T4 - GI Assessment Flashcards
What percentage of the total human body mass does the GI tract constitute?
Approximately 5%.
What are the main functions of the GI tract?
Motility, digestion, absorption, excretion, and circulation.
What are the layers of the GI tract from outermost to innermost?
Serosa, longitudinal muscle layer, circular muscle layer, submucosa, and mucosa.
What are the components within the mucosa from outermost to innermost?
Muscularis mucosae, lamina propria, and epithelium.
What is the function of the serosa?
secrete serous fluid to enclose the cavity and reduce friction between muscle movements.
It is a smooth membrane of thin connective tissue and cells
What is the function of the longitudinal muscle layer in the GI tract?
It contracts to shorten the length of the intestinal segment.
What does the circular muscle layer do?
It contracts to decrease the diameter of the intestinal lumen.
How do the longitudinal and circular muscle layers work together?
They work together to propagate gut motility.
Which plexus supplies innervation to the GI organs up to the proximal transverse colon?
The celiac plexus.
Where does the innervation of the descending colon and distal GI tract come from?
The inferior hypogastric plexus.
What are some of the approaches to block the celiac plexus?
- Transcrural
- Intraoperative
- Endoscopic ultrasound-guided
- Peritoneal lavage
Where is the myenteric plexus located and what is its function?
between the smooth muscle layers
regulates their function.
What is the role of the submucosal plexus in the GI tract?
transmits information from the epithelium to the enteric and central nervous systems.
What is the muscularis mucosa and what is its function?
It is a thin layer of smooth muscle that moves the villi in the GI tract.
What is the lamina propria and what does it contain?
The lamina propria contains blood vessels, nerve endings, and immune and inflammatory cells.
What are the functions of the epithelium in the GI tract?
The epithelium is involved in sensing the GI contents, secreting enzymes, absorbing nutrients, and excreting waste.
What are the components of the GI tract’s autonomic nervous system (ANS)?
The GI ANS consists of the extrinsic nervous system with sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) components, and the enteric nervous system.
What is the primary function of the extrinsic SNS in the GI tract?
It is primarily inhibitory and decreases GI motility.
How does the extrinsic PNS affect the GI tract?
It is primarily excitatory and activates GI motility.
What does the enteric nervous system control?
motility
Absorption/secretion
blood flow
What is the enteric system comprised of what plexuses?
The myenteric plexus and submucosal plexus.
What does the myenteric plexus control and what are its components?
motility
enteric neurons,
interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC cells or GI pacemakers)
smooth muscle cells.
What functions are regulated by the submucosal plexus?
Absorption, secretion, and mucosal blood flow.
How do the myenteric and submucosal plexuses respond to stimulation?
They respond to both sympathetic and parasympathetic stimulation.