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anatomy > Digestive System > Flashcards

Digestive System Flashcards

1
Q

What are the organs in the gastrointestinal tract?

A

mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines

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2
Q

What are the main accessory organs?

A

Teeth, tongue, pancreas, liver, gallbladder

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3
Q

What are the 6 functions of the digestive system?

A

Ingestion - food entering
Mechanical breakdown - making the pieces smaller
Propulsion - moving ingested food
Chemical digestion - converts ingested food into useful chemicals
Absorption - bringing chemicals into body for use
Defection- excreting good waste

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4
Q

Which layer of digestive tissue lines the lumen?

A

Mucosa

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5
Q

What are the four layers of digestive tissue (deep—> superficial)?

A

Mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa, serosa

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6
Q

What are the characteristics of the mucosa?

A

-thin epithelial cells
-functions in secretion, absorption, and protection
-made of two layers… lamina propria and muscularis propria (made of smooth muscle to help with movement)

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7
Q

What are the characteristics of the submucosa layer?

A

-connective tissue
-contains capillaries (absorption), lymph vessels/nodes, sensory nerve fibers, and elastic fibers (expansion)

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8
Q

What are the characteristics of the muscularis externa?

A

-2 smooth muscle layers
-functions in propulsion and mixture

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9
Q

What are the characteristics of the serosa?

A

-made of CT and epithelial cells
-has some immune cells

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10
Q

What is the job of the enteric nervous system?

A

move food from one place to another (has lots of reflex arcs that are fast and automatic)

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11
Q

What is the difference between simple and parallel processing?

A

simple requires no brain involvement and is fast/predictable, parallel requires the brain and has more diverse outcomes

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12
Q

What is the path of a long reflex arc?

A

stimulus –> receptor –> sensory neuron –> spinal cord –> motor neuron –> effector –> response

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13
Q

Which part of the long reflex arc is not involved in a short reflex?

A

spinal cord

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14
Q

What accessory organ in the mouth performs mechanical breakdown?

A

teeth

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15
Q

Can the mouth help with the digestion of food?

A

yes but not a lot because its only there for a short period of time

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16
Q

What type of cells line the mouth and why are they beneficial?

A

stratified squamous epithelium (protection)

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17
Q

What is a bolus?

A

a single swallow of food

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18
Q

Why is saliva slightly acidic?

A

helps to fight off pathogens

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19
Q

What does amylase do?

A

breaks down starch

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20
Q

What does lipase do?

A

breaks down fat

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21
Q

What type of glands are salivary glands?

A

exocrine

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22
Q

What are the three divisions of the pharynx?

A

nasopharynx, oropharynx, laryngopharynx

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23
Q

What type of cell is the pharynx made out of?

A

stratified squamous epithelium

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24
Q

What do the mucous producing glands of the pharynx do?

A

helps keep the bolus moving

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25
Q

What is deglutition?

A

swallowing

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26
Q

What are the two phases of swallowing?

A

buccal and pharyngeal-esophageal phase

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27
Q

What happens during the buccal phase of swallowing?

A

tongue presses against hard palate and bolus transfer is initiated (voluntary process)

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28
Q

What happens during the pharyngeal-esophageal phase of swallowing?

A

nasopharynx closes off and epiglottis blocks trachea to prevent aspiration (involuntary process)

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29
Q

What is the job of the esophagus?

A

move bolus to stomach

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30
Q

What are the sphincters in the esophagus for?

A

performing peristalsis

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31
Q

What is peristalsis?

A

bolus causes stretching and that causes a contraction above it which pushes it down the esophagus

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32
Q

What sphincter opens to allow bolus to enter stomach?

A

gastroesophageal sphincter

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33
Q

Why does the lumen of the esophagus have folds?

A

allows for expansion

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34
Q

What type of muscle tissue is found in the esophagus?

A

upper 1/3 = skeletal
middle 1/3 = transition from skeletal to smooth
lower 1/3 = smooth

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35
Q

What is the stomach responsible for?

A

reservoir for food, slowly release food into small intestine, mechanical breakdown, some chemical digestion, produce appetite control hormones, absorption (alcohol)

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36
Q

What does the gastroesophageal sphincter do?

A

keeps acid in stomach and allows bolus from esophagus to enter

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37
Q

Where is the fundus and what does it do?

A

upper portion of stomach, release hormones for satiety

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38
Q

What is the rugae?

A

folds in the stomach that help with stretching

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39
Q

Where is the pyloric sphincter?

A

opening to the small intestine… bottom of stomach

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40
Q

Where are stomach contractions the highest?

A

pyloric antrum

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41
Q

What are the greater and lesser omentums for?

A

supplying and storing nutrients

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42
Q

What is GERD?

A

gastroesophageal reflex disorder, result of long term and repeated acid reflex

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43
Q

How does acid reflex occur?

A

stomach has pacemaker cells so its always contracting and if there is a problem with the lower gastroesophageal sphincter, the acid can get into the esophagus

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44
Q

What are the four gastric gland cells?

A

mucous neck cells, chief cells, parietal cells, enteroendocrine cells

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45
Q

What makes up gastric juice?

A

enzymes and acid

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46
Q

Where is gastric juice produced?

A

gastric pits

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47
Q

What type of cells is the stomach mucosa made of?

A

simple columnar

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48
Q

What does the basic slime do?

A

helps protect cells from acid

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49
Q

What is the job of microvilli?

A

increase surface area

50
Q

What do parietal cells produce?

A

hydrochloric acid (HCl) and intrinsic factor

51
Q

What are the three functions of HCl?

A

denature proteins, antimicrobial agent, activates enzymes

52
Q

Why is intrinsic factor required to live?

A

its needed for erythropoiesis

53
Q

Are digestion and denaturing the same thing?

A

no !!

54
Q

What three things help protect your cells from stomach acid?

A

tight junctions, basic slime, underlying stem cells

55
Q

How do you get stomach ulcers?

A

the bacteria H. pylori can dig through mucous cells and break open tight junctions which allows your stomach acid to get in and erode the cells

56
Q

What do chief cells produce?

A

pepsinogen and lipase

57
Q

How does pepsinogen get activated?

A

HCl + pepsinogen = pepsin

58
Q

What does pepsin do?

A

breaks down proteins

59
Q

What do enteroendocrine cells release/produce?

A

serotonin, gastrin, and histamine

60
Q

Why do enteroendrocine cells have lots of blood vessels?

A

release hormones into blood

61
Q

How do enteroendocrine cells play a role in producing HCl?

A

they produce gastrin and histamine which make HCl when they reach a parietal cell

62
Q

Which hormones increase the production of gastric juices?

A

gastrin and histamine (technically not a hormone)

63
Q

What hormone decreases production of gastric juices?

A

gastrin inhibitors

64
Q

What are the three phases of gastric juice production?

A

cephalic, gastric, and intestinal

65
Q

How is the cephalic phase activated?

A

starts before you eat when you see/smell/think about food

66
Q

What happens when the cephalic phase is activated?

A

the P-ANS activates enterochromaffin-like cells (ECL) that produce histmine. histamine interacts with parietal cells to increase HCl and indirectly increase pepsin

67
Q

How is the gastric phase activated?

A

starts when bolus enters stomach due to the stimuli: stomach distension, present of undigested proteins, and caffeine

68
Q

What is a G cell?

A

a type of enteroendocrine cell that releases gastrin

69
Q

What is the indirect effect of gastrin?

A

activates ECL cells to release histamine which interacts with parietal cells to release HCl

70
Q

What hormones can be released during the intestinal phase?

A

secretin (more HCl)
gastrin inhibitors (less HCl)

71
Q

What does the duodenum do during the intestinal phase?

A

tests chyme to check for acidity and release hormones accordingly

72
Q

What three factors can cause gastric juice production to stop?

A

pH gets too low, gastrin inhibiting hormones released, or sympathetic nervous system activity increases

73
Q

What is the product of broken down fats?

A

monoglycerides and fatty acids

74
Q

How is protein broken down?

A

protein + HCl = polypeptide chain + pepsin = amino acids

75
Q

What are the three layers the muscular externa?

A

Oblique, circular, longitudinal

76
Q

What causes mechanical breakdown in the stomach?

A

contractions

77
Q

How often does the stomach contract?

A

3x/minute

78
Q

How does dissension affect contractions?

A

cause increased strength

79
Q

Why are contractions strongest at pyloric antrum?

A

reduce how much food is released into small intestine

80
Q

How much chyle does the small intestine receive (and return) per minute?

A

receives ~30mL and returns ~27mL

81
Q

What two types of propulsion does the small intestine perform?

A

peristalsis and segmentation

82
Q

What does a segmentation contraction do to chyle?

A

pushes it in both directions

83
Q

What are the folds in the small intestine called?

A

plicae circulares

84
Q

What makes up the brush border of SI?

A

enzymes and dense microvilli

85
Q

What the five cells of the small intestine?

A

enterocyte, panted cells, goblet cells, enteroendocrine cells, stem cells

86
Q

What do enterocytes do?

A

make enzymes and allow for absorption (simple columnar epithelium)

87
Q

What do paneth cells do?

A

make antimicrobial compounds

88
Q

What do goblet cells do?

A

produce mucous for lubrication

89
Q

What do the stem cells in the small intestine do?

A

replace cells that are killed by the acidity of the chyme

90
Q

What type of cells make up the mucosa of the small intestine?

A

simple columnar epithelium

91
Q

What are Peyer’s patches?

A

lymphoid tissue found in distal small intestine

92
Q

What are Peyer’s patches?

A

lymphoid tissue found in distal small intestine

93
Q

What do duodenal glands produce?

A

alkaline mucous

94
Q

Where is intestinal juice produced?

A

intestinal crypts

95
Q

Is intestinal juice alkaline or acidic?

A

alkaline (made mostly of water)

96
Q

What activates the intestinal crypts?

A

distension

97
Q

Where can you find a high concentration of crypts and a low concentration of goblet cells?

A

duodenum

98
Q

Where can you find a low concentration of crypts and a high concentration of goblet cells?

A

ileum

99
Q

Why are more goblet cells found at the end of the small intestine?

A

they produce lubricant that helps because the chyle drys out as it moves

100
Q

What does the pancreas produce to aid in digestion?

A

pancreatic juice that contains pancreatic enzymes

101
Q

What three (kinda four) enzymes are found in pancreatic juice?

A

pancreatic amylase (starch)
pancreatic lipase (fats)
trypsin and chymotrypsin (protein)

102
Q

When is more pancreatic juice released?

A

when you have a fatty meal or undigested proteins or secretin and CCK are present

103
Q

What does the liver do?

A

stores nutrients, activates hormones and vitamins, and produces bile

104
Q

What does the gallbladder do?

A

stores bile and releases it through the bile duct

105
Q

What are bile salts?

A

found in bile and emulsify (break apart) fat to make it easier to be digested

106
Q

Are emulsification and digestion the same thing?

A

no

107
Q

How/where are carbs digested?

A

partially with saliva but mostly in the small intestine

108
Q

How are carbs broken down?

A

carbs + amylase = disaccharides + brush border enzymes = monosaccharides (end result)

109
Q

Where are proteins digested?

A

~10/15% in the stomach but primarily in the small intestine

110
Q

How are proteins broken down?

A

protein + trypsin/chemotrypsin = smaller amino acid chains + brush border enzymes = free amino acids

111
Q

Where are lipids digested?

A

small intestine

112
Q

How are lipids broken down?

A

fat + bile salts = emulsified fat + lipase = free fatty acids + bile salts = micelles

113
Q

What is a micelle?

A

a free fatty acid surrounded in bile salts that can be absorbed

114
Q

What are the two processes of absorption for free amino acids and monosaccharides?

A

co-transport and facilitated diffusion

115
Q

What cell absorbs free amino acids and monosaccharides?

A

enterocyte

116
Q

What do amino acids and monosaccharides travel into enterocytes with?

A

sodium ions

117
Q

How is fat absorbed?

A

micelle goes into enterocyte by simple diffusion and is then a triglyceride and then is excreted into lymphatic capillary

118
Q

What does the small intestine absorb?

A

vitamins, electrolytes, and water

119
Q

What is the large intestine primarily responsible for?

A

defacation

120
Q

What structure moves feces through large intestine?

A

haustra

anatomy (10 decks)

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