Week 6 Flashcards
Where in the GI tract does all significant absorption of nutrients occur?
small intestine
What are the 4 main, major histologic layers of the GI tract from inside to outside?
- mucosa
- submucosa
- muscularis externa
- serosa
Release of what is prompted by fat and protein in the gut lumen?
cholecystokinin
Which layer of the GI tract contains all the major blood and lymphatic vessels that serve the GI tract?
the submucosa
Where is the myenteric/Auerbach nerve plexus located?
between the 2 layers of muscle in the muscularis externa
What are the major regulated processes that can generate change in GI physiology?
- gut motility
- epithelial secretion
- blood flow
What does the submucosal plexus control?
What does it innervate?
- absorption and secretion
- glandular epithelium, intestinal endocrine cells, and submucosal blood vessels
What does the myenteric plexus control?
What does it innervate?
- gut motility
- innervates the longitudinal and circular smooth muscle layers
What is the primary neurotransmitter involved in the stimulation of secretion and motility?
acetylcholine
What are inhibitory neurotransmitters in the gut?
ATP and nitric oxide
What is vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)?
What does it do?
- peptide neurotransmitter
- potent stimulator of intestinal fluid and electrolyte secretion, but inhibits motility
How is the ENS linked to the CNS?
What does this give rise to?
- the parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves of the autonomic nervous system
- the gut-brain axis
Where does the GI system get its parasympathetic innervation from?
the vagus nerve and the sacral spinal outflow (S2-4)
What contains sensory afferent fibers from the GI tract?
What does that sense?
- parasympathetic nerves
- distention, nausea, satiety
What are vagovagal reflexes?
responses that involve both afferent and efferent neurons confined to the vagus nerve
What do sensory afferent signals within the sympathetic nerves convey from the GI tract to the CNS?
pain
Where in the GI tract are endocrine cells found in the highest density?
Why?
- in the stomach and small intestine
- this is where the most dynamic digestive activity occurs
Explain the concept of first-pass metabolism.
GI hormones are first secreted into the capillary blood in the GI tract and must pass through the portal venous system and the liver before entering the systemic circulation
What do the following things secrete and where are they located: G cells? I cells? S cells? M cells? X cells? K cells? L cells? EC cells? D cells? ECL cells
G: gastrin, stomach antrum I: CCK, duodenum and jejunum S: secretin, duodenum M: motilin, duodenum and jejunum X: ghrelin, stomach body K: GIP, duodenum and jejunum L: GLP-1, jejunum and ileum EC: serotonin, intestinal mucosa D: somatostatin ECL: histamine
Where are S cells located?
What do they respond to?
What do they do in response?
- duodenum
- presence of acid released from the stomach
- causes bicarb secretion to neutralize the acid
What is the stimulation for secretion of gastrin?
What is its target organ?
What does it cause?
- amino acids in the stomach, stomach distention, or vagus nerve (acetylcholine)
- stomach
- increase H+ secretion
What is the stimulation for secretion of CCK?
What is its target organ?
What does it cause?
- fat and protein digestion products in the small intestine
- gallbladder, stomach, and pancreas
- increase gallbladder contraction, increase enzyme secretion from pancreas, and decrease gastric emptying
What is the stimulation for secretion of secretin?
What is its target organ?
What does it cause?
- H+ in the duodenum
- pancreas and stomach
- increase pancreatic bicarb secretion and decrease gastric H+ secretion
What is the stimulation for secretion of ghrelin?
What is its target organ?
What does it cause?
- hypoglycemia
- CNS
- increase food intake and growth hormone secretion
What is the stimulation for secretion of motilin?
What is its target organ?
What does it cause?
- ENS “clock”
- stomach and duodenum
- increase contraction
What is the stimulation for secretion of GIP?
What is its target organ?
What does it cause?
- glucose AND FAT in small intestine
- pancreas
- increase insulin secretion
What is the stimulation for secretion of GLP-1?
What is its target organ?
What does it cause?
- glucose in small intestine
- pancreas
- increase insulin secretion
What are the major examples of paracrine mediators in GI physiology?
- somatostatin
- serotonin
- histamine
What is the stimulation for secretion of serotonin?
What secretes it?
What does it cause?
- distention of the gut wall
- enterochromaffin cells (EC cells)
- effects are generally excitatory and cause increased intestinal motility and secretion
What secretes somatostatin?
What does it do?
- D cells
- inhibits pancreatic and gastric secretion, relaxes the stomach and gall bladder, decreases nutrient absorption in the small intestine, and is a potent vasoconstrictor
What secretes histamine?
What does it do?
- enterochromaffin-like cells (ECL cells)
- has a potent stimulatory effect on acid secretion
What does vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) do?
causes secretion of fluid from surface epithelium and relaxation of smooth muscle
Place in order which salivary glands produce the most to the least amount of saliva.
- submandibular
- parotid
- sublingual
What is the functional unit of a salivary gland?
What does it consist of?
- a salivon
- clusters of acinar cells that drain via a duct system
What does saliva contain that reduces bacterial growth in the mouth?
- alkaline pH
- lysozyme, which attacks bacterial cell walls
- lactoferrin, chelates iron and slows bacterial growth
- IgA binding protein, required for IgA activity
Before it is denatured by stomach acid, how much of the starch in a meal can a-Amylase digest?
Where is it secreted from?
What is its optimum pH?
- 75%
- the salivary glands
- 7
What is secreted by small salivary glands on the surface of the tongue, has an acidic optimum pH, and remains active in the stomach?
What does it do?
- lingual lipase
- hydrolyzes triglycerides
What type of solution is the primary secretion formed by salivary acini?
What does it resemble and why?
What type of solution is final saliva and why?
- isotonic
- resembles extracellular fluid because it is rich in NaCl and bicarb ions
- becomes hypotonic (more dilute) because striated duct cells absorb NaCl but cannot uptake water
How does composition of saliva change with flow rates?
At a low flow rate, more NaCl can be absorbed to make it hypotonic. At high flow rates, less time is spent in the duct absorbing NaCl and the saliva can resemble the primary isotonic secretion.