GI Tract Flashcards
Functions of mouth
Lip and cheeks confine food between teeth so food is evenly chewed though mastication y
Salivary glads - secrete saliva - lubricate mouth soften / dissolve food. Amylase breaks down starch
Tongue - manipulate food for chewing
Lingual glands - secrete lingual lipase. Activated in the stomach to digest triglycerides to fatty acids and glycerol
Teeth - shred and crush food- easier for deglutition
Major organ functions
Mouth - begins carb and lipid breakdown through actions of amylase and lingual lipase
Oesophagus - propels good to stomach
Stomach - forms chyme - chemical breakdown on proteins, absorbs fat soluble substances
Small intenstine - mixes chyme with digestive enzymes absorbs products of carbs proteins lipids etc
Physical digestion
Large intestine - further breakdown of residue - absorbs vitamins and water. Propels faeces towards rectum for emilinarion
Gastric glands (4)
Mucous cells- secrete protective alkaline mucous
Chief cells - secrete pepsinogen
Parietal cells - secrete HCL and intrinsic factor (If needed for absorption of vit B12)
G cells - enteroendocrine cells that produce gastric histamine somatostatin and serotonin
Mechanical digestion in stomach
Mixing wave- unique form of peristalsis that mixes and softens the food with gastric juice to form chyme -
Gastric emptying into duodenum - rhythmic mixing waves forcing about 3ML chyme at a time through the partially open pyloric sphincter and into duodenum
Chyme in duodenum activates receptors inhibiting gastric secretions
Prevents additional chyme from being released by stomach before the duodenum is ready to process it
Chemical digestion (early )
Acidity of chyme inactivated salivary amylase and actives lingual lipase
Protein digestion begins through actions of HCL and pepsin (rennin in infancy)
Hormonal control of the stomach
Gastrin - pylorus - stimulated by peptides and amino acids - increases secretion by gastric glands of pepsinogen / HCL and promotes gastric emptying
Histamine - stomach mucosa - presence of food in mouth - stimulates parietal cells to produce HCL
Serotonin - stomach mucosa - presence of food in mouth - contracts smooth muscle cells
Somatostatin - pyloric antrum / duodenum - restricts all gastric secretions motility and emptying
Functions of small intestine
Joins the stomach and large intestine
Duodenum - recovers chyme bile and pancreatic juice from sphincter of oddi
Jejenum - absorbs nutrients via enterocytes and passes to liver via hepatic portal vein
Ileum - large surface area - absorbs vit B12 and remaining nutrients
Cells of the small intestine (8)
Absorptive - epithelium - digestion and absorption of nutrients in chyme
Goblet - epithelium - secretion of mucous
Paneth - secretion of bactericidal lysozyme
G cells - secretion of gastric
I cells - secretion of cholecystokinin to stimulate pancreatic juice and bile
K cells - secretion of GIP and insulin
M cells - secretion of motilin, accelerated gastric emptying stimulates peristalsis and secretion of pepsin
S cells - secretion of secretin
What causes lactose intolerance
Diary products - lack of enzyme lactase - bacteria in large intestine ferment the undigested lactose producing gas
H2 breath test can diagnose
Functions of large intestine
Chyme residue entering the cecum via the ileocecal sphincter has very little nutrient content other than water
Mechanical digestion -
Huastral contraction - segmentation and mixing
Peristalsis slower
Mass movement - moves contenders towards rectum
Chemical digestion
Occurs via bacterial breakdown of carbs
Results in gas formation
Feasted formation - last remains water absorbed from chyme leaving a semi solid feaces - too much water absorbed - constipation too little diarrhoea
Liver
Revived nutrients from small intestine (via hepatic portal vein) and produces bile. Bile produced from hepatocytes. Bile salts - steroid acids conjugated to amino acids
Storage centre - vit A B12 K glycogen
Produces albumin macrophages
Gall bladder
Stores and concentrated bile
Gall stones due to imbalance in the bile costituents
Pancreas
Mix of exocrine and endocrine
Acinar cells - exocrine - secrete through ducts. Secrete pancreatic juice in INACTIVE forms - trypsinogen and active forms - amylase lipase etc
Acidic chyme stimulates the release of secretin causing release of bicarbonate rich juice
Islet cells
A cells - produce glucagon
B cells - produce insulin
& cells-produce somatostatin
Splanchnic circulation
Blood vessels that supply the GI
Hepatic portal circulation delivers most of blood to liver
Provides metabolic needs to GI tract
Absorbs/ transports nutrients after digestion
Large blood resovior
Largest regional circulation
Enteric nervous system
Communicates with sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions but can and does act independently
Describe enzymatic release by pancreas’s
Acinar cells secrete pancreatic juice
Inactive form as pancreas’s would be digested by active form
Eg trypsinogen
And also active forms eg amylase lipase nuclease
Divisions of enteric nervous system
Myenteric plexus
Control of smooth muscle tone (motility)
Submucosal plexus - control of secretion, blood flow chemical stretch
Neurotransmitters of enteric nervous system
Excitatory
Acetyl choline - contraction of smooth muscle
5HT- increase in contraction of the gut
Sub P - increase saliva production, muscle
Cholecystokinin - stimulates pancreatic enzyme secretion and gall bladder
Inhibitory
Enkephalins - modulate smooth muscle activity
VIP - inhibits gastrin release and acid secretion
Somatostatin - modulates the release of acid pepsin gastrin insulin
NO / ATP - modulates motility
What 3 mechanisms regulate motility and secretion
Endocrine hormones
Paracrine hormones
Neural transmission
Endocrine regulation
Endocrine mediators (HORMONES) secretes directly into the circulation - action on cells DISTANT to the site of production
What are the five major GI peptide hormones
Secretin - small intestine - increases bicarbonate from pancreas and bile for liver and decreases gastric acid secretion
Gastrin - antrum of stomach - gastric acid secretion motility
Cholecystokinin - small intestine - decrease gastric acid secretion. Pancreatic juice and bile increase m
Gastric inhib peptide - increase insulin secretion
Motilin - increases emptying, secretes pepsin
Endocrine hormone production
GI tract is the largest endocrine organ but secretory cells are diffusely distributed. Principal endocrine cells of the GI tract are APUD - amine precursor uptake decarboxylation
Located in the Basal portion of gastric glands
Give an example of an endocrine and paracrije mediator of GI tract
Endocrine
Gastric secretes from pylorus
Through the blood stream to parietal cells
Stimulate HCL production
Paracrine
ECL cell release histamine
Histamine stimulates parietal cells to release HCL
Paracrine mediator
Mediator diffuses locally with action on neighbouring cells of different type
Derived from various cell types
Vascular endothelium mast cells ECL cells and macrophages
Non peptide
Histamine
NO
Seratonin
Peptide
Bradykinin
Somatostatin
Neurotransmitters
Mediators released from neurones to act locally
Mainly under autonomic control
Independent of CNS and voluntary control
Para / sympathetic = extrinsic
Enteric = intrinsic
Parasympathetic
Transmitter = acetylcholine
Receptor M1 or M2
Salivary glands - increases - watery
Stomach / intestine
Motility and secretion increases
Sphincter tone decreases
Sympathetic does the opposite
Transmitter is noradrenaline - a or b2
Mediators of the enteric nervous system elicit either excitatory or inhibitory actions on secretion and motility. Secretory / motility functions of the gut are mediated by hormonal paracrine neural mediators
Gut hormones are released by APUD cells in the gut and are truly endocrine
The intrinsic nervous system of the gut may be regarded as a division of the autonomic nervous hasten
Arrangement of muscle In GI tract
Muscle in GI tract is mainly arrange in 2 layers
Outter longnitudinal layer
Inner circular layer
Muscle is predominantly smooth muscle there not under voluntary control
Skeletal muscle found in pharynx upper oesophagus external anal sphincter ie voluntary control swallowing and defactation
Electrical activity of smooth muscle
Slow wave activity is seen in most physical smooth muscle - Do not cause contraction action potential required
Spontaneous regular oscillations of membranene potential = nasal electrical rhythm of visceral smooth muscle
Origin of slow waves are specialised pacemaker cells - interstitial cells of cajal
Basal rate of electrical firing of cells of cajal varies from 3-20 cycles per minute
Amplitude and rate of slow wave may be modulates by neurotransmitters