Exam 3 - Digestive System Flashcards
(63 cards)
Functions of digestive system
1) Ingestion and mastication
2) Propulsion and mixing
3) Secretion
4) Digestion
5) Absorption
6) Elimination
Ingestion and mastication
Function of digestive system
Ingestion is intake of solids and liquids
Mastication is process where teeth chew food in the mouth to begin the process of digestion. Vital that solid foods are mechanically broken down to increase total surface area for digestion
Propulsion and mixing
Function of digestive system
Propulsion is movement of food from one end of the digestive tract to the other. Propulsive movements are swallowing a bolus, peristalsis or propelling of material through most of digestive tract, and mass movements or contractions that move material in large intestine to anus.
Mixing is the movement of food back and forth in the digestive tract, without forward movement. Mixing contractions blend food with digestive fluids in stomach and small intestine. Mixing contractions include mixing waves, or gentle waves in stomach that churn food with gastric secretions, and segmental contractions, which mix food particles in small intestine
Secretion
Function of digestive system
Secretions added to lubricate, liquefy, buffer, and digest the food as it moves through digestive tract. Mucus, secreted along the entire digestive tract, lubricates the food and the lining of the tract. Mucus coats and protects epithelial cells of the digestive tract from mechanical abrasion, stomach acid, and digestive enzymes. Secretions contain large amounts of water, which liquefies the food, making it easier to digest and absorb. Liver secretions make digestion and absorption of lipids possible. Enzymes secreted by oral cavity, stomach, small intestine, and pancreas break down large food molecules into smaller molecules that can be absorbed by the intestinal wall
Digestion
Function of digestive system
Breakdown of large organic molecules into their individual components. Large molecules must be digested into individual components to be absorbed by digestive tract. Carbohydrates are broken into monosaccharides. Proteins are broken into amino acids. Triglycerides are broken into fatty acids and glycerol. Minerals, water, and vitamins are not broken down before they’re absorbed
Mechanical digestion involves mastication and mixing of food
Chemical digestion is accomplished by digestive enzymes secreted along the digestive tract
Absorption
Function of digestive system
Movement of molecules out of digestive tract and into the blood or the lymphatic system. Mechanism by which absorption occurs depends on the type of molecule involved. Molecules pass out of digestive tract by diffusion, facilitated diffusion, active transport, symport, or endocytosis
Elimination
Function of digestive system
Process by which the waste products of digestion are removed from the body. During this process, which primarily occurs in large intestine, water and salts are absorbed, changing the material in the digestive tract from liquefied to semisolid. These semisolid waste products, called feces, are stored in the distal large intestine, and then eliminated by the process of defecation
Organs of digestive system
1) Oral cavity, including tongue, teeth, and salivary glands as accessory organs
2) Pharynx
3) Esophagus
4) Stomach
5) Small intestine, consisting of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, with the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas as accessory organs
6) Large intestine, including cecum, colon, rectum, anal canal, and anus
Histology of digestive tract
Digestive tract consists of four major tunics, or layers. These are present throughout all areas of digestive tract, from esophagus to anus
1) Mucosa
2) Submucosa
3) Muscularis
4) Serosa or adventia
Mucosa
Innermost tunic consists of three separate layers:
1) Inner mucous epithelium: Nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium in the mouth, oropharynx, esophagus, and anal canal, and simple columnar epithelium in the remainder of the digestive tract
2) Lamina propria: A loose connective tissue
3) Muscularis mucosae: A thin outer layer of smooth muscle
Submucosa
Beneath mucosa lies submucosa
Thick connective tissue layer
Tunic contains nerves, blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and small glands
A network of neurons and glial cells in the submucosa forms a portion of the enteric nervous system. Axons from submucosal plexus extend to cells in epithelial intestinal glands, stimulating their secretion
Esophagus and stomach lack a submucosal plexus, but the plexus is extensive throughout the rest of the digestive tract
Muscularis
Muscular layer
Consists of an inner layer of circular smooth muscle and an outer layer of longitudinal smooth muscle. Two exceptions are the upper esophagus, where the muscles are skeletal, and the stomach, which has three layers of smooth muscle
Between two muscle layers is second portion of enteric nervous system called myenteric plexus. Controls motility of intestinal tract
Serosa or adventitia
Fourth layer is either a serosa or an adventitia, depending on the structure of the layer
Serosa: Parts of digestive tract located within the peritoneal cavity have a serosa as the outermost layer. This serosa, or serous membrane, is called the visceral peritoneum. It consists of a thin layer of connective tissue and a simple squamous epithelium
Adventitia: When the outer layer of the connective tissue covering that blends with the surrounding connective tissue. These areas include the esophagus and the retroperitoneal organs
Glands associated with digestive tract
1) Unicellular mucous glands in the mucosa
2) Multicellular glands in the mucosa and submucosa
3) Multicellular glands (accessory glands, such as pancreas) outside the digestive tract
Neural regulation of digestive system
Most nervous regulation of digestive tract is under local control by the enteric nervous system. Enteric nervous system is extensive network of neural tissue and consists of submucosal plexus and myenteric plexus. Both plexuses are within walls of digestive tract. This network of neurons and associated glial cells is a division of the autonomic nervous system
Chemical regulation of digestive system
Two major ENS neurotransmitters are acetylcholine and norepinephrine. Acetylcholine stimulates and norepinephrine inhibits digestive tract motility and secretions.
Serotonin stimulates digestive tract motility
Gastrin and secretin are secreted by endocrine cells in digestive system and are carried through the blood to target organs of the digestive system or to target tissues in other systems. These hormones help regulate many digestive tract functions, as well as the secretions of associated glands, such as the liver and the pancreas
Paracrine chemicals, such as histamine, are released locally within the digestive tract, where they influence the activity of nearby cells. These localized chemical regulators help local reflexes within the ENS control local digestive tract environments, such as pH levels
Structure of esophagus
Esophagus has thick walls containing the four tunics of the digestive tract: mucosa, submucosa, muscularis, and adventitia. Muscularis has an outer longitudinal layer and an inner circular layer. Esophagus differs by having skeletal muscle fibers in the superior one-third, a mixture of skeletal and smooth muscle fibers in the middle one-third, and smooth muscle fibers in the inferior one-third. Upper esophageal sphincter and a lower esophageal sphincter, at the upper and lower ends of the esophagus, respectively, regulate the movement of materials into and out of the esophagus. Mucosal lining of esophagus is nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium. Numerous mucous glands in the submucosal layer produce a thick, lubricating mucus, which passes through ducts to the surface of the esophageal mucosa
Three swallowing phases
1) Voluntary phase: A bolus of food is formed i the mouth and pushed by the tongue against the hard palate, until it is forced toward the posterior part of the mouth and into the oropharynx
2) Pharyngeal phase: Reflex initiated by the stimulation of tactile receptors in the area of the oropharynx. Vestibular folds and vocal cords close, and the epiglottis is tipped posteriorly, so that the epiglottic cartilage covers the opening into the larynx, and the larynx is elevated. These movements prevent food from passing into the larynx.
3) Esophageal phase: Responsible for moving food from the pharynx to the stomach. Muscular contractions in the wall of the esophagus occur in peristaltic waves. As peristaltic waves and food bolus approach stomach, the lower esophageal sphincter in the esophagus relaxes. Presence of food in the esophagus stimulates the myenteric plexus, which controls the peristaltic waves. Food in esophagus also stimulates tactile receptors, which stimulates contractions and reinforces peristaltic contractions of skeletal and smooth muscles within the esophagus
Anatomy characteristics of the stomach
Stomach is divided into four regions:
1) Cardia: Esophagus empties into cardia of the stomach at the gastroesophageal opening. Lower esophageal sphincter surrounds opening
2) Fundus: Left of the cardia, and superior to cardiac opening
3) Body: Largest part of stomach, which turns to the right, creating a greater curvature and a lesser curvature. Body narrows to form funnel-shaped pylorus
4) Pylorus: Wider part of funnel, toward the body of the stomach, is the pyloric antrum. Narrow part of funnel is the pyloric canal. Pyloric canal opens through the pyloric orifice into the small intestine. Pyloric orifice is surrounded by the pyloric sphincter, a relatively thick ring of smooth muscle that helps regulate the movement of gastric contents into the small intestine
Histology of the stomach
Serosa, or visceral peritoneum, is the outermost tunic of the stomach. Consists of an outer layer of simple squamous epithelium and an inner layer of connective tissue
Muscularis of stomach consists of three layers
1) Outer longitudinal layer
2) Middle circular layer
3) Inner oblique layer: Unique to the stomach wall. Helps generate strong stomach contractions that physically break down ingested blood into smaller particles.
Deep to muscularis are submucosa and mucosa, which are arranged in large folds called rugae when the stomach is empty. These folds allow the mucosa and submucosa to stretch, and the folds disappear as the stomach volume increases as it is filled
Mucous lining of the stomach is simple columnar epithelium
Secretions of the stomach
1) Hydrochloric acid
2) Intrinsic factor
3) Mucus
4) Digestive enzymes (pepsinogen and gastric lipase)
Functions of stomach secretions
Once food enters the stomach, it is mixed with stomach secretions to form a semifluid material called chyme. The primary function of the stomach is to store and mix chyme
Hydrochloric acid: Kill bacteria that are ingested with essentially everything humans put into their mouths
2) Intrinsic factor: Glycoprotein that binds with vitamin B12, making the vitamin more readily absorbed in the ileum of the small intestine
3) Mucus: Thick layer of mucus lubricates and protects epithelial cells of the stomach wall from the damaging effect of the acidic chyme and pepsin. Irritation of the stomach mucosa stimulates the secretion of a greater volume of mucus
4) Digestive enzymes: Chief cells within gastric glands secrete pepsinogen and gastric lipase. Pepsinogen is converted into pepsin by hydrochloric acid. Pepsin breaks apart proteins into smaller peptide chains. Gastric lipase is a lipase, which can digest lipids even in an acidic environment
Regulation of stomach secretion
Nervous and hormonal mechanisms regulate gastric secretions
Neural mechanisms: Reflexes integrated within the medulla oblongata and local reflexes integrated within the ENS
Hormonal mechanisms: Chemical messengers that regulate stomach secretions include hormones gastrin, secretin, and cholecystokinin, as well as paracrine chemical messenger histamine
Regulation of stomach secretion is divided into three phases:
1) Cephalic
2) Gastric
3) Intestinal phase
Gastric movement regulation
Regulation of stomach secretion is divided into three phases:
1) Cephalic: Stomach secretions are increased in anticipation of incoming food. Stimuli influence gastric secretions
2) Gastric: When most of the stimulation of secretion occurs. Stomach secretion produces the greatest volume of gastric secretion. Gastric secretion is inhibited when pH of stomach contents falls below 2. Food chemicals (especially peptides and caffeine) and rising pH activate chemoreceptors
3) Intestinal phase: Stomach secretion decreases. Secretin is released and inhibits gastric secretions by inhibiting both parietal and chief cells. Cholecystokinin inhibits gastric secretions. Acidic chyme entering duodenum triggers a decrease in stomach acid secretion. Too much fat takes time to digest, so stomach holds onto chyme longer. A lot of fat means physically break down fat or chemically break down fat