Gastrointestinal System (Motility) Flashcards
What does the GI tract do?
Th GI tract takes in food, digests it to extract and absorb metabolities for the growth and energy needs of the body plus fluid and electrolytes to replace losses, and expel the remaining waste.
What does the GI system consist of?
A long epitehlium lined tube - with functional secretions seperated by sphincters and connected to accessory exocrine glands.
mouth
pharynx
esophagus
stomach
large intestine
small intestine
anus
What are the three sections of the small intestine?
Duodenum
Jejunum
llium
What are the sphincters of the GI tract?
Upper esophageal sphincter
Lower esophageal spincter
Pyloric sphincter
Sphincter of Oddi (or hepatopancreatic sphincter)
Illeocecal valve
Anal sphincter (internal and external)
What are the salivary glands of the GI tract?
Parotid salivary glands
Sublingial salivary glands
Submandibular salivary glands
What are the accessory exocrine glands of the GI tract?
Salivary glands
Pancreas
Liver
Gall bladder
What are the 4 layers of the GI tract wall?
Mucosal layer
Sub-mucosal layer
Muscularis layer
Serosal layer
What are the two secretoary glands of GI tract wall?
intestinal glands
Submucosal gland
What are the two seperate layers of the muscular layer of GI tract wall?
Circular (inner) and longitudinal (outer) layer
What are the components of the mucosa?
Epithelium
Villi
Lamina Propria
Muscularis mucosae
What are the components of the sub-mucosal layer (the supporting mucosa layer)?
Submucosal plexus, connective tissue blood vessels
What layer of the GI tract wall si the myenteric plexus located in?
Muscularis layer
What is a plexus?
Network of vessels and nerves (layer of neurons)
What is the serosal layer?
The outer sheath of the GI tract wall
What are GI reflexes initiated and senses by?
Stretch = mechanoreceptors
Chemical compositon of luminal contents = osmoreceptors
Concentration of products of digestion in the chyme = chemoreceptors
What is chyme?
Semi-fluid mass of partly digested food
What are the signal pathways of the GI tract?
Neural = CNS and ENS
Hormonal
What are the effectors of the GI tract?
GIT smooth muscle (motility)
Epithelial cells (secretion and absorption of the luminal content)
What are the phases of GI regulation?
1) cephalic phase
2) gastric phase
3) intestinal phase
What is the cephalic phase?
Preparative phase - it prepares the stomach for the arrival of food.
Prepares the GIT lumen by initiating CNS via ENS
What is the cephalic phase stimulated by?
Sensory stimuli: The sight, smell, taste and swallowing of food
Explain how the cephalic phase prepares the stomach:
Inhibits muscles in the proximal stomach (Receptive relaxation)
Triggers low level stimulation of antral contraction by modulation of ENS (antrum = lowest part of the stomach)
Stimulates the release of gastrin from G cells
Starts the regulation of gastric secretion
Is the pyloric sphincter opened or closed during the cephalic phase?
Closed
What is the gastric phase?
The digestive phase in the stomach
What is the gastric phase mediated by?
Mechanoreceptors that responds to the distention by food and chemoreceptors (amino acids and short peptides).
Detects distension, pH and nutrients
Prepares stomach by sending signals ENS, CNS and hormones (gastrin)
Explain how the gastric phase works:
Inhibits muscles in the proximal stomach for gastric accommodation
Stimulates contraction in distal stomach through the release of Ach and Substance P (for retropulsion)
Stimulation of G cell to release gastrin
Is the pyloric sphincter opened or closed during the gastric phase?
Closed
What is the intestinal phase?
The controlled delivery to the duodenum.
Detects stretch, acid osmolarity and nutrient concentrations
Prepares: ENS, CNS, hormones (CCK and secretin)
Explain how the intestinal phase works:
Reduces contraction in the distal stomach > pyloric sphincter periodically opens based on meal composition and size
Does the stomach digest a large or small meal faster?
Large
Does the stomach digest liquids or solids faster?
Liquids
Is high energy food such as fats digested slow or fast?
Slower
Is isosmotic or hyperosmotic food digested faster?
Isosmotic
*Because hyperosmotic needs to undergo osmotic adjustment first
What factors determine the speed of digestion?
Size of meal
Composition
Osmolarity
What hormone is involved in gastric phase of digestion?
Gastrin
What hormones are involved in the intestinal phase?
CCK and secretin
What is the order of the GI tract wall starting from the lumen (outside word)?
Mucosa > sub-mucosa > muscuylaris externa > serosa
When is neural signalling used?
When rapid and precise regulation is required
What are extrinsic reflexes?
Regulation and co-ordination of GI function over long distances e.g., complex behaviours such as swallowing.
Involves the CNS via the ENS.
What neural system is involved in extrinsic reflexes?
CNS - but always act via the ENS
What are intrinsic reflexes?
Regulation over centimeters (local reflexes) e.g., the relaxation of the internal anal sphincter in repsonse to rectal distention
Involves ENS only.
What neural system is involved in intrinsic reflexes?
ONLY the ENS
What is the function of the ENS?
Respond to internal stimuli (GI lumen contents)
What is the ENS response?
Occurs via two short reflex pathways:
(1) Myenteric Plexus - which controls motility.
(2) Submucosal plexus - which controls secretion and absorption.
Can the ENS function independantly of the CNS?
Yes
The ENS is a self contained system - it can perform short local reflexes (over cm’s) independant from the CNS.
What does myenteric plexus control?
muscularis layer = motlity
*located between inner circular msucle and outer longitudinal muscle layers.
What does the submucosal plexus control?
mucosa layer = secretion, absorption and movement of villi
What provides a route between CNS and ENS?
The autonomic NS neurons (PSNS and SNS) that include both motor (efferent) and sensoru (afferent) neurons.
*they are not part of the ENS themselves
What are the ENS neurons?
Afferent sensory (mechano/chemo sensory)
Interneurons
Efferent neurons (motor and secretory)
What are the stimulatory neurotransmitters of the GI tract?
Acetylcholine and tachykinins (substance P, neurokinin A)
*PSNS
What are the inhibitory neurotransmitters of the GI tract?
NO (+ VIP and ATP)
*SNS
What are the 2 functions of the CNS in the GI tract?
(1) Intergration of responses to external stimuli - senses and emotions via ANS.
(2) Response to internal stimulus - GI lumen contents via long reflex path (ENS to CNS and back to ENS again = gut to brain and back again).
Does the sympathetic or parasympathetic pathway inhibit GI activity?
Sympathetic pathway
What does the sympathetic pathway release and what does it bind to?
Noradremaline and binds to a adrenergic receptors
What pathway stimulates GI activity?
Parasympathetic
What does the parasympathetic pathway release and what is it detected by?
ACh detected by muscarinic cholinergic receptors
What do afferent fibres of sensory ENS neurons detect?
Information regarding the state of gut and relay it to the CNS
What do efferent fibers of the ENS signal a repsonse to?
Smooth muscle cells or epithelial cells
Does the CNS directly innervate the GI tract?
No - it acts through the ENS
*Some exceptions
What are the exceptions to the rule that there is no direct innervation of the GI tract from CNS?
The upper structures involved ni swallowing and the external anal sphincters –> reason being that they both have skeletal muscle rather than GI tract smooth muscle
What is the relavtive length of pre and post ganaglionic axons in the SNS and PSNS?
SNS short then long
PSNS long then short
What layers of the gut are ENS sensory neurons located?
All layers
What is the speed of hormone interaction?
Slow and sustained
What are GI hormones secreted by?
enteroendocrine cells that are throughout the intestinal tract
What are the mechanisms of GI hormones?
Endocrine
Paracrine
Neurocrine
What memebrane are the receptors of enteroendocrine cells on?
Apical - meaning they respond to luminal changes - they respond by releasing granules containing homrones from their basolateral pole via exocytosis.
What is the difference between endocrine, paracrine and neurocrine?
Endocrine = released into blood to tarvel to target cell
Paracrine = neighbouring cells receptor on membrane
Neurocrine = release of neurotransmitter
What is the function of the GI tract immune system?
Barrier function
Active immune response
Modulator of GI tract and systemic physiology
What does the GI tract immune system respond to?
Food antigens, pathogens, commensal/mutualistic bacteria
What does the GI tract release in its immune response?
Histamine, prostaglandins, leukotrines, cytokines