Mt3 Flashcards
Major function of the digestive system
transfer nutrients from the food we eat into our body to be used as fuel and building blocks
What is continuos with the outside world
Insides of our intestines/stomach technically
Lumen content of the GI-tract is still outside of our body
4 major tissue layers of digestive tract wall
- Serosa, 2. Muscularis externa, 3. Submucosa, 4. Mucosa
Serosa
• Secretes serous fluid- lubricates
• Continuous with mesentery throughout much of the tract
– Supports digestive organs in proper place while allowing them freedom for mixing and propulsive movements
Muscularis externa
• Major smooth muscle coat of digestive tube
• Usually two layers
– Inner circular layer
• Contraction decreases diameter of lumen
– Outer longitudinal layer
• Contraction shortens the tube
• Contractile activity produces propulsive and mixing movements
• Myenteric plexus: part of the enteric nervous system
– inbetween muscle layers
Submucosa
• Thick layer of connective tissue
• For distensibility and elasticity
• Contains larger blood and lymph vessels
• Contains submucosal plexus nerve network
part of the enteric nervous system
Mucosa
Lines lumen: highly FOLDED surface increases absorptive area
Epithelial layer of mucosa
(or, mucous membrane)
• Cells modified for secretion and absorption
• Contains exocrine gland cells – secrete digestive juices, mucus, enzymes into lumen
• Contains endocrine gland cells – secrete gastrointestinal hormones into capillaries
Lámina propria of mucosa
Loose connective tissue
• Small blood vessels, lymphatics, and enteric neurons
• Contains gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT)
Muscularis mucosa
Sparse layer of smooth muscle
Why is it IMPORTANT that the lumen of the GI tract is continuos with the external environment
- pH in the stomach can fall as low as 2. Inside the body the range of pH that is compatible with life = 6.8 - 8.0 (homeostatic range is 7.35 - 7.45).
- Harsh Enzymes that hydrolyze food could destroy the body’s own tissues. Therefore enzymes are synthesized in an inactive form and are activated when they reach the lumen.
- Millions of microorganisms inhabit the GI-tract,and these could be lethal if they entered the body proper.
Digestive process
Ingestion, chewing, swallowing, defecation- Transfers food into the digestive tract via the mouth (skeletal muscle -> voluntary)
Motility
Muscular contractions that mix and move forward the contents within the tract, facilitating later steps in the digestive process (smooth muscle -> involuntary)
Propulsive movements (peristalsis)
Move the contents forward through the digestive tract
Mixing movements (segmentation)
1) aid digestion by mixing food with digestive juices
2) facilitate absorption by exposing food to absorbing surfaces
3) forward movement (slow and non-linear)
Secretion (exocrine)
digestive juices are secreted into the lumen by exocrine glands upon appropriate neuronal or hormonal stimulation
Secretions contain enzymes, acids, buffers, electrolytes, and water that promote digestion, adjust tonicity & provide lubrication for better movement throughout the tract.
Secretion (endocrine)
gut hormones are secreted into the blood by endocrine glands upon appropriate neuronal or nutritional stimulation.
Gut hormones are chemical messengers released into circulation and act on receptors in distal locations to regulate motility, pancreatic secretions, and other digestive tract (and non-digestive tract) functions.
Digestion (=chemical)
accomplishes the breakdown of structurally complex foodstuffs into smaller, and eventually absorbable units.
Chemical digestion
enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into absorbable units
Dietary carbs go to polysaccharides (starch and glycogen) and disaccharides (sucrose and lactose)
Breakdown of proteins
By pepsin and pancreatic proteolytic enzymes
- small peptides
- amino acids by aminopeptidase
Breakdown of fats chemical
Triglycerides are broken down by lipase to monoglycerides and free fatty acids
LIPASE
Absorption
the transfer of small absorbable units along with water, vitamins, and electrolytes from the lumen into the blood or lymph
When no food is in lumen of digestive tract
1) the membrane potential of pacemaker cells (Interstitial Cells of Cajal, or ICC) oscillate at 3-5 times per sec (3-5 Hz): this is the Basic Electrical Rhythm (BER) in the stomach.
2) ICCs in the small intestine depolarize more frequently: 8-11 Hz: the BER in the small intestine.
3) these depolarizations spread thru gap junctions to smooth muscle cells, then signal propagated through the tract by the enteric nervous system
4) however, these depolarizations exceed spike threshold only 10-15 times per day = the migrating motility complex, which triggers contractions that are frequent enough to “sweep” residual contents from the stomach & small intestine to the large intestine (triggered by motilin = extrinsic regulation)
BER
membrane potential of pacemaker cells (Interstitial Cells of Cajal, or ICC) oscillate at 3-5 times per sec (3-5 Hz): this is the Basic Electrical Rhythm
What happens with food in the lumen
1) stretch and gastrin (hormone induced by protein in the stomach) activate neural circuits that increase the amplitude & frequency of the basic electrical rhythm (BER) depolarizations.
2) when these depolarizations exceed spike threshold (approx -35 mV), the smooth muscles spike & therefore contract.
3) stretch & gastrin thereby increase digestive tract motility. (W food SIGNALS)
INTRINSIC: autonomous smooth muscle cells
connected by gap junctions, thereby forming a functional syncytium. Single-unit smooth muscle.
INTRINSIC: Interstitial cells of canal (ICC)
actaspacesettercells and generate slow-wave potentials (Basic Electrical Rhythm; BER). If threshold is reached and action potentials are triggered, then the whole muscle sheet contracts as a unit.
INTRINSIC: enteric nervous system
(myenteric + submucosal nerve plexuses) an interconnecting network of nerve cells localized within the digestive tract wall; coordinates local activity within the digestive tract
EXTRINSIC: extrinsic nerves
(originate from outside the digestive system) from both the sympathetic and parasympathetic branch influence motility and secretion by:
– Modifying activity of the enteric nervous system
– altering gastric hormone secretion
– acting directly on smooth muscle and glands
EXTRINSIC: gastrointestinal hormones
– Long-range chemical messengers secreted into blood and act on receptors in distal locations to regulate digestive tract (and non-digestive tract) functions.
Role of lips and tongue
contain food in mouth; guide food during chewing & swallowing
Teeth role
Begin mechanical breakdown by chewing of food
Palate
roof of the oral cavity
• separatesoralcavityfrom nasal passage
• allows chewing and breathing to occur simultaneously
Uvula
soft tissue that hangs from the rear of the mouth & seals off nasal passage during swallowing
Salivary glands
- Sublingual
- Submandibular
- Parotid
• Secrete saliva in response to autonomic stimulation.
• Salivacontains:
– mucus to moisten food and lubricate
– lysozyme to lyse bacteria
– Bicarbonate buffers which
neutralize acids
– amylase, which begins chemical
digestion of carbohydrates by cleaving polysaccharides into maltose
How is salivary center in medulla activated
Pressure receptors and chemoreceptors in mouth
Cerebral cortex: thinking, seeing, smelling food
Where does the digestion of carbohydrates (polysaccharides) start
In the mouth
Salivary and pancreatic amylase
Swallowing
refers to the entire process of moving food from the mouth, through pharynx and esophagus, to the stomach.
• Is a sequentially programmed all-or-none reflex, initiated when bolus is voluntarily forced by tongue to rear of mouth into pharynx
• Can be initiated voluntarily but cannot be stopped once it has begun
2 stages:
A. Oro pharyngeal stage B. Esophageal stage
What happens at the end of the oropharyngeal stage
pharyngoesophageal sphincter closes & breathing resumes.
Esophageal stage
Peristaltic (propulsive) waves move bolus into stomach
Where is the stomach
J-shaped chamber located between the esophagus and the small intestine
3 sections of the stomach
A. Fundus-located above the gastroesophageal sphincter
B. Body- the middle portion
C. Antrum- bottom portion
• Thick layer of smooth muscle
• Connected to small intestine by the pyloric sphincter
o is a key regulator of gastric emptying
3 major functions of stomach
A. until it can be emptied into small
intestine. This occurs in the body of the stomach.
B. Create gastric secretions: including HCl and enzymes that begin chemical digestion of protein
C. Gastric motility converts pulverized food to chyme– a thick liquid mixture of pulverized food and gastric secretions
Gastric filling
gastric volume can expand ~20-fold during a meal, by expansion/ flattening of deep folds.
• This expansion of gastric volume is a
vagally-mediated process called
receptive relaxation.
Gastric secretions
Two distinct areas of secretory gastric mucosa •Oxyntic mucosa (body and fundus)
•Pyloric gland area (PGA) (antrum)
In oxyntic mucosa, 3 types of gastric EXOCRINE secretory cells, associated with gastric pits
•Mucous cells secrete thin, watery mucus pit
•Chief cells secrete enzyme precursor, pepsinogen
•Parietal (oxyntic) cells secrete
a) HCl
b) intrinsic factor (important for VitaminB12 absorption: essential for normal function of red blood cells)
What protects stomach from itself
HCl activates pepsingogen in the lumen
What cells secrete pepsinogen
Chief cells
Functions of HCl (secreted by parietal cells)
– Activates pepsinogen to active enzyme pepsin and provides acid medium for optimal pepsin activity
– Denatures protein
– Along with salivary lysozyme, kills most of the microorganisms ingested with food
Enterochromaffin
like (ECL) cells:secrete histamine (activates parietal cells
G cells secrete
Gastrin (hormone goes into bloodstream)
Stimulates parietal, chief, and ECL cells
- Gastrin increases gastric motility and promotes movement of leftover, undigested/unabsorbed material out of ileum into large intestine
D cells secrete
hormone somatostatin into bloodstream Somatostatin inhibits parietal and ECL cells
Gastric mixing and gastric emptying
strong peristaltic contractions occur in the antrum that:
• mix food with gastric secretions to produce chyme
• Propel chyme toward spyloric sphincter, where a small amount is pushed into the duodenum
• In response to chyme, sphincter closes and remaining chyme is tumbled back into the antrum.
Factors arising in the stomach that control gastric mixing and gastric emptying (pyloric function):
A. Volume of the chyme- distention directly stimulates stretch receptors on the smooth muscle, stimulates enteric and parasympathetic nervous system as well as the stomach hormone gastrin to increase motility.
B. Fluidity of the chyme- liquids do not require extensive mixing and churning; contents must be rendered fluid before they are evacuated
Factors arising in the duodenum that control gastric EMPTYING (via neural and hormonal factors)
A. Fat is only digested and absorbed within the
small intestine. When fat is present in the small
intestine further emptying is inhibited
B. Acid- highly acidic chyme from the stomach is
neutralized by sodium bicarbonate (secreted from pancreas) in the duodenum. Un- neutralized acid in the duodenum inhibits gastric emptying
C. Hypertonicity– increased osmolarity in the duodenum indicates a back-up of nutrients and delays gastric emptying.
D. Distention– too much chyme in the duodenum inhibits gastric emptying
Neural responses
mediated through both intrinsic nerves (short reflex) and autonomic nerves (long reflex)
Enterogastric reflex
involves both intrinsic nerves (short reflex) and autonomic nerves (long reflex)
short reflex is mediated by the enteric nervous system, which acts locally to inhibit gastric motility and secretion without involving the brain. The long reflex involves the autonomic nervous system, where signals are sent to and from the brain to adjust gastric function in response to conditions in the small intestine.
Hormonal responses involve
release of hormones from duodenal mucosa collectively known as “enterogastrones”
–Cholecystokinin (CCK), stimulated by fat in the duodenum. CCK inhibits antral contractions and induces contraction of the pyloric sphincter.
–Secretin, stimulated by unneutralized acid in the duodenum. Secretin is released by S cells and slows gastric emptying.
CCK
stimulated by fat in the duodenum. CCK inhibits antral contractions and induces contraction of the pyloric sphincter
Secretin
stimulated by unneutralized acid in the duodenum. Secretin is released by S cells and slows gastric emptying
Cephalic phase of gastric secretion
the first phase of gastric digestive activity, which is triggered by the sight, smell, taste, or even the thought of food. During this phase, sensory signals from the brain (via the vagus nerve) stimulate the stomach to prepare for food intake by increasing the secretion of gastric acid (HCl) and digestive enzymes, even before food enters the stomach.
Gastric phase of gastric secretion
occurs once food enters the stomach and is characterized by a strong stimulation of gastric acid and enzyme secretion. This phase is triggered by the presence of food, which causes the stomach to stretch (distention) and activates chemoreceptors that detect the presence of proteins and peptides. In response, the vagus nerve and local reflexes stimulate the secretion of gastrin from G cells, which in turn increases the production of gastric acid (HCl) and digestive enzymes, facilitating the breakdown of food. This phase is the MOST ACTIVE phase of gastric secretion.
Intestinal phase
when chyme (partially digested food) enters the small intestine, particularly the duodenum. This phase functions to regulate the amount of gastric secretion and motility based on the conditions in the small intestine. The presence of acidic chyme, fats, or protein in the duodenum triggers the release of hormones like secretin and cholecystokinin (CCK), which inhibit gastric acid secretion and slow gastric emptying to allow for proper digestion and absorption in the small intestine. Additionally, the enterogastric reflex, both intrinsic and autonomic, further inhibits gastric activity to protect the intestine from being overwhelmed