Nutrition and Digestion Flashcards
What are the different body cavities in the human?
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What layers are there in the gastro-intestinal tract?
THERE ARE 4 LAYERS:
- Mucosa, the innermost lining consisting of 3 layers, including a layer of muscle
- Submucosa, connective tissue. this is where blood vessels and nerves lie
- Muscularis, layers of smooth muscle and enteric (intestinal) nerves lie
- Serosa, the visceral layer of the peritoneum.

What drugs can be directly absorbed from the mouth?
Alcohol and GTN spray (for angina)
What is different about the mouth’s blood supply compared with the rest of the gut?
It goes straight to the circulatory system, which is different because of the rest of the gut’s blood vessels pass through the liver
What 3 sections is the pharynx split into?
Nasopharynx
Oropharynx
Larngopharynx

What is peristalsis?
The process in which food plus travels from one end of the GI tract to the other. it is involuntary, under the control of the contracting smooth muscles rather than striated muscles. Not based on gravity.
What are the 3 parts of the oesophagus?
Cervical (top)
Thoracic (thoracic cavity)
Abdominal
What is the oesophagus lined with?
Stratified squamous epithelium cells (thick and robust) until the last 1cm where it becomes columnar epithelium. between these is the Z line.
What are the muscles in the oesophagus?
Voluntary (striated) in the upper third
involuntary in the lower third (smooth) and mixed in the middle.
What are the roles of the sphincters?
Stops air getting into gut and acid/food reflux.
What are the two types of hiatal hernia?
Sliding is where the diaphragm has lessened and part of the stomach has slipped up. PHH is less common, part of stomach is next to oesophagus. Increases risk of reflux
What cells secrete acid?
The chief cells secrete enzymes of gastric juice (pepsin)
The parietal cells secrete hydrochloric acid.
What are the 3 areas of the small intestine?
The duodenum, the jejunum and ileum.
What is the function of the stomach, and what are the 4 sections of the stomach?
Stomach churns food and mixes it with gastric acid and breaks it down to chyme
The 4 sections are the cardia, fundus, body and antrum
What do the different specialised cells in the stomach do?
Glands secrete mucous which protects the mucosa from the acid
The chief cells secrete gastric huice (pepsin)
The pariertal cells secrete hydrochloric acid
Enfocrine cells excrete grelin, a hormone which promotes appetite and gastrin, a digestive hormone.
What are the 3 segments of the small intestine?
Duodenum, jejunum and ileum

What is the lining of the small intestine like?
The small mucosa of the small intestine is folded into villi to absorb food and water. Each vilius contains blood vessels and lymth vessels.
Surface cells- enterocytes have microvilli- known as the brush border
Digestive enzymes are found here
Also mucus secreting goblet cells and stem cells lying deep within crypts
Whar are the different areas of the colon/ large intestine?
Split into the caecum, colon (ascending/transverse/descending/sigmoid), the rectum and anal canal.

What is the appendix?
Starts at the base of thececum in a slit like opening, 2/3 are behind the cecum and others extend into the pelvis. Important to know it has a variable position.
Now thought to have a reservoir for gut microflora, still being studied.
What is the wall of the colon like?

What is the peritoneum?
It is continuous membrane that covers most abdominal organsSplit into two- visceral which lines their organs is their serosa and the parietal which lines the walls of the cavity
What is the gallbladder and what is it’s fuction?
The gallbladder lies below liver. Internally mucosa forms rugae which are thick folds in the lining. The function of the gallbladder is to store bile, which is crucial for fat absorption. When triggered by gut hormone (CCK) it empties.
The gallbladder empties into the cystic duct then joins with the common hepatic duct above it to form the common bile duct. Bile is formed in the liver. The common bile duct then runs through the pancreas.

What are the exocrine and endocrine functions of the pancreas?
The exocrine pancreas has a complex ductal collecting system that ends at the pancreatic duct which empties into the duodenum. It secretes pancreatic juice, i.e. digestive enzymes and sodium bicarbonate
The endocrine pancreas has islands of endocrine cells which secrete hormones systemically into capillaries. Most important is insulin from beta cells and glucagon from alpha cells.
What structures leave or enter the liver?
The portal vein is full of rich nutrients as it drains directly from the gut- any food absorbed, broken-down food is taken here.
The hepatic artery contains fully oxygenated blood.










