Pancreas+Small bowel Flashcards
What are the dimensions of the entire small bowel and its 3 component parts?
Approx. 6m long & 3.5cm in diameter.
Duodenum: 25 cm
Jejunum: 2.5 m
Ileum: 3.75 m
-All are continuous
What are the 2 major functions of the mesentery
Suspends small & large bowel from posterior abdominal wall
anchoring them in place
whilst still allowing some movement
Provides a conduit for blood vessels, nerves & lymphatic vessels
What are the portions of the small intestine in order?
Duodenum
Jejunum
Ileum
Where do villi occur?
Small intestine ONLY
What is the epithelial structure on villi and what is the dominant cell type
Simple-1 cell thick
Dominated by enterocytes
What kind of cells do crypts of Lieberkühn contain?
Paneth cells
Stem cells
What primary 3 cell types are contained within the villi(mucosal layer)
Primarily enterocytes (absorptive cells)
scattered goblet cells
enteroendocrine cells
What is the lifespan of an enterocyte?
1-6 days
By how much do folds, villi and microvilli increase the surface area of the small intestine?
About 500x
What is mucous?
Large glycoprotein that facilitates passage of material through bowel.
How does the number of goblet cells vary along the GI tract?
↑ abundance of goblet cells along entire length of bowel
↓ in duodenum
↑ in colon
What are enteroendocrine cells?
Columnar epithelial cells
Scattered among enterocytes
Most often found in lower part of crypts.
Hormone secreting
e.g. to influence gut motility
-Also called chromaffin cells
Secretions inlclude:
CCK, GLP-1, GIP, peptide YY, somatostatin, ghrelin, and serotonin
Where are paneth cells found and what is their purpose?
Found only in the bases of crypts
Contain large, acidophilic granules
Granules contain:
antibacterial enzyme lysozyme (protects stem cells)
Glycoproteins & zinc (essential trace metal for a no. of enzymes)
Also engulf some bacteria & protozoa
What is the function of GI stem cells?
To migrate upwards out of the crypts to the villi to replace damaged cells
Why are GI enterocytes subject to a much shorter lifespan compared to other epithelial cells in other organs?
Enterocytes are first line of defense against GI pathogens & may be directly affected by toxic substances in diet.
Effects of agents which interfere with cell function, metabolic rate etc will be diminished.
Any lesions will be short-lived.
If escalator-like transit of enterocytes is interrupted through impaired production of new cells (e.g. radiation) severe intestinal dysfunction will occur
How do you differentiate the jejunum and ileum?
Jejunum:
Thick wall
Plicae circulares
Ileum:
Thin wall
Has peyers’ patches
How is the duodenum distinguished and what is the purpose of this difference?
Distinguished by presence of Brunner’s glands
Alkaline secretions of Brunner’s glands
Neutralizes acidic chyme from stomach, protecting proximal small bowel
Help optimise pH for action of pancreatic digestive enzymes.
What is segmentational motility?
Mixes contents of lumen
Occurs by stationary contraction of circular muscles at intervals.
More frequent contractions in duodenum cf. ileum
allow pancreatic enzymes & bile to mix with chyme
Although chyme moves in both directions, net effect is movement → colon
What is peristaltic motility?
Involves sequential contraction of adjacent rings of smooth muscle
Propels chyme towards colon
Most waves of peristalsis only travel about 10cm
Segmentation & peristalsis result in chyme being segmented, mixed & propelled → colon
What kind of conditions does small bowel digestion occur in and how do pancreatic enzymes/bile enter the GI tract?
Alkaline environment
Pancreatic digestive enzymes & bile enter duodenum from MPD & CBD through the sphincter of oddi
What are simple and complex carbohydrates?
Where does most carbohydrate digestion take place and what enzyme in the saliva starts this process?
Small intestine
Salivary a-amylase
Approx numbers of carbohydrate substrate hydrolysed by each BB enzyme
Under what conditions does pancreatic a-amylase works optimally?
Needs Cl- for optimum activity & neutral/slightly alkaline pH
How is trypsin activated and what is its purpose?
Activated by enterokinase
-Trypsin → activates other proteases→hydrolyse proteins → single amino acids (AA) & oligopeptides (AA)n
How do enterocytes absorb some small amino acids?
Enterocytes directly absorb some of small (AA)n via action of H+/oligopeptide co-transporter PepT1
How are lipids digested in the small bowel?
-Are poorly soluble in water
1) Secretion of bile and pancreatic lipases
2) Emulsification by bile(Increased SA)
3) Enzymatic hydrolysis of ester linkages
4) Solubilisation of lipolytic products in bile salt micelles
What enzyme begins the digestion of proteins in the stomach?
Pepsin
How do we stop bile salts from displacing lipases in a fat droplet?
Formation of colipase complexes with lipase