GI Flashcards
Name the connecting peritoneum of the abdominal cavity. (OLMF)
Roisin’s Gooch
Describe the greater omentum.
The GO originates from the greater curvature of the stomach. It folds back on itself to form the omentum bursa, entry is gained via the epiploic foramen. The GO then finds the parietal parietal peritoneum of the body wall. It folds back as the lesser omentum which fuses with the stomachs lesser curvature.
How does the saliva of ruminants and non-ruminants differ between low and high flow rates?
Non-rum - hypotonic to isotonic Rum - PO42- to HCO3- At low flow rates ions are reabsorbed from saliva before reaching the epithelial surface.
What is the function of mucous and serous salivary glands?
Mucous lubricate food and serous produce amylase which aid digestion.
What substances make up saliva?
Mucin and water = mucous Amylase Bicarbonate Phosphate Lysozymes Antibodies Tannins, Urea - ruminants
Name the main salivary glands of the dog and whether they are mucous or serous.
Mucous - parotid Mixed - mandibular, buccal, sublingual Zygomatic
What are the phases of digestion? (X3)
Cephalic - sight, smell and taste = brain activation and presecretions Gastric - lumen stretch/ contents Intestinal - metabolites/ chyme in duodenum
What fundus adaptations do horses and pigs have to allow amylase function to continue in the stomach?
Horse - Margo plicatus (separates regions of the stomach). Fundus in non-glandular as it arises from the oesophageal regions Pigs - Only mucous glands - develops from cardiac regions. Very extensive fundus.
Which structures arise from the fore, mid and hindgut?
Fore - up to mid duodenum and accessory organs Mid - mid duodenum to transverse colon Hind - descending colon and rectum
How does the stomach rotate during development?
Left and right - cranial extremity left, caudal extremity right Cranial and caudal - oesophageal region cranially, pylorus caudally
Name the different regions of the stomach.
Oesophageal, cardia, fundus, corpus, pylorus, pyloric Antrum
How does the embryonic development of the fundus differ between the dog, pig and horse?
In the dog the fundus develops from the primitive fundus region whereas in the pig it develops from the cardiac region (making it a mucous glandular area) and in the horse it develops from the oesophageal region (making it a non-glandular region of the stomach)
This specialized band in the equine stomach separates the fundus and corpus. Why is its presence significant?
Margo plicatus This band separates the glandular and non-glandular regions of the stomach - prevents self digestion.
Why do carnivores have no non-glandular region in the stomach?
They have no need since they do not use salivary amylase
Transverse abdominis
O - Medial surface of ventral ribs and deep lumbodorsal fascia. I - linea alba
External abdominal oblique
O - lateral, caudal ribs and lumbodorsal fascia I - linea alba and prepubic tendon
Fibres run caudoventrally
Internal abdominal oblique
O - tuber coxae and lumbodorsal fascia I - linea alba and caudal rib cartilages Fibres run cranioventrally
Rectus abdominis
O - sterna, ribs/ sternum I - prepubic tendon/ ventral pubis
What does the hepatic portal triad consist of? Describe the histology of each.
Hepatic artery - thick walled, filled with RBC Hepatic portal vein - thin walled Bile duct - cuboidal epithelia +/- lymph vessels
Describe the sinusoids of the hepatic lobule.
Sinusoids are lined with Fenstrated epithelium and hepatocytes. Space between Fenstrated epithelium and hepatocytes is called space of disse.
What are the specialized macrophages of the liver sinusoids also known as?
Kupfer cells
Draw a hepatic lobule. Describe the flow of blood from the hepatic portal vein back to the heart.
Central vein, hepatic portal triad etc etc Hepatic portal vein drains into the liver sinusoids which drains into the central vein of the lobule. This drains into the hepatic vein which empties into the caudal vena cava
What epithelial lining is found in the fore stomachs of the ruminant GI tract?
R,R,O - stratified squamous - derived from oesophageal region Abomasum - glandular - derived from stomach
How is the epithelium of the ruminant forestomachs (fermentation chambers) specialized?
Lamina epithelialis mucosae has a parakeratotic stratified squamous epithelium (protective against shearing forces)
What histological features of the lamina muscularis mucosae differ between the reticulum, rumen and omasum?
Reticulum - isolated smooth muscle mass Rumen - not present Omasum - LMM forms a double layer which follows papillae, inner muscularis interdigitates between the double layer.
Describe the gross folds of the ruminant forestomach
Reticulum - honey comb shaped with primary and secondary folds and tertiary papillae Rumen - conical papillae Omasum - sheet layers of folds with primary folds and smaller papillae
How does the linea alba alter down the abdomen?
In the dog the connection becomes thinner cranially to caudal since the load on the ventral abdominal wall decreases. The the horse and ox this width remains thick due to the large gut contents.
This GI hormone is released in response ACh and peptides/ amino acid from the caudal stomach. What does its release cause?
Gastrin causes HCl released and mucosal growth
This GI hormone is released from the duodenum and causes HCO3- release. What stimulates its release?
Secretin is released in response to HCl in the duodenum
CCK is short for what?
From which part of the GI tract is it released, what causes its release and what is its effect?
Cholecytokinin is released from the duodenum in response to fatty acids, peptides and amino acids and monoglycerides.
It causes release of pancreatic enzymes and contraction of the gall bladder releasing bile.
What effect does Gastric inhibitory peptide have on the GI tract, where is it released from?
GIP is released from the cranial small intestine in response to presence of fat, glucose and amino acids. It inhibits the release of HCl and insulin production.
What is the difference between the long and short reflex arcs of the GI tract?
Short reflex arcs are contained within the enteric nervous system (sensory +/- interneuron and motor neurone) whereas long reflex arcs communicate with the autonomic nervous system.
Which branch of the autonomic nervous system is inhibitory of enteric nervous system? What GI actions does it inhibit?
Sympathetic, inhibits GI secretion, motility and blood supply.
What stimulates the activation of the ENS and what does it stimulate?
Sensory fibres detect lumen contents and wall stretch and motor fibres stimulate motility of smooth muscle and epithelial cell secretion (juices and hormones)
Name the four types of GI tract contraction and the function of each type.
Segmental - mixing and chemical breakdown
Peristaltic - gradual aboral movement - progressive contraction from cranial to caudal, in bands
Anti-peristaltic - oral direction
Mass movement - empties entire sections of the GI tract
Which modulating signals stimulate the appetite and satiety centres of the brain?
Glucose (glucostat), CCK, Fat levels (lipostat), Smell, vision
What is the main neurotransmitter of the ENS?
Acetylcholine
Where does the SNS post-ganglionic fibres terminate in the GI tract? What is their effect?
They terminate either on post-ganglionic parasympathetic fibres with an inhibitory effect or directly onto smooth muscle of GI blood vessels causing vasoconstriction.
Describe the process of deglutation.
1) Voluntary controls - mechanical digestion and moulding of the food bolus and forcing to the back of the oral cavity.
2) Involuntary controls - Sensitive afferent cell stimulated which stimulates the swallowing reflex via the medulla.
3) Epiglottis closes, upper oesophageal sphincter is closed behind the bolus, peristaltic contraction down the oesophagus, lower oesophageal sphincter opens.
What is a physiological spincter? Name one.
It acts as a sphincter but there is no obvious difference in the tissue. The lower oesophageal sphincter.
Describe the relationship between the oesophagus and diaphragm.
The oesophagus enters the stomach obliquely through the diaphragm. When the stomach expands the opening closes, this physiological sphincter is known as the lower oesphageal sphincter. It is extremely pronounced in the horse, hence why they cannot vomit.
Name the histological layers of the GI tract.
(x4)
- Mucosa
- Lamina epithelialis mucosae - glands + folds
- Lamina propria mucosae - connective tissue
- Lamina muscularis mucosae - local motility and gland expression
- Submucosa - Loose connective tissue (larger nerves, blood vessels, nerve plexuses, ganglia, glands)
- Muscularis (smooth or skeletal) - Inner circular and outer longitudinal
- Serosa - Mesothelium & connective tissue (vessels, nerves, ganglia, adipose)
What function do folds in the mucosa of the GI tract play?
Increased surface area for secretion/ absorption
Describe the histological features of the oesophagus.
- Mucosa
- Lamina epithelialis = stratified squamous
- Lamina propria = typical
- Lamina muscularis variable according to species, scattered muscle bundles but absent in cervical region of dogs
- Submucosa - Contains many branched tubulo-alveolar glands secreting mucus
- Muscularis - Skeletal or smooth muscle depending on species. In dogs / ruminants = entirely skeletal. In horses / cats = skeletal to midway then smooth
- Serosa = typical
Label this histological slide.
- Lamina propria
- Mucous glands
- Muscularis (inner circular)
- Muscularis (outer longitudinal
- Muscularis mucosae
- Keratinized stratified squamous epithelium
- Submucosa
Describe the mucosal histology of the stomach.
How is the carnivores specialised?
- Mucosa
- Lamina epithelia contains gastric pits, these contain glands which secrete mucus, acid and pepsin
- Lamina propria contains many immune cells
- Lamina muscularis fairly extensive
Carnivores have a layer of dense connective tissue existing between lamina propria and lamina muscularis - stratum compactum.
What cell types are present in the gastric pits?
What is the function of each?
- Parietal (oxyntic) cells - secretes hydrochloric acid
- Mucous cells - secretes mucus
- Chief cells - secretes pepsinogen and gasstric lipase
- Endocrine cells
How do the glandular secretions of the stomach differ between the different regions?
- Oesophagus - stratified squamous, non-gland
- Cardiac and pyloric - Columnar epithelium, branched tubular coiled glands secreting mucus and entero-endocrine cells secreting hormones
- Fundic - Columnar epithelium, long branched tubular coiled glands
- Mucus neck cells
- Chief (peptic) cells
- Parietal (oxyntic) cells
Describe the morphology of the cells of the gastric pits.
- Mucus neck cells - pale staining, secrete protective mucu
- Chief (peptic) cells – pyramid shaped with basal nucleus. Contain zymogen granules along apical border which secrete pepsinogen. Leakage of granules in fixing often makes them look ‘foamy’.
- Parietal (oxyntic) cells – spherical or pyramidal in shape with central nucleus, acidophilic cytoplasm – secrete HCl.
What cell types are found in the villi and crypts of the small intestine?
- Villi
- Columnar microvilli – absorptive
- Goblet cells – secrete mucus
- Entero-endocrine cells
- M cells – cover GALT
- Crypts of Lieberkuhn
- Simple branched tubular invaginations
- Cell types as villus but also Paneth cells (acidophilic granule cells) – pyramid shaped with basal nuclei – secrete lysozyme (suggest phagocytic function).
How does the number of goblet cells alter down the length of the small intestine?
Increases
How do the glands of the submucosa of the small intestine differ between the core species?
Submucosa can contain intestinal submucosal glands = simple branched tubulo-acinar glands opening into crypts
- mucous (ruminants, dogs),
- mixed (cats)
- serous (horses, pigs).