pancreatic juice: contains digestive enzymes and bicarbonate that helps to neutralize acidic chyme
- bile: secreted from liver and contains bile salts that aid in fat digestion
Where is absorption completed in the small intestine?
within the first 20% of the small intestine
What is the function of the villi and microvilli of the small intestine wall?
Villi: increase surface area of epithelium
- contain blood vessels and lacteal for absorption of nutrients
Microvilli: increase surface area of epithelial cells
- form brush border
What is the function of the Crypts of Lieberkuhn?
epithelial cells in crypts secrete bicarbonate-rich fluid
- secreted in proximal small intestine
- absorbed in distal small intestine
What is the role of the liver in absorption?
absorbs nutrients traveling in the blood to the liver before entering the general circulation
- detoxify substances and processes certain nutrients
What is the hepatic portal system?
vasculature that delivers absorbed nutrients to the liver before nutrients enter the general circulation
What is the large intestine comprised of?
consists of cecum, colon, and rectum
- ileocecal sphincter is between ileum and colon
What are the functions of the colon?
- concentration of wastes into feces
- absorption of most water
- storage of feces until defecation