Gastro-intestinal motility is mostly due to the activity of what kind of muscle?
Smooth muscle
Circular, longitudinal and muscular mucosae
Where in the GI tract is there skeletal muscle?
Mouth, pharynx, upper third of oesophagus.
External anal sphincter
What skeletal muscle is not under voluntary control in the GI tract?
Upper oesophageal skeletal muscle.
Contraction of circular muscle does what to the lumen>
Narrower and longer
Longitudinal muscle makes the intestine
shorter and fatter
Adjacent smooth muscle cells are coupled by?
forming a functional…?
Gap junctions.
Forming a functional syncytium
How does electrical activity in the small and large intestine occur?
As slow waves
Synchronous muscle cell contractions
What are the slow waves driven by (pacemaker)?
Interstitial cells of Cajal
When does contraction occur? (in terms of slow waves)
Contraction only occurs if the slow wave amplitude is sufficient to trigger SMC action potentials
A threshold must be reached
Up- stroke of GI AP?
Voltage activated Ca2+ channels
Downstroke by?
Voltage activated K+ channels.
Where are the interstitial cells of cajal located?
Between the longitudinal and circular muscle layers
More action potentials =
stronger contraction
Enteric Nervous system
Intrinsic to GI tissue
Can operate independently
Hormones and extrinsic nerves exert a strong influence
Basal electric rhythm of stomach, S.I. and L.I.
Stomach = 3 slow waves/min
S.I. = 12 waves/min in duodenum
8/min in terminal ileum
L.I. = 8/min in proximal colon
16/min in sigmoid colon
favouring retention of luminal contents
Myenteric Plexus (Auerbach’s)
Regulates motility and sphincters.
Submucous (Meissner’s) plexus
Modulates epithelia and blood vessels
How is muscular, secretive and absorptive activities coordinated?
> Sensory neurones
Interneurones
Effector neurones
What do the pelvic splanchnic nerves innervate?
The distal 1/3rd of the transverse colon
Sigmoid colon
Rectum
S2,3,4 keeps the shit of the floor
PARASYMPATHETIC
What does the vagus nerve innervate?
The proximal 2/3 of the transverse colon and the rest of the proximal GI tract (stomach, S.I.)
PARASYMPATHETIC
What does the parasympathetic nerves in GI do?
Excitatory - increase gastric, pancreatic and S.I. secretion, blood flow and SM contraction
Inhibitory - relaxation of some sphincters
Sympathetic innervation of the GI tract
Superior cervical ganglion - oesophagus
correspond to their arterial counterparts
Function of sympathetic innervation
Increased sphincter tone.
Decreased motility, secretion and blood flow.
Nerve reflexes in GI tract
Local reflex - peristalsis (intrinsic reflex)
Short reflex - intestino-intesitnal inhibitory reflex (extrinsic reflex)
Long reflex - gastroileal reflex (extrinsic reflex) – these go to the medulla oblongata