Digestive System Part 3 - Accessory Digestive Organs Flashcards
what are accessory digestive organs?
organs that are related to digestion but the food does not actually pass directly through them
where is the liver located?
inferior to the diaphragm, and a LITTLE anterior to the stomach
where is the gallbladder?
tucked behind the liver
where is the pancreas?
tucked behind the stomach
where is the spleen?
tucked a little bit behind the stomach, on the left side
what are the different areas of the pancreas?
- the head
- the body
- the tail
where is the head of the pancreas?
more inferior
where is the tail of the pancreas?
more superior
where does the head of the pancreas fit into?
directly in the C shape of the duodenum
why is it important that the pancreas head fits directly into the C shape of the duodenum?
because the pancreas has ducts that are going to carry products directly into the duodenum
what does the pancreas function as?
an exocrine and an endocrine organ
what does endocrine mean?
products are released directly into the bloodstream
what is the endocrine function of the pancreas?
it makes metabolic hormones and dumps it directly in the blood stream
when we are talking about digestion, which function of the pancreas are we more focused on?
the exocrine function
what is the exocrine function of the pancreas?
it makes a number of digestive enzymes which travel through the pancreatic ducts and empty into the duodenum
how many openings are there in the pancreas to the duodenum?
2
- 1 is the main opening and the other is a smaller branch of the duct that opens above as a backup
- empty the digestive enzymes produced by the pancreas into the duodenum
what does the interior walls of the duodenum produce?
some of their own digestive enzymes
- includes the productive of bicarbonate
what is bicarbonate?
a very basic molecule (high pH)
what is the important function of bicarbonate in the duodenum?
neutralizes the hydrochloric acid that came in from the stomach
what helps finish off the chemical breakdown of food?
the digestive enzymes from the pancreas and the duodenum
is there a duct system associated with the gallbladder and liver?
yes
all of the ducts associated with the gallbladder and liver is located where?
posterior to the liver
what are the jobs of the liver?
cardiovascular system:
- clean the blood of toxins
digestive system:
- produces bile
what is bile for?
important in the breakdown of fats in our food
- uses ducts to travel down to the duodenum through an opening that is shared with the pancreatic duct
what is bile?
a special digestive enzyme
how many lobes are there in the liver?
four
- right lobe
- left lobe
- caudate lobe (posteriorly superior)
- quadrate lobe (posteriorly inferior)
what functions very closely with the gallbladder?
the liver
what is the job of the gallbladder?
store bile
what produces bile?
the liver
what is the pathway of bile?
we make bile in the lobes of the liver –> come through the right and left hepatic duct –> join to form the common hepatic duct –> either continues through the common bile duct or goes to the gallbladder
common bile duct –> to the duodenum
gallbladder: common hepatic duct –> sharp right –> cystic duct –> gallbladder –> storage until needed
what does hepatic mean?
liver
what determines if bile continues through the common bile duct or goes to the gallbladder?
- continues through the common bile duct if we have eaten something fatty and we need the bile in the duodenum right away for digestion
do we always have bile in the gallbladder?
no
if we have bile in our gallbladder, what will happen when we eat fatty food?
the bile will be emptied out
- we know because of our signals from neurons from the enteric nervous system
- it will leave through the cystic duct –> through the common bile duct –> into the duodenum
what happens if we need more bile after emptying out the gallbladder?
we can get it from the liver from all the ducts
what is surrounding the inner wall of the abdomen?
the parietal peritoneum
what is the parietal peritoneum?
a membranous layer that is running around the inner wall of the abdomen and around most of the liver
what surrounds most of the internal organs?
the visceral peritoneum
where are the parietal and visceral peritoneum going to meet?
in a lot of places along the posterior wall of the abdominal cavity
what are the places where the parietal and visceral peritoneum connect called?
the mesentery
what does mesentery look like?
this membranous covering of much of the contents of the abdomen
what is often on the mesentery?
a lot of fat which is going to give a lot of protection
what is there a lot of in the mesentery?
a lot of blood vessels
what is the layering of mesentery?
a double layer of peritoneum because visceral and parietal are both single layers
why is mesentery able to protect blood vessels?
because it is a double layer that has fat between them and blood vessels
the space between the peritoneum layers is called?
peritoneal cavity
- allows space for things to expand into
are many components of the gastrointestinal tract elastic walled and expansive?
yes so we can have extra room for food and during pregnancy for females
is a few areas, we have mesentery that folds back on itself so we end up with how many layers?
four
what is the greater omentum?
looks like a big fatty apron that hangs over the contents of the abdomen
- mesentery that attaches the stomach, goes down, folds back onto itself, and attached to the transverse colon
what does omentum mean?
apron
what does the greater omentum connect to?
the transverse colon and the greater curvature of the stomach
how many layers is the greater omentum?
four layers of peritoneum because it is two layers of mesentery which is 2 layers each
- covered in fat
can the greater omentum just flip up?
yes, it just hangs so it is very mobile
what does the greater omentum do if you have a pathology (like a tumour) on something else in the abdomen like a kidney?
it will wrap around the infected organ to protect all the other organs from whatever the pathology is
why is it hard to find the greater omentum in elderly cadaveurs?
because the greater omentum has shifted to one side or the other to envelop the pathology
- elders typically have many issues with their digestive systems
