Session 5: Chyme, Pancreas, and the Liver Flashcards
What protects the duodenum from the low pH, hypertonic and partially digested chyme from the stomach?
Brunner’s glands which secrete alkaline mucosa.
Is the chyme hypertonic once exiting the duodenum?
No, it’s isotonic
Why is the chyme in the stomach hypertonic?
Because the stomach wall is highly impermeable to water. This means that water cannot move into stomach to dilute the chyme.
Why is the chyme exiting the duodenum isotonic?
Because the duodenum is relatively permeable to water allowing water to move in.
The food is only partially digested once entering the duodenum from the stomach. What aids further digestion?
Juices from the pancreas and the liver.
What stimulates the secretion of these juices?
The presence of chyme which in its turn stimulates secretin and CCK.
Also autonomics where sympathetic inhibits secretion and parasympathetic vagal stimulation stimulates the secretion.
Explain the role of secretin.
Acts on pancreas to stimulate the release of an aqueous bicarbonate component to neutralise the acidity of the chyme.
It also acts on the liver to stimulate bicarbonate release there as well.
Explain the role of CCK.
Acts on the pancreas to stimulate the release of enzyme component of the pancreatic secretion.
CCK also acts to contract the gallbladder as well as relax the sphincter of oddi.
Explain the pancreatic structure.
The pancreas has acina which are all connected to ducts.
Magnifying on the acina you can find acinar cells, duct cells, centroacinar cells and a terminal duct.
What do the acinar cells secrete?
Amylases
Lipases
Proteases (inactive) like:
Trypsinogen
Chymotrypsinogen
Proelastase
Procarboxypeptidase
What stimulates the acinar cells?
CCK and vagus stimulation
Why are pancreatic proteases released in their inactive forms?
The proteases are inactive and stored in zymogen granules. They are not released in their active form because they would then start to digest the linings of the pancreas.
What do duct cells secrete?
The aqueous component of the pancreatic juice as well as bicarbonate.
This is in order to neutralise the acidic chyme
Explain the route of the pancreatic juice.
Secreted via acinar cells and duct cells into the small ductules. Travel via the small ductules into larger ducts and then into a long pancreatic duct.
The long pancreatic duct joins with the common bile duct to then empty out into the duodenum via the ampulla of vater and its sphinctor of Oddi.
What activates trypsinogen?
Enterokinase secreted by the intenstinal mucosa
Trypsin itself can also convert trypsinogen into trypsin.
What activates chymotrypsinogen?
Trypsin
What activates procarboxypolypeptidase?
Trypsin
Role of trypsin
Activating other zymogens as well as breaking down protein into smaller constituents like peptides.
It does not digest proteins into amino acids.
Explain the role of chymotrypsin
Breaking down proteins into peptides.
Explain the role of carboxypolypeptidase.
Breaking down peptides into tripeptides, dipeptides and individual amino acids.