PHYS: GI Motility Flashcards
What is aclasia?
failure of esophagus to relax
What happens when a food bolus reaches the back of the mouth?
reflexive swallowing contraction
What starts the wave of food down the esophagus?
primary peristalsis
What is the relative pressure at the upper esophageal sphincter?
pressure in esophagus > atmospheric pressure
What is the role of the UES?
when a bolus is swallowed, it opens to allow food to pass from the pharynx to exophagus
What stimulates the closure of the UES after a swallow?
pressure in the esophagus increases to close UES and the peristaltic wave begins
What is the pressure between the UES and diaphragm?
pressure < atmosphetic pressure (intrathoracic pressure is negative, making the esophageal tube flaccid)
What keeps the food moving between the UES and diaphragm?
peristaltic wave
What is the pressure after the diaphragm?
pressure > atmospheric pressure
What happens when the food bolus reaches the diaphragm?
LES relaxes as vagus releases VIP (increases NO for SM relaxation)
What occurs even BEFORE the relaxation of the LES to prepare for movement of the bolus into the stomach?
relaxation of the orad stomach
What structures are responsible for swallowing?
pharynx and the upper 1/3 of the esophagus (striated skeletal muscle–> voluntary)
What innervates the pharynx and the upper 1/3 of the esophagus?
directly innervated by vagus nerve (opposed to SM which must have the vagal stimulus relayed through myenteric ganglia)
List the 3 main phases of swallowing.
1) oral phase
2) pharyngeal phase
3) esophageal phase
Where does the oral phase of swallowing originate?
swallowing center of the medulla
What stimulates the oral phase of swallowing?
sensory information (ex. food in the mouth) is detected by somatosensory receptors located near the pharynx→ vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves carry information to medullary swallowing center→ motor output to striated muscle of pharynx and upper esophagus.
True or false: the swallow reflex is voluntary?
FALSE (involuntary)
What occurs during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing?
propel food bolus from moth to esophagus (soft palate up, epiglottis covers larynx and prevents food food from entering trachea), UES relaxes, primary peristalsis begins at pharynx.
What controls the esophageal phase of swallowing?
controlled partly by swallowing reflex and partly by enteric nervous system
What happnes during the esophageal phase of swallowing?
food is propelled into the stomach
What is a secondary peristaltic wave?
wave that is stimulated if there is food left behind and “cleans up” after the primary wave
What is receptive relaxation?
the orad stomach relaxes before LES relaxation then relaxes more and more as more food comes in
What type of reflex is receptive relaxation?
vago-vagal reflex
Describe the vago-vagal reflex in receptive relaxation.
both afferent (mechanoreceptors sense distention of stomach and relays it to CNS) and efferent (information to smooth muscle wall of orad stomach to relax after stimulated by VIP) limbs of the reflex are located in the vagus nerve.
What is one of the underlying problems that causes GERD?
failure of secondary peristalsis to eliminate acid in the esophagus (and this remaining acid causes erosion)
What other things can predispose to GERD?
- Failure of LES closure
- Pregnancy
- Hiatal hernia (part of stomach goes into thorax and negative pressure sucks up gastric acid)
What are the “pacemaker cells of the stomach”?
Interstitial cells of Cajal
Where are the interstitial cells of Cajal located?
myenteric plexus
How do the interstitial cells of Cajal work?
These depolarize due to cyclic opening of Ca2+ channels (like the SA node), spread the depolarization through low-resistance gap junctions, and continuously produce slow waves
What do slow waves of interstitial cells of Cajal lead to?
1) tonic contractions (subthreshold slow waves that do not lead to APs)
2) phasic contractions (if membrane is depolarized to threshold and AP occurs).
What determines the strength of the phasic contraction?
The greater the number of APs that occur on top of the slow waves, the stronger the phasic contraction!
True or false: the frequency of slow waves is always constant.
TRUE