deck_1667780 Flashcards
Outline 7 different “toxins” which we willfully put into our GI tract
• Chemical • Bacteria • Viruses • Protozoa • Nematodes (Roundworms) • Cestodes (Tapeworms) • Trematodes (flukes)
What are the two overall defence mechanisms available to the GI tract to defend it from toxins
• InnateAdaptive
What are the two parts of the innate immune system?
• Physical • Cellular
Describe 8 physical innate defences
• Sight/smell • Memory • Saliva • Stomach acid • Small intestine secretions • Colonic mucus • Anaerobic environment • Peristalsis/Segmentation
How does sight/smell work as a physical innate defence?
• If food looks or smells bad you won’t eat it
How does memory work as a physical innate defence?
• If food tastes bad, you won’t eat it next time
Give three reasons saliva is an integral part of the physical innate defence of the GI tract?
• pH 7.0 • Contains lysozyme, lactoperoxidase, complement, IgA and polymorphs • Washes toxins down into the stomach
What is the clinical condition in which there is reduced salivary flow?
Xerostomia
Give two causes of xerostomia
• Severe illness • And/or dehydration
What does xerostomia cause?
• Microbial overgrowth in the mouth and dental caries • Parotitis
What organism causes parotitis?
• Staph aureus
How does stomach acid serve as a physical innate defence?
• Low pH kills the majority of bacteria and viruses
What condition can make the stomach a less effective defence?
• Achlorhydria • Makes more susceptible to shigellosis, cholera and salmonella infection
What can cause achlorhydria?
• Pernicous anaemia • H2 antagonists PPIs
What are people taking PPI’s more at risk of if they have achlorhydria if in hospital?
Clostridium difficile infection
Name three organisms resistant to stomach acid
• Mycobacterium Tuberculosis is resistant to gastric acid (Acid and alcohol fast bacterium) • Enteroviruses - Hep A, Polio and Coxsackie are resistant to gastric acid • Helicobacter Pylori produces urease which acts on urea to produce a protective cloud of pneumonia
What four properties of small intestinal secretions allow it to repel GI invaders
• Bile • Proteolytic enzymes • Lack of nutrientsShedding of epithelial cells
How does the colonic mucus protect the GI system?
Separates epithelial wall from its contents
How does peristalsis/segmentation prevent GI disease?
• Normal intestinal transit time is 12-18 hours. If peristalsis slow, gut infections are prolonged.
Give five cellular innate defences of the GI tract
• Neutrophils • Macrophages ○ Kupfer cells in the liver • Natural killer cells • Tissue Mast Cells • Eosinophils ○ Parasitic infections
How does the hepatic portal system aid in GI defence
• All venous blood from the GI tract passes through the liver before returning to systemic circulationKupffer cells are specialised macrophages in the liver which clear debris and toxins