Oral Histology Flashcards
What are the 5 general layers of the GI tube?
1) Mucosa 2) Submucosa (CT) 3) Inner circular muscle 4) Outer longitudinal muscle 5) Serosa (squamous epithelium)
What are the 3 general layers of the GI mucosa?
1) Epithelium 2) Lamina propria (CT) 3) Muscularis mucosa
In what regions of the GI tract do you not have serosa?
Adventitia, this is where the GI tube is connected to the retroperitoneum.
In what region of the GI tract was the section shown below taken from?
The gastroesophageal junction. Note the stratified squamous epithelium in the esophagus sharply demarcated from the non-ciliated columnar epithelium with goblet cells.
Where in the GI tube do you find stratified squamous epithelium?
Esophagus and colon
Where in the body was this section taken from?
Small intestine. Note the tall columnar cells with goblet cells.
Why is epithelial differentiation so variable in the GI tract?
Stem cells located in the crypts of the intestine and stomach can migrate and differentiate into any type of cell (villi or secretory cells).
What cells are indicated below?
Top: mitotic cell in intestine, probably from a stem cell in an intestinal crypt. Bottom: enteroendocrine secretory cell (secretory)
What cells secrete hormones in the GI tract that initiate different responses related to digestion?
Enteroendocrine cells: change in luminal content causes secretion of different hormones (gastrin activates parietal cells, secretin acts on pancreatic duct cells)
Where are hormone granules secreted from this enteroendocrine cell?
The basal aspect. Note how the secretory granules are near the connective tissue where they can reach muscle, epithelium and blood vessels.
What cells in the GI tube are involved in host defense? Where do they secrete their content?
Paneth cells. They secrete into the GI tube lumen where pathogens exist.
Locations of GI sphincters?
Esophagus (upper and lower), pyloric, ileocecal and anal (external & internal)
How is innervation of the GI tract distributed?
The parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems have input into the enteric nervous system (myenteric plexus and submucosal plexus)…except for sympathetic modulation of blood vessels. The enteric nervous system modulates smooth muscle, secretory cells and endocrine cells.
Why is the enteric nervous system sometimes called “the little brain”?
Roughly 100 million neurons run through it with a very wide range of neurotransmitters.
Where are the neurons of the myenteric nervous system located?
Between the inner circular muscle layer and the outer longitudinal muscle layer.