Development of the GI Tract Flashcards
What is the significance of gut tube formation?
Organs and glands are produced by budding from the gut tube.
Describe primary germ formation.
Formed during gastrulation.
- At the beginning of the third week, embryo has implanted into uterine wall and appears as a flat disc made up of 2 layers.
What two layers does the embryo consist of?
Epiblast and hypoblast
What happens to epiblast cells in the mid-line of the embryo?
Ingress, starting from the caudal end - visible as the primitive streak.
What do ingressing cells differentiate into?
Mesoderm
What does the mesoderm give rise to?
- Surrounding muscles
- Connective tissue
- Blood vessels
What does the epiblast give rise to?
Ectoderm
What is the importance of the neural crest?
Provides innervation to the gut - enteric NS
What does the hypoblast give rise to?
Endoderm
What does the endoderm differentiate to form?
- Epithelium
- Gut tube
- Glands
Briefly describe the directions of the formation of the gut tube.
Formed by the folding of sheets of cells in two directions:
- folding towards the midline along the cranial-caudal axis
- folding towards the yolk sac at the cranial and caudal ends
The gut tube doesn’t form as a tube the first time round. Describe this phenomenon.
- Cells will grow to the point where there’s no lumen
- Gut needs rearrangement (scaffolding).
- Recanalisation occurs - cells die forming a diameter within the tube
What can occur if the middle part of the gut does not recanalise?
- Duodenal atresia (if short term)
- Jejunal atresia (if long term)
How can duodenal atresia affect new borns?
- Projectile vomiting
What are the subdivisions of the gut?
FOREGUT
MIDGUT
HINDGUT
Outline the parts of the foregut
- Pharynx
- Oesophagus
- Stomach
- Cranial half of duodenum
- Ampulla of Vater
Outline the parts of the midgut
- Caudal duodenum (From duodenal papilla )
- Jejunum
- Ileum
- Caecum
- Appendix
- Ascending colon
- Proximal 2/3 of transverse colon
Outline the parts of the hindgut
- Distal 1/3 of transverse colon
- Descending colon
- Rectum
What are the blood supplies to the different parts of the gut?
FOREGUT - coeliac artery
MIDGUT - superior mesenteric artery
HINDGUT - inferior mesenteric artery
Where do the sympathetic ganglia develop?
Next to the major branches of the aorta
What do post-ganglionic sympathetic axons innervate?
- The same tissues that the arteries supply with blood
What is the innervation of the gut?
FOREGUT - celiac ganglion
MIDGUT - superior mesenteric ganglion
HINDGUT - inferior mesenteric ganglion
Describe the rotation of the stomach.
- Tube begins to dilate, forming an enlarged lumen.
- Makes a 90° turn about the craniocaudal axis, so the dorsal border grows more rapidly than the ventral border, establishing the greater curvature of the stomach.
- Anterior part becomes the right, and the posterior becomes the left.
What genes determine the position (of the structures) along the cranio-caudal axis?
Homeotic (HOX) genes.
What fixes the mature gut in place?
Fusion of the mesentries with the posterior abdominal wall
Describe pyloric stenosis.
- Gastric outlet obstruction caused by smooth muscle hypertrophy (ie. the smooth muscle forming the pyloric sphincter overgrows).
How can pyloric stenosis be spotted in newborns?
Will start projectile vomiting shortly after feeding
Describe the formation of the liver, budding from the gut tube. PART 1
- Hepatic diverticulum grows into the mesenchyme of the septum transversum.
- Cords of the hepatic endoderm, bile drainage ducts, and blood vessels proliferate, arranged as sinusoids.
- Liver exceeds the size of the septum transversum, and expands into the ventral mesentery.
Describe the formation of the liver, budding from the gut tube. PART 2
The remaining ventral mesentery gives rise to:
- falciform ligament between the liver and the body wall
- lesser omentum between the liver and stomach