Academic Advising

UCF Health Sciences

Pre-Clinical Advising
Schedule an advising appointment.
Phone: 407-823-0946
Location: Health and Public Affairs I Room 124
Email: pcinfo@ucf.edu

visit

cohpa.ucf.edu/hp/ to learn more

Additional Resources
Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR)
Undergraduate research resources/opportunities on campus
www.our.ucf.edu

GASTROINTESTINAL
FUNCTION
Chapter 35,
Pathophysiology, 5th Edition
Copstead & Banasik
By Dr. Mays Alani

Overview
Anatomy review
Gastrointestinal motility
Gastrointestinal function

ANATOMY REVIEW
Pg. 697

 GI system = GI tract + related

organs
GI Tract (7-9 meters long):
Mouth & Pharynx
Esophagus
Stomach
Intestines (small and large)
Related organs:
Salivary glands
Pancreas
Biliary system
Liver
Gallbladder
Bile ducts

Functions
Ingest
Propel + Mix = Movement of nutrients
Transform

Secretion of digestive juices

Digest
Absorb

Mouth and Salivary Glands

Point of entry for nutrients
Mastication - Site of initial

breakdown of nutrients
into a usable form
Food broken down and

moistened by saliva
Saliva is secreted by the

following glands:
Parotid
Submandibular
Sublingual

Function of Saliva
Saliva has 3 major functions important in ingestion of
nutrients:
Moistening action allows tongue to convert food into a bolus to

allow easy swallowing

Moistening action changes dry food into a solute form to allow

for taste perception by tongue

Digestive enzyme (salivary amylase) initiates carbohydrate

digestion by breaking down polysaccharides (starch) into dextrin

and maltose

Pharynx (throat)
Muscular tube about 12 cm long
Serves as the entryway for the respiratory

and GI systems
Transport of food to the esophagus
Protects airway from aspiration of food

particles

Esophagus
Muscular tube approximately 25 cm in length
Strong peristaltic waves propel nutrients to the

stomach
Lower esophageal sphincter (LES)
2-5 cm above the juncture of the lower esophagus and

stomach
Remains constricted, preventing highly acidic gastric
contents from moving up from the stomach into the
esophagus
If not working properly, can lead to reflux or heartburn

Stomach
Reservoir for food, mixing, and initial digestion

of proteins
Normal capacity is 1000-1500 ml
6000ml is possible
Lined with simple columnar epithelium

containing gastric glands that are lined by

several types of specialized cells

Typical Gastric Gland

Stomach
Chief cells
Secrete pepsinogen (an inactive form of pepsin)
Parietal cells
Produce HCl (activates pepsinogen to pepsin)
Produce intrinsic factor (enhances vitamin B12 absorption)
Stimulated by acetylcholine, histamine, and gastrin

Mucous cells
Produce an alkaline mucus (HCO3 + mucus)
Shields stomach wall and neutralizes acid in the immediate area of the lining

cells
Secrete gastrin into the bloodstream
Gastrin increases gastric motility
Stimulates chief and parietal cell secretion HCl
Have surface microvilli that monitor intragastric pH

Small Intestine
Is approximately 5-6 meters long
Segments:

Duodenum (22cm)
Jejunum (2m)
Ileum (the rest)
Intestinal villi
Fingerlike projections contained in the lining
Microvilli
Microscopic projections covered with a fuzzy coat called

brush border
Contains many digestive enzymes

Circular folds + villi + microvilli

surface area x600
SUPER efficient interface for
nutrient digestion and absorption

Large Intestine

Large Intestine
1.5 meters long
Muscular tube that forms a frame around the small

intestine
Water reabsorption + Fecal storage
Mucosa
No villi
Does not produce digestive enzymes
Epithelial surface
Absorptive cells (water and electrolytes)
Glandular crypts lined by goblet cells for mucus production
Endocrine cells no-one knows

GASTROINTESTINAL
MOTILITY

Factors affecting motility:

Characteristics of the intestinal wall
Smooth muscle does most of the work
Distal end of esophagus to internal anal sphincter
Skeletal muscle is still important
Mouth to proximal end of esophagus
External anal sphincter
Neural control
Sympathetic innervation
Parasympathetic innervation
Intrinsic nervous system
Myenteric (Auerbach) Plexus
Submucosal (Meissner) Plexus
Hormonal control

Intestinal Wall

Neural Control

Parasympathetic

Cranial Division
(CN 10)

Foregut / Midgut

Sympathetic

Sacral Division
(S2-S4)

Hindgut

Afferent

Parasympathetic innervation
(Resting)
Cranial
Transmitted with vagus nerves to provide extensive
innervation to esophagus, stomach, pancreas, first
half of the large intestine
Sacral
Originates in 2nd, 3rd, 4th sacral segments of spinal
cord
Innervates the distal half of the large intestine
Key role in defecation reflex

Legend:
Innervation of the foregut, midgut, and hindgut.
Date of download: 7/31/2016

**Just for your info (not to be

tested on)

Copyright 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved.

Sympathetic innervation
(Fight or Flight response)
Originate in spinal cord between T8 and L3
Postganglionic fibers radiate out to all parts of GI tract
Secrete norepinephrine
Promotes inhibitory effects of SNS and on neurons of the
intrinsic nervous system of the GI tract
Strong stimulation can shut down motility and block movement of
nutrients

Hormonal Control

Hormonal Control
Gastrin
Secreted by G-cells in stomach mucosa (in response to food entry)
stomach motility via peristalsis + relaxing pyloric sphincter
gastric acid secretion
LES contraction
Cholecystokinin
Secreted by I-cells of jejenum (in response to fatty substances entry)
contractility of the gallbladder = bile
pancreatic secretion
gastric emptying + bowel motility
satiety

Hormonal Control
Secretin
Secreted by duodenum mucosa (in respone to HCl and

chyme)
rate of bile secretion
pancreatic fluid
bicarbonate
Gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP)
Secreted in response to the presence of fat
stomach motility

GASTROINTESTINAL
FUNCTION

Functions of the GI system

1. Digestion

a) Carbohydrates
b) Proteins
c) Fat
2. Absorption

Carbohydrate Digestion
Amylase: polysaccharides disaccharides
Further hydrolysis of disaccharides monosaccharides

in duodenum

Protein Digestion
Stomach HCL, pepsin
Duodenum trypsin, chymotrypsin
Pancreas carboxypeptidase

polypeptides
dipeptides
amino acids

Fat Digestion
Duodenum: fat emulsified and hydrolyzed by:

bile salts (made in liver)

pancreatic lipase and colipase

fatty acids
glycerol

Review

Different areas of food absorption in the intestines:

Carbohydrates
Protein
Fat
Vitamins D, E, A, K
Water and sodium
Calcium
Iron