Week 7 Dealing with Toxins/ diagnosis of liver and pancreatic disease Flashcards
what overall defence mechanisms are present in the GI tract to deal with toxins- innate/adaptive?
INNATE
- physical- sight, smell, memory, saliva, gastric acid,
-small intestinal secretion, colonic mucus, anaerobic environment (small bowel, colon), peristalsis/segmentation- normal intestinal transit time 12-18hrs- if peristalsis slowed gut infections prolonged- eg shigellosis
- cellular- neutrophils, macrophage, NKC (kill virus infected cells), tissue mast cells, Eosinophils
adaptive
what role does saliva have in the natural defence of the GI tract- what happens when this does wrong?
1.5L/day
pH 7.0- acid would dissolve teeth
contains lysozymes, lactoperoxidase, complement, IgA and polymorphs
- washes toxins including bacteria down into the stomach
- severe illness or dehydration = reduced salivary flow (xerostomia) leading to microbial overgrowth in the mouth and dental caries- can lead to parotitis(inflammed parotid gland)- staph aureus
what range of toxins may the GI tract and liver be exposed to?
chemical bacteria viruses protozoa nematodes (roundworm) cestodes (tapeworm) trematodes (flukes)
what are the consequences of a failure in the GI defence mechanisms?
d
what role does the liver play in handling bile pigments, hormones, drugs and toxins including alcohol?
d
what is the function of the liver in relation to blood proteins?
d
how is a liver function test interpreted?
d
what are the causes and effects of jaundice?
d
what is the difference between pre-hepatic, hepatic and post-hepatic jaundice?
d
what are the effects of excessive alcohol consumption on the liver?
d
what are the key features of alcoholic liver disease?
d
what are the consequences of cirrhosis of the liver?
d
how might liver disease lead to portal hypertension and what pathology might this lead to?
d
what are causes and consequences of gallstones?
d
what are the causes and consequences of acute pancreatitis?
d
