Gastrointestinal Flashcards
Where do parasympathetic nerves to the GI tract have their first extracranial synapse? What are the neurotransmitters and receptors at this synapse?
In gangion surrounding the gut; Ach on nicotinic Ach receptors
Where do sympathetic fibers to the GI tract first synapse?
In prevertebral ganglion
What is the neurotransmitter at the postganglionic synapse for sympathetic innervation of the gut?
Norepinephrine
Which layer of the GI tract contains the ganglia that hold the first synapses for parasympathetic fibers coming from the brain?
Auerbach’s plexuses in the muscularis externa
Does the enteric nervous system have more or fewer neurons than the spinal cord?
Many more
Which plexuses contain the cell bodies of the enteric nervous system?
Meissner’s plexuses (submucosal)
What effect does nitric oxide have on the GI tract?
Sphincter relaxation
For each of the following, do they act mostly as hormones or neuropeptides in the GI tract?
– Gastrin
– Secretin
– Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP)
– GIP
– Glucagon, GLP-1, GLP-2
– VIP
– Motilin
– Gastrin: hormone
– Secretin: hormone
– Gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP): neuropeptide
– GIP: hormone
– Glucagon, GLP-1, GLP-2: hormone
– VIP: neuropeptide
– Motilin: hormone
For each of the following, do they act mostly as hormones or neuropeptides in the GI tract?
– Substance P; tachykinins
– Pancreatic polypeptide
– Peptide YY
– Ghrelin
– Substance P; tachykinins: neuropeptides
– Pancreatic polypeptide: hormone
– Peptide YY: hormone
– Ghrelin: hormone
Are G-cells in the proximal or distal part of the stomach?
Distal
What receptor does gastrin bind to?
CCK receptor-B
How is gastrin release inhibited? What cells release this modulator?
By somatostatin released from D cells
What three regulators will stimulate acid production by the parietal cell?
Gastrin, histamine, and Ach
What does the prefix cholecysto- refer to?
Gall bladder
Cholecystokinin stimulates contaction of what organ, and secretion of what enzymes?
Gallbladder contraction; pancreatic enyme secretion
Both secretin and CCK induce secretion of what ion?
Bicarbonate: HCO3-
Both secretin and somatostatin inhibit release of what hormone that acts on the stomach?
Gastrin
What are the major actions of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)?
Epithelial cell secretion and smooth muscle relaxation (in the sphincter of Oddi)
What are the three effects of the tachykinin Gastrin Releasing Peptide (GRP)?
Mediates of the vagal release of gastrin, stimulates pancreatic secretion, and increases GI motility
What antibiotic is an agonist for motilin? What side effect does this cause?
Erythromycin; overactive gut
Where is ghrelin made? What is its principle effect?
In the fundus of the stomach; it increases food intake
What stimulates the release of somatostatin? What inhibits its release?
Gastric acid in the lumen; inhibited by high luminal pH
What are ECL cells in the gut? What do they release to promote gastric acid release?
They are a type of neuroendocrine cell found in the gastric glands of the gastric mucosa beneath the epithelium in the vicinity of parietal cells. They release histamine in response to gastrin.
Saliva contains what major ion? What is its principal function in the distal esophagus?
Bicarbonate; neutralizes gastric acid to protect distal esophagus
What two digestive enzymes is saliva rich in?
Salivary amylase and lingual lipase (although this is only significantly active for infants)
What is the difference in function between the proximal and distal stomach?
The proximal is primarily a secretion reservoir, while the distal is responsible for mixing and griding.
When vagal activity of the stomach increases, what two cell types in the fundic glands are stimulated?
Parietal cells and chief cells
Where are chief cells concentrated in the fundic gland?
Primarily toward the interior
What enzyme do chief cells secrete?
Pepsinogen
What are two classes of drugs that can be used to inhibit the function of parietal cells?
Proton pump inhibitors, acting on the H+/K+ ATPase, and H2 blockers acting on the histamine receptors
What regulatory mechanism is used to activate and deactivate proton pumps in parietal cells?
Sequestering of the membrane-bound pumps into vesicles, and then fusion of these vesicles with the canaliculi on activation
Does histamine released by ECL cells in the fundic gland activate chief cells, parietal cells, or both?
Both
What hormone inhibits the action of G-cells in the antrum? Which cell type secretes it, and what do those cells secrete it in response to?
Somatostatin; D cells, in response to low pH
What neurotransmitter influences ECL cells in the stomach? What other cell type does it affect?
Acetylcholine from vagal stimulation; Parietal cells
Pancreatic juice is very alkaline, with lots of bicarbonate; what does this neutralize?
Gastric acid
What channels face the luminal side of the pancreatic duct cell?
A Cl-/HCO3- exchanger and a CFTR that passes Cl- ions
What hormone influences the activity of the luminal channels of the pancreatic duct cells, along with the HCO3-/Na+ symporter?
Secretin
Which intracellular messenger is used by secretin stimulation to induce fusion of zymogenic granules in the pancreatic acinar cell?
cAMP
What amino acids are conjugated onto primary bile acids in order to get them into bile? Why are they necessary?
Glycine and taurine, which make the bile acid more hydrophilic (bile is watery)
Where are primary bile acids reabsorbed?
The terminal ileum
Bile acid is comparable to which household cleaning product?
Soap or detergent
Bile acids surround fatty acids in spherical structures called…
Micelles
Primary and secondary bile salts are mixed with what other components to make bile?
Phospholipids, cholesterol, and a little bit of protein, electrolytes and bilirubin.
What hormone controls smooth muscle contraction of the gall bladder?
Cholecystikinin
What innervation causes smooth muscle contraction in the bile duct, and what sphincter is relaxed by this innervation using which neurotransmitter?
Vagal innervation releasing Ach causes contraction; NO and VIP released to relax the sphincter of Oddi at the head of the bile tract
Besides the muscle or the nerve, where else can the problem in a GI motility order manifest?
The brain-gut axis (signalling)
What cells usually produce gas and distension of the bowel tract?
Bacteria
There are slow waves of electrical activity in the GI tract; in which part are these waves most frequent?
The small intestine
Besides slow waves, what other electrical activity can be propagated through the GI tract?
Spike activity, caused by reaching the threshold for an action potential
What function do interstitial cells of Cajal serve in the GI tract?
Electrical pacemakers of slow wave activity
What parts of the GI tract are tonically contracted (normally closed or constricted)?
storage organs like the gastric fundus and cecum, and sphincters
What does the “intestinal housekeeper” do?
They are waves of peristalsis that flush out the GI tract between meals
What is the kind of GI contraction that does not result in a proximal-to-distal gradient called? In which part of the GI tract is this the major contractile process?
Segmentation; the small and large intestine
Does peristalsis require contraction, relaxation, or both?
Both
Which neurotransmitters are important for peristalsis?
Serotonin (5-HT), acetylcholine, and nitric oxide
Where do the retrograde contractions of vomiting begin?
In the duodenum
Where is the vomiting reflex controlled?
In the central vomiting center of the medulla of the brain
Can cortical input cause vomiting? Can input from the vestibular system (balance) cause vomiting?
Yes to both
Is the lower esophageal sphincter a true sphincter?
No
Which neurotransmitter relaxes GI sphincters?
Nitric oxide
Which two GI sphincters are under voluntary contral?
The upper esophageal sphincter and the external anal sphincter
Does vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) promote or inhibit the smooth muscle relaxation caused by nitric oxide?
Promote
Do the laryngeal muscles contract after or before the nasopharynx closes during swallowing?
Generally, the larynx elevates after the nasopharynx closes
Once the bolus gets into the esophagus during swallowing, what contracts to prevent food from refluxing into the pharynx?
The upper esophageal sphincter
How long does it take food to reach the stomach from the pharynx during swallowing?
5-6 seconds
When does the lower esophageal sphincter begin to relax during swallowing?
When the pharynx contracts, well before the bolus has reached it; this is vagally mediated