Digestive System Flashcards
Where does the GI tract start and end?
Starts from the mouth to the anus
How does the digestive system maintain homeostasis?
- Breaks down food into forms that can be used by cells
- Absorbs water, minerals and vitamins
- Eliminates waste from the body
What are the 6 processes of digestion?
- Ingestion
- Secretion
- Mixing and propulsion
- Digestion
- Absorption
- Defecation
Describe the process of ingestion:
Taking food and liquid into mouth
Describe the process of secretion:
Release of water, acids, buffers and enzymes
How much secretion takes place per day?
7L/day
What factor determines the motility of the GI tract?
Mixing and propulsion
Describe the process of mixing:
Segmentation: Increases contact of food with digestive chemicals though mechanical digestion
What muscles are contracted during mixing/segmentation?
In the stomach
Circular muscles
What type of digestion is segmentation/mixing?
Mechanical digestion
Describe the process of propulsion:
Peristalsis: The movement of muscles within the GI tract that facillitates movement of food
What type of muscle is involved in peristalsis?
Longitudinal muscles
What are the two types of catabolism?
- Mechanical digestion
- Chemical digestion
Describe the process of mechanical digestion:
Teeth cut and grid food, mixing and churning of food
Describe the process of chemical digestion:
Required for the breaking down and absorption of large carbohydrate, lipid, protein and nucleic acid molecules into smaller molecules
What particles can ge absorbed without chemical digestion?
- Vitamins
- Water
- Ions
- Cholesterol
Describe the process of absorption:
Entrace of digested molecules into the blood stream and lymph
What is the cardiac antrum?
The distal part of the esophagus where the stomach meets
What takes place in the esophagus; segmentation or peristalsis?
Peristalsis
Describe the process of defecation
Elimination of wastes, undigested material, bacteria, cells sloughed off from the lining of the GI tract
What happens to the food that is not absorbed into the blood and lymph?
It goes into the liver
What are the four layers of the GI tract from deep to superficial?
- Mucosa
- Submucosa
- Muscularis
- Serosa
What is the purpose of the mucosa?
- To increase SA
- To allow expansion
What are the 3 layers of the mucosa from deep to superficial?
- Epithelium
- Lamina Propria
- Muscularis Mucosae
What is the epithelium of the muscosa in contact with?
Directly in contact with the contents of the GI tract
How often is the muscosal epithelium sloughed off and replaced?
Every 5-7 days
What structures does the lamina propria contain?
- Many blood vessels
- Many lymphatic vessels
- MALT
What does MALT stand for and what does it do in the body?
Mucosa assisiated lymphatic tissue
(Protects the body against disease)
The circular and longitudinal muscles are in the muscularis mucosae.
True or false?
FALSE
What is the function of the muscularis mucosae?
Throws the mucosa of the stomach and small intestine into small folds which increases the SA and allows for expansion
What structures are located in the submucosa?
- Blood vessels
- Lymphatic vessels
- Submucosal plexus
What is the submucosal plexus?
Extensive network of neurons
What are the layers of the muscularis?
- Inner layer
- Outer layer
What layer of the GI tract contains the myenteric plexus?
The muscularis layer
What layer of the muscularis contains the smooth muscle oriented in longitudinal fibers?
The outer layer
What layer of the muscularis contains the smooth muscle oriented in circular fibers?
Inner layer
Where is skeletal muscle found in the GI tract?
- Mouth
- Pharynx
- Upper esophagus
- External anal sphincter
Skeletal muscle is under voluntary control.
True or false?
True
What does the serosa form?
The visceral peritoneum
What layer of the GI tract does the esophagus lack?
The serosa
What is the largest serous membrane of the body?
The peritoneum
What are the layers of the peritoneum?
- Parietal peritoneum
- Visceral peritoneum
- Peritoneal cavity
- Retroperitoneal cavity
What does the parietal peritoneum line?
The wall of the abdominal cavity
The visceral peritoneum lines all of the organs of the GI tract.
True or false?
False. Lines SOME of the organs.
Doesnt line esophagus or reteroperitoneual organs
What is contained in the peritoneal cavity?
Peritoneal fluid
What does intraperitoneal mean?
Organs located within the peritoneum
What does retroparitoneal mean?
Organs located behind the peritoneum
What is the function of the peritoneal folds?
- Bind organs to one another and to abdominal wall
- Supply blood and lymphatic vessels, and nerves to the organs
What are the 5 folds of the peritoneum?
- Greater Omentum
- Lesser Omentum
- Falciform ligament
- Mesentery
- Mesocolon
What is the largest fold of the peritoneum?
The greater omentum
Describe the location of the greater omentum:
- Hangs from the greater curvature of the stomach
- Drops anterior to the small intestine
- Turns back upward and attaches to the transverse colon
The Greater omentum is a single layer.
True or false?
False. Double layered
What structure and tissue are located within the greater omentum?
- Lymph nodes located within it
- Contains significant amount of adipose tissue
Where is the lesser omentum located?
Extends between the inf. edge of the liver to the lesser curvature within the stomach
What structures are contained in the lesser omentum?
- Proper hepatic artery
- Hepatic portal vein
- Common bile duct (portal triad)
- Lymph nodes
What is the function of the falciform ligament?
Separates the right lobe of liver from the left lobe
What does the falciform ligament do?
Attaches the liver to the anterior abdominal wall and the diaphram
What organ is the only digestive organ attached to the anterior abdominal wall?
The LIVER
Does the stomach move during respiration?
why
Yes, because it is attached to the liver
What is the shape of the mesentery?
Fan shaped
What fold of the peritoneum binds the jeujunum and illum to the posterior abdominal wall?
The mesentery
What fold of the peritoneum binds the transverse colon to the posterior abdominal wall?
The mesocolon
What does the mesentery and mesocolon do together?
- Hold the intenstines loosely in place
2. Allows for movement from muscular contractions (mixes and propels contents)
What is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity called?
Ascites
What is Ascites caused by?
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Cancer
- Heart and kidney failure
What are the retroperitoneal structures?
- Suprarenal (adrenal) gland
- Aorta/IVC
- Duodenum (second and third part-decending and horizontal)
- Pancreas (except tail)
- Ureters
- Colon (ascending and descending)
- Kidneys
- Esophagus
- Rectum
Where does the head of the pancreas sit?
Sits in the C-shape (lesser curvature) part of the stomach
What parts of the colon is most posterior?
The ascending and descending
Where is the oral vestibule?
The spot between the cheeks and teeth
Where is the oral cavity proper?
Located between the dental arches (btwen the teeth and tounge)
Where is the fauces located?
From the oral cavity to the orpharynx
What does the laryngeopharynx branch into?
Branches into the larynx and esophageous
What is the function of the Uvula?
Prevents swallowed food from entering the nasal cavity
What is the funciton of the lingual frenulum?
Limits the movement of the tounge posteriorly
What are the 3 phases of swallowing?
- Voluntary phase
- Pharyngeal phase
- Esophageal phase
Describe what takes place during the volunary phase of swallowing:
Bolus of food is pushed by tounge against hard palate and then moves toward oropharynx
Describe what takes place during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing:
As bolus moves into orophraynx, the soft palate closes off the nasopharynx, the epiglottis closes over the laryngeal opening.
Describe what happens during the esophageal phase of swallowing:
Esophageal muscle contractions push bolus toward stomach, soft palate and epiglottis return to thier pre-swallowing positions.
How long is the esophagus?
25 cm
Is the esophagus collapsible?
Yes
Where does the esophagus start and end?
Starts at the junction with laryngeopharynx and ends at the cardiac antrum.
What structure does the esophagus pass through at T10?
Passes through the esophageal hiatus (opening in the diaphram)
What are the 2 esophageal sphincters and where are they located?
- Upper-C6
- Lower-T11
What esophageal sphinter is located at the gastroesophageal junction?
The lower esophageal sphincter
What controls the opening into the stomach?
The cardiac sphincter
Is there digestive enzymes in the esophagus?
No.
Where is the stomach generally located in relation to the MSP?
Mostly left of the MSP
What are the parts of the stomach?
- Cardia
- Fundus
- Body
- Pyloric part
What is the function of the Cardia?
Surrounds the opening of the esophagus
What is the most superior portion of the stomach under the diaphram?
The Fundus
What is the most posterior part of the stomach?
The fundus
What are the 3 parts of the pyloric part of the stomach?
- Pyloric antrum
- Pyloric canal
- Pylorus
What is the pylorus?
The opening in the duodenal wall
What forms the rugae in the stomach?
The muscularis muscoae
What is the purpose of the rugae in the stomach?
Allows for expansion of the stomach
Why do we have 3 layers of muscle in the stomach?
For mechanical digeston
Where does the majority of digestion take place?
In the small intestine
What are the 3 processes of the stomach?
- Mechanical digestion
- Chemical digestion
- Gastric emptying
What process of digestion in the stomach mixes saliva, food and gastric juices to form chyme?
Mechanical digestion
Where does propulsion take place in the stomach?
From the body of the stomach to the pylorus
Describe the process of retropulsion:
Food particles are initially to large to fit through the pylorus so they are forced back into body of stomach. This process continues to repeat and keeps mixing particles with gastric juices until particles are small enough to pass through.
How many L can the stomach hold?
1-1.5 L
During chemical digestion in the stomach, what solution is secreted into the blood? What is its function?
Gastrin-to create a chain of events that eventually produce the gastric juice.
What 4 things is the gastric juice made up of?
- HCL
- Pepsin/pepsinogen
- Intrinsic factor
- Gastric lipase
What is the function of HCL?
Kills bacteria and acivates pepsinogen into its active form;pepsin
What is the function of pepsin/pepsinogen?
Begins the digestion of protiens