GI and Liver Flashcards
What are the functions of the stomach?
- Store and mix food
- Dissolve + continue digestion
- Regulate emptying into duodenum
- Kill microbes
- Secrete intrinsic factor
- Activate proteases
- Lubrication
- Mucosal protection
- Produces chyme
Mucous cells, parietal cells, chief cells, enterochromaffin (ECL)-like cells, G cells and D cells. What do these cells secrete? What is the function do these cells?
When gastric acid (HCl) is formed, H+ ions have to enter the lumen of the stomach. Is this passive or active?
This is an active process. H+ ions are pumped into the lumen of the stomach from parietal cells via a H+/K+ proton pump. It is important that H+ and K+ have the same charge.
Picture of mucous cells, parietal cells, chief cells and enteroendocrine cells.
What are the two phases responsible for turning gastric acid secretion on?
- Cephalic phase
- Gastric phase
- Also protein in stomach. Proteins in the lumen cause pH to rise by mopping up H+ ions. This decreases somastatin secretion, which increases parietal cell activity (as somastatin inhibits parietal cells)
What happens in the cephalic phase of turning on gastric acid secretion?
- Parasympathetic nervous system stimulated by sight, smell + taste of food
- Acetylcholine released. This acts directly on parietal cells + triggers release of gastrin + histamine. The net effect is increased acid production
What happens in the gastric phase of turning on gastric acid secretion?
- Gastric distension, presence of amino acids + peptides
- Gastrin release. This acts directly on ECF-like + triggers the release of histamine. Histamine acts directly on parietal cells. Net effect = increased acid production
What are the two phases involved with turning off gastric acid secretion?
- Gastric phase
- Intestinial phase
What happens in the gastric phase when turning gastric acid secretion off?
- Low luminal pH (high H+)
- This directly inhibits gastrin secretion from G cells. This indirectly inhibits histamine secretion (via gastrin).
- This low pH stimulates stomastatin release which inhibits parietal cell activity
What happens in the intestinial phase of turning off gastric acid secretion?
- In the duodenum there is:
- Distension
- Low luminal pH
- Hypertonic luminal contents
- Amino acids + fatty acids
- These factors all decrease HCl secretion via:
- Parasympathetic nerve inhibition (less ACh = less gastrin + histamine release)
- Triggering the release of enterogastrones, e.g. secretion + CKK. These inhibit gastrin release + promote somastatin release
As a summary of gastric acid regulation, what is it regulated by?
- Controlled by the brain, stomach + duodenum
- 1 parasympathetic neurotransmitter (ACh)
- 1 hormone (gastrin)
- 2 paracrine factors (histamine, somatostatin)
- 2 key enterogastrones (secretin, CCK)
What are the protective mechanisms of gastric mucosa?
- Alkaline mucus on luminal surface
- Tight junctions between epithelial cells
- Rapid cell replacement of damaged cells by stem cells present in base of pits
- Feedback loops for regulation of gastric acid secretion
What is the consequence of insufficient gastric mucosa defense? What are the causes of this condition?
- Consequence of insufficient defense = peptic ulcers
- Causes of peptic ulcers:
- Helicobacted pylori infection (damages gastric epithelium, can be treated by 1 proton pump inhibitor + 2 antibiotics, e.g. amoxicillin)
- NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, inhibit cyclo-oxygenase 1 which causes reduced mucosal defense. Treated by prostaglandin analogues, e.g. misoprotol, reduced acid secretion with proton pump inhibitors or H2-receptor antagonists
- Chemical irritants, e.g. alcohol, bile salts
- Gastrinoma (tumours of G cells, secret gastrin in an unregulated way). Worth noting that G cells are enterochromaffin-like cells
How is pepsin made? What is its role?
- Pepsinogen, an inactive zymogen is secreted by chief cells. This secretion is stimulated by ACh (parasympathetic)
- Pepsinogen’s secretion parallel HCl secretion from parietal cells
- Pepsinogen –> pepsin. Converted by HCl and pepsin (pepsin catalyses the reaction as it is a positive feedback loop)
- Most efficient conversion when pH < 2 (as HCl needed)
- Pepsin accounts for ~20% of protein digestion
- Pepsin increases surface area for later digestion
What is receptive relaxation in gastric motility? What is it mediated by?
- Empty stomach volume = 50ml, maximum volume after eating = 1.5L. This is achieved by receptive relaxation of muscles in body + fundus of stomach
- Mediated by:
- ACh (parasympathetic - Vagus nerve)
- Nitric oxide + serotonin (releases by enteric nerves)
What is peristalsis? How does it work?
- Peristalsis is a series of wave-like muscle contractions that moves food. It is produced in response to arriving food
- Ripple movement begins in body
- More powerful contraction wave in antrum
- Pyloric sphincter closes (little chyme can enter duodenum)
- Antral contents forced back to body - mixing
What is the basic electrical rhythm for peristalsis? What cells determine the frequency of the contractions?
- Frequency of peristaltic waves determined by pacemaker cells called the interstitial cells of Cajal and is constant (3x per minute)
- Depolarisation waves transmitted through gap junctions to adjacent smooth muscle cells
- The strength of peristaltic waves varies (excitatory hormones + neurotransmitters further depolarise membranes, action potential generated when threshold reached)
What increases the strength of gastric contractions?
- Gastrin
- Gastric distension (mediated by mechanoreceptors)
What decreases the strength of gastric contractions?
- Duodenal distension
- Increase in duodenal fat
- Increase in duodenal osmolarity
- Decrease in duodenal pH
- Increased sympathetic NS stimulation
- Decreased parasympathetic NS stimulation
Diagram of gastric emptying.
What is gastroparesis? What drugs can it be caused by?
- Gastroparesis = delayed gastric emptying, makes people feel nauseous etc.
- Caused by:
- Gastrointestinal agents, e.g. H2 receptor antagonists, proton pump inhibitors
- Anticholinergic medications, e.g. diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
- Miscellanous, e.g. calcium channel blockers
What are the main functions of the liver?
- Detoxification = filters + cleans blood of waste products
- Immune functions = fights infections + diseases
- Involved in synthesis of clotting factors, proteins, enzymes, glycogen + fats
- Production of bile + breakdown of bilirubin
- Energy storage (glycogen + fats)
- Regulation of fat metabolism
- Ability to regenerate
The liver maintains a continuous supply of energy for the body by controlling the metabolism of what? What is the liver regulated by?
- Carbohydrates and fats
- Regulated by endocrine glands, e.g. pancreas. Also regulated by nerves
What are lipids? What are triglycerides? Where can fat be stored?
- Lipds are esters of fatty acids + glycerol or other compounds, e.g. cholesterol. Insoluble in water and variety of structures and functions
- 90% of lipids are triglycerides, others phospholipids etc. Triglycerides = 1 glycerol molecule esterified to 3 fatty acids
- Storage areas of fat include adipocytes and hepatocytes
What are the two types of fatty acids?
- Saturated = line up
- Unsaturated = one or more kink
What are the functions of lipids?
- Energy reserve, almost all energy required is provided through oxidation or lipids, carbohydrates + proteins (liver is main storage place for glycogen)
- Part of cell membranes
- Hormone metabolism
Through which vessels are lipids transported to the liver?
- Portal vein
- Hepatic artery
- Lymphatics
In what form are lipids transported?
- Lipids are often transported as triglycerides or fatty acids bound to albumin, within lipoproteins or as chylomicron remnants
How are the lipids taken up into the adipocytes? What happens to the fatty acids in the adipocytes?
- Triglycerides can’t diffuse through cell membranes, so lipoprotein lipase breaks down triglycerides to release free fatty acids which can diffuse through bilayer
- They can be stored + the fatty acids are re-esterified to triglycerides. Adipocytes are the main store of lipids, but hepatocytes also store some
How are lipids transported from adipocytes to hepatocytes?
- Hormone sensitive lipase releases free fatty acids
- Hepatic lipase enables the uptake of free fatty acids into hepatocytes
What happens to the lipids in the liver?
- Oxidised by the liver to produce energy when necessary
- Released as VLDL. VLDL used to transport lipids from the liver to adipose tissue. Once they reach adipose tissue, they release their triglycerides which then diffuse into adipocytes for storage
What are lipoproteins? What are the different types?
- Consist of a core containing TGs + cholesterol-esters. Surface layer of phospholipids, cholesterol + specific protein. Different types:
- LDL (low density lipoproteins) = formed in plasma, cholesterol delivery to all cells in body
- HDL (high density lipoproteins) = formed in liver, removes excess cholesterol from blood + tissues via excretion in bile
- VLDL (very low density lipoproteins) = synthesised in hepatocytes, triglyceride delivery from liver to adipocytes
- Chylomicron = high lipid to protein ratio + highest TG content
What are the effects of insulin? What happens if someone has insulin resistance?
- Promotes fat storage in adipocytes
- Stimulates lipoprotein lipase = release free fatty acids to store in adipocytes
- Insulin resistance = increased lipolysis in adipocytes leasing to increased TG in circulation. Increased fatty acids for hepatocytes to take up. Increased glucose level means lipids are less used as energy source
What is lipogenesis in the liver dependent on? What happens to the fatty acids formed?
- Dependent on insulin concentration + sensitivity
- Mainly for export in lipoproteins: energy source and structural component for membranes
Where does fatty acid beta oxidation occur in the liver? What is it proportional to?
- Occurs in the mitochondria of the hepatocytes (mitochondrial beta oxidation)
- Beta oxidation is essentially the catabolism of fatty acids to produce energy
- Each cycle shortens the fatty acid chains by 2 carbons + this continues until the fatty acid is only 2 carbons long
- Proportional to plasma levels of free fatty acids released from adipocytes
- There is also peroxisomal beta oxidation + microsomal omega oxidation
Before lipids reach the liver and are oxidised or released as VLDL, what happens to them?
- Emulsification of lipids by bile salts in the small intestine form micelles
- Pancreatic lipase digests lipids into free triglycerides + fatty acids which are then absorbed into the intestinal epithelial cells
- Fatty acids are combined into triglycerides and are incorporated with cholesterol into chylomicrons by SER
- These chylomicrons then exit the epithelial cells + enter lacteal system. Once these reach the circulation, the liver processes them into VLDL
Which of these embryological layers forms the mucosa of the gut?
Endoderm
Reminder of embryo development.
Green circle = mucosa of bowel
What else does the endoderm give rise to?
- Endoderm gives rise to epithelium of bowel. However, cells bud off from this and penetrate the mesentery to form hepatocytes of the liver + endo and exocrine cells of the pancreas
- Gut is derived from endoderm + visceral mesoderm
- Visceral mesoderm gives rise to muscle wall, connective tissue for the wall + for the pancreas and liver + visceral peritoneum. Gap on yellow = mesentery
Where do the foregut, midgut and hindgut start and finish? What defines these areas?
Three developmental parts of the gut:
- Foregut = starting at lower end of the hypopharynx
- Midgut = starting at the third part of the duodenum
- Hindgut= starting two thirds of the way along the transverse colon + finishing at the middle 1/3 of the anal canal
- Areas are defined by blood and nerve supply
What is the blood supply for the foregut, midgut and hindgut?
- Foregut = coeliac trunk/axis
- Midgut = superior mesenteric artery
- Hindgut = inferior mesenteric artery
What is the nerve supply to form the foregut, midgut and hindgut?
- Foregut = innervated by greater splanchnic nerve, T5-T9
- Midgut = innervated by lesser splanchnic nerve, T10-T11
- Hindgut = innervated by least splanchnic nerve, T12
What is referred pain?
- Pain is felt in the skin that is supplied by the same nerve roots. Usually the pain is the felt at the front rather than the whole dermatome.
T1-5 = heart and lungs, T6-9 = foregut, T10-11 = midgut + T12 = hindgut. Diagram of referred pain
What are the 5 stages of the development of the gut tube?
Starts with oesophagus and ends with rectum. 5 stages:
- 1 = elongation
- 2 = physiological herniation (happens simultaneously with stage 1)
- 3 = rotation
- 4 = retraction (happens simultaneously with stage 3)
- 5 = fixation
Diagram of elongation and herniation.
- Middle picture: blue circle = where umbilical cord is attached to embryo, so gut is going out of umbilicus into umbilical cord and coming back again = herniation. Herniation has to occur because as bowel elongates, there isn’t enough room in abdomen for all developing organs
What happens during rotation?
- Elongated loop of midgut rotates 270 degrees in an anti-clockwise direction (rotates 90 degrees during herniation + 180 degress during return of that loop into the abdominal cavity
What happens in retraction?
- Week 10, herniated midgut starts to return back into abdominal cavity. The jejunum is the first part that returns back to the abdomen, the caecal bud is the last part. Fixation of the hepatic flexure of the colon + elongation of the ascending colon brings the caecum gradually to the right iliac fossa. Worth noting that the position of the appendix is variable, so appendicitis might not always present in the standard place
What happens in fixation?
- Some of the gut mesentery starts come to lie against the back of the abdomen + fuse into position
- These parts of the bowel are then fixed to the posterior abdominal wall with an anterior single layer of peritoneum. Now retroperitoneal. Diagram shows close up of embryo
Which parts of the gut are fixed?
Duodenum (except first cm which has peritoneum either side of it), ascending colon+ descending colon (and rectum). Mobile = stomach, jejunum + ileum, appendix (caecum), transverse colon and sigmoid colon
What are the functions of the colon?
- Absorption of water and electrolytes (vast majority of digestion occurs in small bowel, left with sloppy effluent. Water is absorbed by osmosis, sodium is actively transported)
- Production of vitamins
- Excretion of waste
Label this diagram of the colon.
- Ileocaecal valve connection to the terminal ileum
What are the layers of the colonic wall? How many stripes of longitudinal muscle are there?
- Muscular layer = continuous circular muscle. In the colon , there are 3 “stripes” of longitudinal muscle = taeniae coli
Picture of colon.
Comparison of small and large intestine.
Summary table of foregut, midgut and hindgut.
What type of epithelium does the colon contain?
Mucosa in columnar epithelium as it has a massive absorptive function. There are also goblet cells that to produce mucous for lubrication
What is the nerve supply to the colon?
- Extrinsic:
- Parasympathetic (vagus). This stimulates an increase in movement + secretion of mucus etc.
- Sympathetic from thoracic nerves. This stimulates the bowel to slow down
- Intrinsic:
- Meissner’s and Auerbach’s plexus
What is the gastro-colic reflex?
Stomach stretching and food in jejunum leads to a reflex which leads to mass movement of the colon
The lining of the rectum is columnar epithelium, just like the rest of the bowel. When does it change what type of epithelium does it change to?
- Dentate line, there is a change to squamous epithelium (where skin meets bowel)
- Important because skin sensation of squamous epithelium is sensitive
When the rectum is empty, what are the sphincters and puborectalis muscle like?
- Both sphincters contracted
- Puborectalis muscle contracted (maintains anorectal angle)
How do we know when we need the toilet?
- Rectum fills
- Reflex relaxation of internal anal sphincter. Allows anal cushions to test what is in the rectum, e.g. solid faeces
To complete defaecation, what contracts and relaxes?
- External sphincter relaxes
- Puborectalis relaxes, loss of anorectal angle
- Rectum contracts
- Valsalva manoeuvre (epiglottis against throat, increases pressure)
What is the arterial blood supply of the ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid colon?
- Ascending = right colic artery from superior mesenteric artery
- Transverse = middle colic artery from superior mesenteric artery
- Descending = left colic artery from inferior mesenteric artery
- Sigmoid = sigmoidal arteries from inferior mesenteric artery
What is the venous drainage of the ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid colon?
- Ascending = superior mesenteric vein
- Transverse = superior mesenteric vein
- Descending = inferior mesenteric vein
- Sigmoid = inferior mesenteric vein
What is the histology of the colon?
- All the colon looks the same
- Little folding
- No villi
- Mucosa contains closely packed crypts. Abundant goblet cells
- Muscularis externa drawn into three longitudinal bands = taeniae coli
What are the functions of saliva?
- Lubricant for mastication, swallowing + speech
- Maintaining oral pH - bicarbonate/carbonate buffer system, pH 6.2-7.4
- Begin starch digestion - alpha amylase
- Anti-bacterial - lysozyme
What two types of secretion does saliva secrete?
- Serous secretion = alpha amylase for starch digestion
- Mucus secretion = mucins for lubrication
Which factors affect the amount of saliva produced?
- Flow rate
- Circadian rhythm
- Type and size of gland
- Duration and type of stimulus
- Diet
- Drugs
- Age
- Gender
What are the 4 types of salivary glands? What do they secrete? What are they innervated by?
- Parotid = serous secretion, main source of saliva when stimulated. Not continuously active like th other glands. CN IX parasympathetic
- Sublingual = mucous secretion, CN VII parasympathetic
- Submandibular = mixed secretion, CN VII parasympathetic
- Minor glands = predominantly mucous, some serous
What is the most notable minor salivary gland? Why?
Von Ebner’s as it is the only serous minor gland
What is the structure of salivary glands?
- Composed of two morphologically distinct epithelial tissue:
- Acinar cells around
- Ducts = collect to form large duct entering the mouth
What are the two types of acini?
- Serous acinus
- Mucous acinus
What does serous acinus look like? What does it secrete?
- Dark staining nucleus
- Nucleus in basal third
- Small central duct
- Secretes water + alpha amylase
What does mucous acinus look like? What does it secrete?
- Pale staining - “foamy”
- Nucleus at base
- Large central duct
- Secrete: mucous (water + glycoproteins)
- Found in submandibular + sublingual glands
Here is a picture of a salivary duct. What do the parts labelled do?
- Acini = secretory cells
- Intralobular ducts are split into intercalated + striated:
- Intercalated = connects acini to striated ducts
- Straited ducts = microvilli (highly folded), mitochondria (energy for active transport of HCO3), HCO3- and K+ secreted, Na+ and Cl- absorbed
What are the advantages of salivary glands?
- Well-encapsulated, limiting undesirable spread of vector
- Luminal membrane of virtually every epithelial cell in SGs are easy access in a relatively non-invasive manner
- SGs normally make large amounts of protein for export
What are the two general pathways for protein secretion in salivary glands?
- Predominant = leading to saliva (mucosal; across apical membrane)
- Constitutive = leading mainly towards interstitium and bloodstream (serosal; across basolateral membrane)
Picture of serous acini in parotid glands.
Picture of serous and mucous acini in submandibular glands.
Picture of mucous acini in sublingual gland.
What does the foregut consist of? What do the buds in the duodenum form? What mesenteries does the foregut have?
- Oesophagus, stomach and first half of duodenum (parts 1 + 2)
- A number of buds grow out of the duodenum during embryological development which form the pancreas, liver + biliary system
- Has two mesenteries: dorsal + ventral mesentery. Dorsal forms greater omentum, ventral forms lesser omentum
Summary of lateral folding.
- We end up with a foregut (green circle) connected with a mesentery (space inbetween orange lines) to upper abdomen + towards bottom, gut tube connected to anterior side of abdominal wall
There are 4 buds growing out of the bowel wall into the mesenteries. How many buds form the different structures?
- 2 buds form biliary system of liver. These fuse quickly so there is only one connection between the liver and biliary system + duodenum (common bile duct)
- Pancreas formed from 2 buds (one anteriorly to ventral mesentery, one posteriorly to dorsal mesentery)
(Diagram has been flipped round to give accurate representation)
Picture of liver growing and rotating the bowel, which pulls both the pancreas’ with it.
The liver soon stops being the force that causes the rotation, instead it’s the pancreas. Picture showing rotation due to the pancreas.
- Two pancreas’ fuse together
- We end up with a liver that has a connection to the anterior abdominal wall (falciform ligament) + a bile duct entering the duodenum
Give a summary of the pancreas and liver formation.
- Bowel with ventral and dorsal mesentery
- Pancreas and liver growing forwards, pancreas growing backwards
- Liver starts to enlarge, pulls it to right which rotates dorsal pancreas to left side, and ventral pancreas and bile duct anti-clockwise
- The two pancreas’ then fuse together. The pancreatic ducts + bile duct fuse together to drain into duodenum at same place
Different view of pancreas and liver formation.
Superior mesenteric vein and arteries
The stomach also rotates. Here is a diagram before rotation
- Greater omentum = bottom
- Lesser omentum = top
What happens to the liver, stomach and spleen during formation?
- Liver moves right and spleen left, rotating stomach
What does the liver fuse with as it enlarges?
- Liver enlarges and fused with inferior vena cava
- Behind the stomach there is a lesser sac
Summary. The foregut has a dorsal and ventral mesentery. What develops in the different mesenteries?
- Liver develops in ventral mesentery + spleen develops in dorsal mesentery
- Pancreas develops as a ventral + dorsal part which rotate posteriorly + fuse together
- Stomach rotates + its dorsal edge elongates to form the greater curve
- Fixation of the greater omentum + liver to the posterior wall creates a space behind the stomach (lesser sac)
In the GI tract, what are carbohydrates, proteins and fats broken down into?
- Carbohydrates = glucose
- Proteins = amino acids
- Fats = triglycerides
What happens to glucose in:
a) liver
b) muscles
c) brain
d) RBCs
e) adipocytes?
a) glucose –> glycogen via insulin. Or glucose to acetyl coA –> Krebs cycle –> ATP. Acetyl coA can also form triglycerides that are released from the liver as VLDL
b) glucose –> glycogen via insulin
c) glucose –> acetyl coA –> Krebs cycle –> ATP
d) glucose –> pyruvate. Pyruvate can also form lactate
e) glucose –> ATP or glucose –> triglycerides
What happens to amino acids?
Either form proteins, various compounds or used in a Krebs cycle to produce ATP