GI System Physiology Flashcards
GI Tract
- tubular part- tube that food takes –> esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine/colon, rectum
- non-tubular part- contribute to the tube —> liver, pancreas, gallbladder
layers of the tubular GI system
lumen
mucosa- varies from organ to organ since the GI tract has many jobs
submucosa- loose connective tissue
muscularis propria- 2 different layers of stomach muscle
subserosa- loose connective tissue
serosa- mesothelium layer and some parts of the GI tract do not have this
peritoneum
GI tumorigenesis
normal epithelium —> +/- chronic inflammation —> +/- metaplasia (one organ takes on the histology of another organ) —> low grade dysplasia (pre-cancerous state) —> high grade dysplasia (pre-cancerous state) —> cancer
esophagus
function: convey food to the stomach
distinctive histology: epithelium (different in every organ) is non-keratinizing squamous mucosa, submucosal glands to lubricate, muscularis propria is skeletal muscle in upper esophagus since there is voluntary control —> you need to swallow to accept food, does not have serosa (retroperitoneal)
esophagitis
-inflammation of the esophagus
-can be caused by medications, trauma, allergies, radiation, infections, reflux
CMV esophagitis
-makes cells big and IHC shows the protein of CMV present in nucleus —> does not affect epithelium but endothelium
-more common in the immunosuppressed
herpes esophagitis
-ulceration of the epithelium
-molding- the nuclei are squished
-multinucleation
-margination- viral protein has taken over the nucleus and squished DNA to the side
esophageal tumorigenesis
metaplasia (no neoplasia) —> dysplasia (non-invasive neoplasia) —> adenocarcinoma (invasive neoplasia)
barrett’s esophagus
intestinal epithelium instead of squamous epithelium
intestinal metaplasia
-abnormal to have goblet cells in the esophagus (intestinal metaplasia)
-begin with intestinal metaplasia —> low grade dysplasia —> high grade dysplasia —> cancer
barrett esophagus: risk factors
-chronic GERD
-advancing age
-male gender
-tobacco use
-central obesity
how to diagnose esophageal cancer?
-diagnose high grade dysplasia through endoscopic mucosal reception —> ID region and inject lifting agent to try to take out dysplasia
-stromal response so you rely on desmoplasia due to small tissue
barrett’s —> adenocarcinoma
-only 10% of those with barrett’s will develop adenocarcinoma, including prevalent (present @ initial endoscopy) and incident (develops subsequently)
-overall incidence is 0.1% to 0.3% in the first five years but ~9% @ 20 years with barrett’s
stomach
-mixes and churns food with gastric juices to form chyme
-begins chemical breakdown of proteins
-releases food into the duodenum as chyme
-absorbs some fat-soluble substances like alcohol and aspirin
-possess antimicrobial functions
-stimulates protein-digesting enzymes
-secretes intrinsic factor required for B12 absorption in the small intestine
layers of the stomach
mucosa
submucosa (loose connective tissue)
muscularis propria
serosa
stomach regions and their functions
-fundus/body: make pepsin, acid, and intrinsic factor plus has chief and parietal cells
-antrum- tells the body to make acid and has gastrin-producing endocrine cells (G-cells)
different units of the stomach
-esophagus —> fundus —> body (one unit)
-antrum and pylorus —> distal functional unit
mucosa of the gastric fundus/body
-parietal and chief cells live in the glands
-parietal- pink and granular to produce acids
-chief- make pepsin
the key cell: parietal cell
-filled with secretory vesicles
-H-K-ATPase acid-secreting pump or the “proton pump” —> pumping hydrogen into the stomach and making it a more acidic environment
-activated by Ca2+ and cAMP
-forms the basis for the proton pump inhibitors to control acid secretion —> make the contents less acidic for less damage to esophagus
-don’t stop GERD but make it less damaging
mucosa of the antrum
-lacks parietal and chief cells
-pits and glands you have endocrine cells to stimulate acid secretion
key players in acid secretion
-acetylcholine —> stimulates gas neurylation of G cells —> parietal to make acid and chief to make pepsin
-gastrin —> released from G cells –>stimulates HCl and pepsin secretion
-histamine —> released from ECL cells —> stimulates HCl secretion
-somatostatin —> secreted from D cells —> inhibits gastrin release
types of gastritis
-acute gastritis- acute hemorrhagic gastritis or acute infectious gastritis (bacterial with H. pylori and viral)
-chronic gastritis- common forms- “chemical gastritis from NSAIDs, bile reflux, others like acids, alcohol, smoking, heliobacter pylori gastritis, and autoimmune gastritis
-chronic gastritis- uncommon forms
helicobacter pylori
-curved organisms with flagellae over gastric epithelium
-look like helicopter blades or seagulls
-if you have an inflamed stomach, you look for these
consequences of H. pylori infection
-many are asymptomatic
-peptic ulcers in the duodenum and atrum
-atrophy and intestinal metaplasia of the mucosa
-increased risk of intestinal type adenocarcinoma
-MALT lymphoma
risk of HP and adenocarcinoma
now that we know HP can cause adenocarcinoma —> discover HP and remove it to prevent surgeries of ulcers
H. pylori is associated with metaplastic atrophic gastritis
-goblet cells in stomach
-areas of intestinal metaplasia
gastric tumorigenesis
metaplasia (no neoplasia) —> dysplasia (non-invasive neoplasia) —> adenocarcinoma (invasive neoplasia)
risk factors for gastric adenocarcinoma
-male >60 years
-H. pylori infection
-intestinal metaplasia
-chronic atrophic gastritis
-pernicious anemia
-familial andenomatous polyposis
-prior partial gastrectomy
-nitrate containing foods in diet
-cigarette smoking
hereditary gastric adenocarcinoma
-autosomal dominant
-gastric cancers develop in the youth
-mutated CDH1 gene (E-cadherin), a tumor-suppressor gene in epithelial cells
-“second hit” initiates neoplasia
-accounts for up to 40% of familial gastric cancer cases
-usually have to get a lot of biopsies and endoscopies
-can be very subtle due to the small size of cells —> nucleus looks like the gem of a ring
small intestine
function: absorb nutrients
distinctive histology: glandular mucosa with villous architecture to maximize absorption, submucosal glands in duodenum (brunner’s glands) to neutralize the gastric acid secretion, pancreatic juice (digestive enzymes) and bile (emulsifier) enter at the duodenal ampulla of vater to aid digestion