Ch. 26 - Digestive System Flashcards
Digestive system 6 main functions
Ingestion, motility, secretion, digestion, absorption, elimination
Ingestion
introduction of solid and liquid nutrients into the oral cavity. First step in process of digesting and absorbing nutrients
Motility
voluntary and involuntary muscular contractions that mixes and moves materials through GI tract.
Secretion
process of producing and releasing fluid products facilitating digestion.
Digestion
breakdown of ingested food into smaller structures. Includes mechanical digestion where material is physically broken down by chewing and mixing and chemical digestion that involves specific enzymes to break chemical bond to change large molecules into smaller ones.
Absorption
transport of digested molecules, electrolytes, vitamins, water, etc. from GI tract into blood or lymph.
Elimination
expulsion of indigestible components that are not absorbed.
Enteric Nervous System (ENS)
sensory and motor neurons within submucosal plexus and myenteric plexus. Innervates smooth muscle and glands of GI tract and coordinates mixing and propulsion reflexes.
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
Parasympathetic innervation promotes GI tract activity; sympathetic innervation opposes GI tract activity
Baroreceptors
detect stretch in GI tract wall
Chemoreceptors
monitor chemical contents in lumen
Short reflex
local reflex only involving ENS; coordinates small segments of GI tract.
Long reflex
involves sensory input to CNS and autonomic motor output; coordinate GI tract motility, secretions, and accessory digestive organs.
Hormones that help regulate digestion
gastrin, secretin, cholecystokinin, motilin.
Oral cavity overview
where mechanical digestion begins, saliva secreted from salivary glands in response to food; contains salivary amylase to initiate digestion of starch. Saliva mixed with food to form bolus.
Pharynx overview
bolus moved to pharynx during swallowing and mucus secreted to facilitate swallowing.
Esophagus overview
bolus transported from pharynx into stomach, lubricated w/ mucus
Stomach overview
located in LUQ, inferior to diaphragm. chemical and mechanical digestion continue and digestion of protein and fat begins in stomach. Ingested materials spend 2-6 hrs. here. Stomach absorbs small, nonpolar substances and serves as a holding bag for controlled release. bolus mixed w/ gastric secretion by smooth muscle to form chime. Secretions are produced by epithelial cells of stomach.
Salivary glands
1 - 1.5 L secreted daily, most produced during mealtime. Saliva is 99.5% water and mixture of solutes live salivary amylase, mucin, and lysozyme.
Functions of saliva
- moistens food to make bolus
- salivary amylase initiates chem. breakdown of starch
- dissolves food molecules to stimulate taste receptors
- cleanses oral cavity
- antibacterial substances inhibit bacterial growth (lysozyme, IgA antibodies)
Regulation of Salivary secretions
regulated by salivary nuclei in brainstem. basal level of salivation in response to parasympathetic stimulation. Receptors detect stimuli like acids in oral cavity and stomach and send signals to salivary nuclei in brainstem. Signals also received from higher brain centers in response to thought of food. Sympathetic stimulation results in a more viscous saliva
Mastication
mechanically reduces bulk to facilitate swallowing and increases surface area to expose to digestive enzymes. Mastication promotes salivation and is controlled by nuclei in medulla and pons (mastication center) Medications composed of small nonpolar molecules can be placed under tongue where they pass through epithelium by simple diffusion.
Swallowing process
Occurs in 3 phases
- Voluntary phase - occurs after ingestion and bolus is directed posteriorly towards oropharynx.
- Pharyngeal phase - involuntary reflex where tactile sensory receptors around fauces are stimulated. This initiates swallowing center in medulla and signals are relayed to effectors (soft palate, larynx, epiglottis)
- Esophageal phase - involuntary phase when bolus moves through esophagus with sequential waves of muscular contraction. The superior and inferior esophageal sphincters close at rest and relax when bolus is swallowed. Then contract gain to prevent reflux of material.
Effector response of the pharyngeal phase of swallowing
Bolus enters oropharynx and soft palate and uvula elevate to block entry of nasopharynx. The larynx elevates via extrinsic muscles to move epiglottis over glottis. Nerve signals are sent to medulla to ensure breath is not taken during swallowing.
Gastric secretions: 5 types of cells
produced by 5 types of secretory cells; 4 produce gastric juice, 5th type secretes hormones. (surface mucous cells, mucous neck cells, parietal cells, chief cells, and g cells.
surface mucous cells
extend into gastric pits and continuously secrete alkaline product containing mucin. Mucous layer helps to prevent ulceration on stomach lining from gastric enzymes high acidity.
mucous neck cells
produce acidic mucin, helps maintain acidic conditions. Both types of mucous cells (surface and neck) help protect stomach lining from abrasion and injury.
Parietal cells of stomach
adds two substances to stomach: Intrinsic factor that is required for absorption of vit. b12 in ileum and for production of normal erythrocytes and Hydrochloric acid (HCl) responsible for low pH of stomach.
Hydrochloric acid functions
Helps break down plant cell walls and animal CT
denatures protein, facilitating chemical digestion
converts inactive enzyme pepsinogen into active pepsin
kills most microorganisms entering stomach
Chief cells
most numerous secretory cells within gastric glands; produce and secrete packets of zymogen granules that primarily contain pepsinogen that eventually turns into Pepsin. Also produces gastric lipase that plays a limited role in fat digestion (about 10-15% of ingested fat)
Pepsin
released from chief cells in inactive form pepsinogen to prevent destruction of chief cell proteins. Is activated by HCl and other active pepsin and chemically digests denatured proteins into oligopeptides.
Gastric mixing
form of mechanical digestion that changes semidigested bolus into chyme. Material is churned and mixed, leading reduction in size of swallowed particles.
Gastric emptying
movement of acidic chyme from stomach to duodenum. Pressure gradient moves contents towards pylorus which increases force against pyloric sphincter. Sphincter opens and a small amount of chyme enters. Sphincter closes with retropulsion.
retropulsion
reverse flow of some contents back towards the stomach (in the case of gastric emptying)
Pacemaker cells of stomach
spontaneously depolarize to establish a basic rhythm of muscular contraction. Signal spreads through smooth muscle cells in muscularis layer
Regulation of force of stomach contraction and gastric gland secretion overview
regulated by nervous reflexes and hormones; organized in 3 phases: cephalic, gastric, and intestinal.
Cephalic phase - regulation of stomach
first phase that involves cephalic reflex initiated by thought of food. Nerve signals from higher regions of brain sent to hypothalamus, which relays nerve signals to medulla. This increases vagal stimulation, increasing motility and secretory activity - stomach “growls”
Gastric phase - regulation of stomach
second stage; process following bolus reaching stomach. regulated via gastric reflex and through release of gastrin. Gastric reflex is initiated as baroreceptors detect stretch. Chemoreceptors detect protein and increased pH and these signals are sent to medulla. Results in increased stomach motility and secretory activity. Additionally, presence of food, especially protein stimulates release of gastrin to enter blood, circulate back to stomach and further stimulate contracting, HCl release and contraction of pyloric sphincter to slow stomach emptying.
Intestinal phase - regulation of stomach
third stage; once chyme reaches small intestine. Involves intestinal reflex that opposes cephalic and gastric reflexes. Chyme in duodenum signals to medulla to decrease motility and secretion in stomach. Cholecystokinin and secretin also decrease motility and secretion to slow stomach emptying.
Lower GI tract organs
small intestine, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, large intestine, rectum, anus.
Small intestine
most chemical digestion and absorption of nutrients, h20, electrolytes, and vitamins occurs here and receives chyme from stomach. Inferior to stomach, ingested nutrients reside for at least 12 hrs. It is a coiled, thin-walled tube from pylorus to cecum of large intestine and consists of 3 segments.
Duodenum
First segment, originates at pyloric sphincter, is c-shaped around pancreatic head. Receives chyme from stomach and accessory gland secretions from liver gallbladder, and pancreas.