Small Bowel Flashcards
What is the function of the small bowel?
Absorb nutrients, salt and water
What are the 3 sections of the small bowel?
- Duodenum - 25cm
- Jejunum - 2.5m
- Ileum - 3.75m
- total: 6m long
- diameter: 3.5cm
What is the mesentery?
Fold of membrane attached to the bowels
—> Suspends small and large bowel from posterior
abdominal wall (anchors)
—> Conduit for blood and lymphatic vessels
Which 5 blood vessels pass through the mesentery?
- Middle colic artery
- Right colic artery
- Ileocolic artery
- Superior mesenteric artery
- Jejunal and ileal arteries
What are the 4 layers of small bowel tissue?
- Serosa —> outermost
- Muscular - longitudinal
- circular - Submucosa
- Mucosa
How does the small bowel have such a large surface area?
Plicae circulares —> inner lining folds
- thicker in jejunum
Villi on plicae circulares
Microvilli on villi
What are villi?
Projections
- motile
- rich blood supply
rich lymph drainage
- innervated by submucosal plexus
- simple epithelium —> 1 cell thick
- separated by crypts
What are the 5 cell types in the small bowel?
Villi lining:
1. Enterocytes (most) —> absorption
2. Goblet cells —> secrete mucus
3. Enteroendocrine cells
Crypts of Lieberkühn lining:
4. Paneth cells
5. Stem cells (at bottom)
What are enterocytes?
Tall columnar cells for absorption and transport
- most abundant
- lifespan: 1-6 days
- villi and microvilli increase surface area from 0.4m2
to 200m2 (x500)
What are microvilli?
Projection on villi —> brush border
- 0.5-1.5µm tall
- 1000s per villi
- coated in glycocalyx
What is glycocalyx
Carbohydrate-rich coating of microvilli
- protection of microvilli from digestion in lumen
- traps water and mucus —> unstirred layer
- regulates rate of absorption
What are goblet cells?
Mucus-secreting cells —> mucus granules (apical side)
- 2nd most abundant
- mucus = large glycoprotein facilitating passage of
material through bowel
- abundance increases along bowel
What are enteroendocrine cells?
Hormone-secreting columnar epithelial cells
- usually in lower crypt
- hormones —> gut motility
What are paneth cells?
Immune cells at base of crypts
- granules - large + acidophilic
—> lysozyme (antibacterial) - protect stem
cells
—> glycoproteins and zinc - trace metal for
enzymes
- engulf some bacteria and protozoa
- may regulate gut flora
What are small bowel stem cells?
Undifferentiated cells that differentiate to replace cells that die (pluripotent)
- continually divide via mitosis
- cell dies —> digested and reabsorbed —> stem cell
differentiates —> migrates to top of villus