Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Gregory Rodocker
NSU
Class Taken: Spring 2009
Digestive tract
Composed of
Oral cavity, esophagus, stomach, small
and large intestines, rectum and anus
Associated glands such as the salivary
glands, liver and pancreas
Digests and absorbs food for the entire
body
General Structure
Composed of four layers
mucosa,
Submucosa
Muscularis
Serosa
Mucosa
Composed of
An inner epithelial layer peculiar and appropriate
to the regions
A lamina propria composed of loose CT
A muscularis mucosae of smooth muscle
An inner circular layer
An outer longitudinal layer
Known collectively as the mucous
membrane
Submucosa
Composed of
Dense CT
Many blood and lymph vessels
Submucosal nerve plexus (Meissner’s)
(glands and lymphoid tissue)
Muscularis
Smooth muscle layer
Inner circular
Outer longitudinal
Myenteric nerve plexus (Auerbach’s)
between two layers
Blood vessels and lymph vessels
between two layers
Serosa
Composed of
Thin layer of loose CT
Blood vessels and lymph vessels
Adipose tissue
A thin epithelium called the mesothelium
Chagas Disease
Between 16 to 18 million people worldwide
have Chagas disease, and although most
are in South America, the number of cases
in the US is growing. Chagas disease is an
incurable infectious disease, and its long-
term sequelae include cardiomyopathy,
megaesophagus and megacolon. Important
in these complications is the fact that
Trypanosoma cruzi , the infective agent of
Chagas disease, invades myocytes,
neurons and glial cells.
Megacolon/megaesophalus
Chagas Disease
Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative
organism of American trypanosomiasis
attacks Auerbach’s plexus (proposed)
Triatome Bug
Romana’s Sign
Megacolon Man
Functions of the digestive tract
Lubricate, digests and absorb foods
Produce hormones for the control of
the tract
Protect from infective agents in the gut
Produce antibodies
Propel food along tract
The oral cavity
Various regions covered by keratinized
and non-keratinized stratified
squamous epithelium
Keratinized – gingiva and hard palate
Nonkeratinized – soft palate, lips, cheeks
and floor of mouth
Interesting transition can be seen in lips
where keratinized of skin changes into oral
nonkeratinized epithelium
Tongue
Mass of striated muscle with fibers
running in at least three planes
Lots of CT
Dorsal surface marked by papillae
Filiform – poorly developed in humans
Fungiform – mushroom-shaped
Circumvalate – largest
Some have taste buds
Taste bud
Taste or gustatory
pore
Taste buds
50 -100 cells with most being taste
cells with some supportive cells
Located basally are basal cells relace
all cell types
Sweet and bitter work via receptors
and bitter, sour and salty work via ion
channels
Esophagus
Carries foodstuffs from the mouth to
the stomach
Lined by nonkeratinized, stratified
squamous epithelium
Upper third - striated muscle
Middle third - striated and smooth
muscle
Lower third – smooth muscle
Stomach
Mix of exocrine and endocrine glandular
columnar epithelium
Partitioned into four regions
Cardiac
Lysozyme?
Fundus
Body
Pylorus
Lysozyme?
Stomach wall
The mucosa of the stomach is highly
folded resulting in gastric pits
Stem cells - totipotent
Mucous neck cells
Oxyntic/parietal cells – HCl, intrinsic
factor (vitamin B-12)
Mid to upper wall
Chief/zymogenic cells – pepsinogen and
lipase
Lower wall
Goblet cells - mucus
Parietal cells
Gastric gland of fundal
region
Chief/zymogenic cells
Oxyntic/Parietal Cell
Brunner’s Glands
Alkaline mucus
Note the blood
supply in the villus.
What do you think
happens to the
oxygen level as
blood makes it to
the tip?
Note lacteals in the
villus
Large Intestine
No villi
Muscularis is modified
Typical inner circular layer of muscle
Outer longitudinal layer is congregated
into three bundles called the teniae coli
What does that mean in a cross section of
the large intestines?
Cell renewal