The abdominal cavity Flashcards
How does the GI tract form (embryology)?
Blastopore forms GI tract – one end is anus and one end is mouth.
The GI tract is outside the body
What are the regions of the stomach?
- Cardia
- Fundus
- Body
- Antrum
- Pylorus
Has greater and lesser curvature
What is the function of the stomach?
Mechanical digestion via churning. Has oblique muscle in addition to inner circular and outer longitudinal muscles.
Enzymatic digestion using gastric juice (HCl and enzymes).
Forms chyme.
What are the small intestines?
Function: Primary site of absorption of nutrients from food
Consists of three parts: duodenum, jejunum (which has more circular folds – can see on imaging), ileum
What are some differences between the jejunum and ileum?
Jejunum - has longer vasa recta, has less complex vasa recta, has more plicae circulares and folds. No fat in mesentery
Ileum - has shorter vasa recta, more complex arterial arcasdes, less pilcae circulares and folds. Fat in mesentery
What is the large intestines?
Composed of the cecum, colon, rectum, and anal canal
Function: Absorb water, generating faces
Four parts of colon- ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid
Cecum- receives the distal ileum
There is the ileocecal junction
What are some features of the large intestines?
Haustra: segmented pouches of the colon. Helps move food slowly
Taeniae coli: longitudinal bands of muscle - helps efficient contraction of circular muscles, helps peristalsis + propelling faces. Helps form haustra
What is the appendix?
Vermiform appendix: blind-ended tube
No longer thought to be vestigial
Function: store gut bacteria, T cells
What is the peritoneum?
The peritoneum is the double-layered sheet of serous tissue lining the abdominal cavity.
The peritoneum attaches some organs to the body wall with special folds called mesenteries.
Mesentery = The mesentery is a fold of membrane that attaches the intestine to the abdominal wall and holds it in place.
What are the different types of organs?
Intraperitoneal: contained within the peritoneum
Retroperitoneal: between the peritoneum and the posterior body wall
Secondarily retroperitoneal: develop in peritoneum and become affixed to the posterior body wall
Which organs are retroperitoneal?
SADPUCKER
S- suprarenal glands A- arota/IVC D- duodenum P- pancreas U- ureters C- colon (ascending and descending) K- kidneys E- e(oesophagus) R- rectum
The ascending and descending colon, duodenum and pancreas are secondary retroperitoneal organs.
What are some intraperitoneal organs?
Stomach, liver, spleen
What are the secondary retroperitoneal organs?
Ascending and descending colon, duodenum and pancreas
What are peritoneal ligaments?
Folds of the peritoneum that are used to connect viscera to viscera or the abdominal wall.
Examples:
- gastrosplenic ligament
- splenorenal ligament
- falciform ligament
- gastrocolic lig
- gastrosplenic lig
- hepatogastric lig
- hepatoduodenal lig
- splenorenal lig
- coronary lig (connects liver and diaphgram)
What is the greater omentum?
Double folded “apron” of peritoneum extending inferiorly from stomach and proximal duodenum to the transverse colon and transverse mesocolon (so from stomach to transverse colon).
Greater omentum can trap infections in the abdominal cavity.
Greater Omentum: a visceral adipose tissue with unique immune functions. Although it is primarily an adipose tissue, the omentum also contains lymphoid aggregates, called milky spots (MSs), that contribute to peritoneal immunity by collecting antigens, particulates, and pathogens from the peritoneal cavity and, depending on the stimuli, promoting a variety of immune responses, including inflammation, tolerance, or even fibrosis.
Omenta are the fused peritoneal folds,
