digestive motility Flashcards
(135 cards)
4 functions of GI movements
- Propel ingesta from one location to next
- Retain ingesta for digestion, absorption or storage
- Physically break up food and mix it with secretions
- Circulate ingesta so can be absorbed at luminal surface
slow waves are a unique feature of GIT ____ muscle
smooth
spreading slow waves cause ______ and _____ in primed smooth muscle cells
action potentials
contractions
GI smooth muscle functions as a ____ meaning its a continuous interlocking sheet of muscle
syncytium
smooth muscle cells in GI are connected by
gap junctions
GI smooth muscle functioning as a syncytium allows changes in ______ to spread
membrane potential
resting membrane potential of GI smooth muslce
fluctuates rhythmically by 20-30 mV ie it undergoes a partial depolarization
resting membrane potential of GI smooth muscle undergoes partial depolarization, this id due to changes in
intracellular levels of Ca2+
what are the rhythmic fluctuations in the resting membrane potential known as
the GITs basic electrical rhythm or slow waves
are membrane fluctuations associated w slow waves alone enough to cause muscle contraction
NO!
slow waves frequency depends on
region of GIT and species
canine SI has approx how many slow waves per min
canine stomach and LI has approx how many slow waves per min
20
5
are slow waves intrinsic or extrinsic property of GIT tract
instrinsic
slow waves initated and controlled by what specialized cells in GIT tract
interstitial cells of cajal (ICC)
interstitial cells of cajal act as
pacemakers of the gut
interstitial cells of cajal are the ____ level of control of GI motility
first
Interstitial cells of cajal are to the GI as _____ are to the heart
purkinje fibers
where are slow waves initiated and where do they move
initiated in proximal duodenum and move towards large intestine
how do interstitial cells of cajal generate electrical rhythmicity in GIT muscle
they undergo spontaneous changes in membrane polarity
amplitude and frequency of slow waves can be modulated by what systems
nervous and endocrine systems
do slow waves cause smooth muscle contraction
not directly!
However if the resting membrane potential reaches a threshold value at the crest of a slow wave (about -40 mV), this will trigger an action potential
→ Muscle contraction
when does muscle contraction occur during a slow wave
ONLY at the crest of a slow wave and ONLY if that slow wave reaches the threshold value
the possibility that a slow wave will reach the
threshold required to trigger an action potential depends on what 2 things
both of these things are controlled by what systems
the starting baseline
membrane potential and the amplitude of the slow waves themselves
controlled by the enteric nervous system, and the endocrine system.
Sympathetic stimulation causes hyperpolarisation of the cell membranes. This means that the baseline membrane potential becomes more ______, reducing the chance of the slow wave crest reaching the threshold. Hence the muscle becomes ____
excitable
negative
less