Gastrointestinal System Flashcards
Name the 5 main components of the digestive system.
1) Mouth
2) Pharynx
3) Esophagus
4) Stomach
5) Small and large intestine
Name the 5 accessory structures of the GI tract.
1) Teeth and tongue
2) Salivary glands
3) Liver
4) Gallbladder
5) Pancreas
What is the typical cycle for microbial disease of the digestive system?
Fecal to oral cycle. This can be interrupted with effective sanitation.
How many tons of food pass through the GI tract in a lifetime?
25 tons
What percentage of the immune system is located in the intestinal tract? What form does it take?
80%
Gut-associated lymphoid tissue including lymph nodes and Peyer’s patches
Why are there few microorganisms in the stomach?
HCL production, very low pH
What kind of cells does the SI contain?
Paneth cells
Granule-filled phagocytic cells. Produce defensins (antibacterial protein) and lysozymes
What is the density of bacteria in the large intestine?
100 billion bacteria per gram of feces (anaerobes and facultative anaerobes)
How many different types of bacterial species are in the oral cavity?
700 different species
What are the most important types of bacteria in the oral cavity?
Streptococcus mutans is the most important cariogenic (plaque forming) organism. Gram-positive coccus, converts sucrose to lactic acid. Produces dextran, a polysaccharide that creates plaque.
Plaques attract what other carcinogenic bacteria?
Streptococci; filamentous Actinomyces
What do caries do?
Penetrate enamel into the dentin. Caused by gram positive rods and filamentous bacteria.
What happens if decay reaches the pulp?
May advance into soft tissues leading to abscess.
Gingivitis
Inflammation and infection of the gums. Caused by streptococci, actinomycetes and anaerobic gram-negative bacteria.
Periodontitis
Bone and tissue supporting the teeth are destroyed. Caused by Porphyromonas
Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (trench mouth) is caused by?
Caused by Prevotella intermedia
How do microorganisms spread in the GI tract?
Microorganisms penetrate into the small intestine and grow there or pass to other organs of the body.
How does the body respond to microorganisms in the SI?
M cells (micro fold cells) translocate antigens to the other side of the epithelium to Peyer’s patches.
What microorganisms are usually responsible for food poisoning?
Staphylococcus aureus, produces enterotoxin which is not killed by boiling. Serological type A, coagulates blood plasma.
Toxins are produced when S. aureus is allowed to incubate in food, what is this called?
Temperature abuse
Which bacteria are responsible for Bacillary Dysentery?
Genus Shigella (Shigellosis)
- Facultatively anaerobic
- gram-negative.
- Four species
- Produces Shiga toxin
What kind of dose is required to cause Shigellosis?
Small infectious dose. Attaaches to M cells, invades and spreads to other cells. Damages the intestinal wall. Can invade the bloodstream.
How is Shigellosis treated?
Fluoroquinolones and oral rehydration
What causes Salmonella?
Salmonella enterica Gram-negative Facultative anaerobe Nonendospore-forming rods Normal inhabitant of the human intestinal tract.
How does Salmonella enterica cause illness?
Invades intestinal mucosa and multiplies. Passes through M cells and enters the lymphatics. Replicates in macrophages.
What are the specifics of disease (incubation, signs and symptoms) of Salmonella?
Incubation of 12 to 36 hours.
Fever, nausea, pain and cramps, diarrhea.
What are the numbers of people affected by Salmonella?
1.4 million cases and 400 deaths annually.
What is Salmonella most associated with commercially?
Chicken and egg production as bacteria survives in the albumin.
What is typhoid fever caused by?
Salmonella typhi. Spread only by human feces. Rare in the U.S. due to sanitation.
How does Salmonella typhi bacteria spread?
Spread in phagocytes and release organisms in the bloodstream.
Signs and symptoms of typhoid fever?
High fever, headache, intestinal wall ulceration. 1-3% of patients become chronic carriers as the organism hide in the gallbladder.
How is typhoid fever treated?
Chloramphenical, quinolones or cephalosporins
What causes Cholera?
Vibrio cholerae
Slightly curved, gram-negative rod with single polar flagellum. Associated with salty waters.
How does vibrio cholera cause illness?
Produces the cholera toxin. Toxin causes the host cells to secrete electrolytes and water. Can cause a person to lose 12 to 20 litters of fluid per day. Causes shock, collapse, organ failure and death.
How is cholera treated?
IV fluid replacement, oral rehydration with electrolyte replacement (salt, sugar and water).
Noncholera vibrios
Mostly adapted to salty coastal waters. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, found in saltwater estuaries, common cause of gastroenteritis. Raw oysters and crustaceans are associated with outbreaks. Requires early antibiotic therapy.
Enteropathogenic E.coli
- Diarrhea in developing countries
- Cause the host cells to form pedestals where bacteria attach
Enteroinvasive E. coli
Causes Shigella-like dysentery
Enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC)
Only in humans. Produces an enterotoxin causing watery diarrhea.
Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)
Produces Shiga-like toxin. Released upon the cell’s lysis. Most outbreaks due to serotype O157:H7
EHEC what is the main reservoir and what does it cause? How is it diagnosed?
- Cattle are the main reservoir.
- Causes hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome
- Diagnosed by inability to ferment sorbitol and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis
Traveler’s diarrhea causes and treatment?
- Most common cause is Enterotoxigenic Eschericia coli (ETEC)
- Second most common is EAEC Enteroaggregative E. coli
- Can also be caused by Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter
- Treatment with oral rehydration therapy and bismuth-containing preparations
Campylobacter gastroenteritis cause
- Caused by campylobacter jejuni (gram-negative, microaerophilic, spirally curved bacteria)