What are the 4 major histological layers of the

digestive system?
The digestive tract is a lengthy, continuous tube that measures 9 meters in length. It has two exits
to the outside, one through the mouth and the other through the anus. The basic structure of the
tube's wall remains consistent throughout.

The digestive tract's wall is consisting of four layers, or tunics:

● Mucosa
● Submucosa
● Layer of muscle
● Serous layer, also known as serosa

The mucosa, also known as the mucous membrane layer, is the wall's innermost tunic. It lines the
digestive tract's lumen. The mucosa consists of epithelium, lamina propria, and muscularis
mucosa.

The mucosa develops folds in specific areas, increasing the surface area. Mucus, digestive
enzymes, and hormones are all secreted by cells in the mucosa. Other glands' ducts enter through
the mucosa and into the lumen.

The epithelium has stratified squamous tissue in the mouth and anus. Its thickness is important
for abrasion protection. For secretion and absorption, the stomach and intestines make up simple
columnar epithelium.

A thick layer of loose connective tissue called the submucosa encloses the mucosa. Blood
vessels, lymphatic vessels, and nerves are all found in this stratum. This layer could contain
glands.

The smooth muscle that controls GIT movements divide into two layers:
● inner circular layer
● outer longitudinal layer.

Between the two muscular layers is the myenteric plexus. The outermost layer of the digestive
tract is a connective tissue termed adventitia. This is in sight above the diaphragm. Serosa is the
area beneath the diaphragm.
What type of epithelium is in the digestive tract?
The gastrointestinal tract is a muscular tube lined by a mucous membrane. It has a fundamental
histological arrangement that is consistent throughout all its segments. Each segment of the tract
lined with several unique, concentric layers:

● The mucosa surrounds the GI tract's lumen. It composes an epithelial cell layer
supported by the lamina propria. The muscularis mucosa is a thin layer of smooth muscle
that supports the mucosa and allows it to bend and move.
● A thick connective tissue layer that contains arteries, veins, lymphatics, and nerves
termed as the submucosa.
● The muscularis externa has two muscle layers:
1. inner circular layer
2. exterior longitudinal layer that covers the submucosa
Peristalsis consists of two layers that move perpendicular to one another.
● Blood veins, nerves, and fat are all found in the adventitia, which has a connective tissue.
The mesothelium lines the sections of the tract that are within the peritoneal cavity. The
mesothelium is a layer of simple squamous epithelial cells with a unique name. The
adventitia is also known as serosa in these tissues.
Most gastrointestinal segments have these four layers. There are various segments which vary
that can reveal information about their activities. The mucosal layers have the most structural
variety. Mucosal variations generally classified into four categories:

● A stratified squamous epithelium distinguishes protective mucosa.

● Cells in the secretory mucosa are responsible for the secretion of digesting enzymes. It is
only seen in the stomach.
● The crypts and villi are important for absorbing digested nutrients. It rests all the way
down the small intestine.
● Water absorption and mucus secretion are the primary functions of absorptive/protective
mucosa. The big intestine contains it.

What types of cells are in the stomach?

The surface of the stomach is clad in secretory epithelial cells. These extend down into gastric pits and
glands in four different types:

● Mucous cells
Mucous cells are huge, bent pyramid-shaped cells. Mucous cells have a larger lumen surface
than serous cells. But, intercellular canaliculi are rarely found between them. Junctional
complexes and gap junctions connect them to their neighbors.

The nucleus is oval in shape, has more chromatin than serous cells, and is at the basal plasma
membrane. The RER in the basal cytoplasm, and the nucleus has a big Golgi complex apical or
lateral to it.

Mucous secretory granules in the apical cytoplasm are often irregular in shape and pale in color.
Some are fine granular or filamentous material.

● Parietal cells
A parietal cell is one of the cells that produces the majority of the water in the stomach fluids.
The cells live in glands in the lining of the fundus, the region of the stomach.

● Chief cells
Chief cells are usually found at the base of glands located at the stomach's fundus and corpus.
Chief cells derive from mucous neck cells in the glands' midsection. The major purpose of chief
cells is to synthesize and release the proenzyme pepsinogen.

Then it is then transformed to the acid protease pepsin in an acidic environment. As a result,
chief cells have a considerable amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum and apical big dense
zymogen-containing granules that take up more than a third of the cell volume. Mitochondria
surrounds the nucleus in the cell's base.

● Endocrine cells
Endocrine cells are present in small numbers in the epithelium of both crypts and villi. But they
predominate in the crypts. They have a flask-like shape with a narrow, prolonged neck that
reaches the lumen, and are thus of the open type.

The secretory granules collect around the cell's base, but they are also present more in the cell.
Yet, they are always restricted to the cytoplasm and never found in the nucleus. The size and
appearance of the secretory granules were the primary criteria for classifying and naming
intestinal endocrine cells.

What is the outer layer of the stomach called?

The serosa is a smooth membrane made up of a thin connective tissue layer and a thin layer of
cells. Serosa releases serous fluid. Serosa lines and encloses many cavities. One is a serous
cavity releases a lubricating fluid to reduce muscle movement friction.
The intraembryonic body cavity forms the serous cavities, which are empty spaces within the
body enclosed by a serous membrane. Visceral organs grow close to a cavity and invaginate into
the bag-like coelom early in embryonic life.

As a result, each organ is encircled by a serous membrane and does not lie within the serous
cavity. The visceral layer is in contact with the organ, whereas the parietal layer is in contact
with the body wall.

What is the greater curvature of the stomach?

Curvatures of greater and lesser size

Greater curvature — forms the stomach's long, convex lateral border. It starts at the cardiac notch and
curves backwards before passing to the left. As it continues to the pyloric antrum, it turns to the right. The
right and left gastro-omental arteries, as well as the short gastric arteries, feed branches to the larger
curvature.

Lesser curvature — forms the stomach's shorter, concave medial surface.

The angular notch, which marks the connection of the body and the pyloric area, is the most inferior
component of the lesser curvature.

What are the 3 divisions of the small intestine?

The small intestine has three sections: the beginning, middle, and end. Each of them has
individual characteristics and roles to play.

Duodenum

The stomach feeds into the duodenum, which is the initial segment of the small intestine. It's a
10-inch-long descending fall that curves in a "C" form around the pancreas before joining to the
rest of the coiled intestines.

Jejunum

The rest of the small intestine is coiling in the lower abdominal cavity. The jejunum, or middle
part, accounts for under half of the remaining length. Many blood arteries characterize the
jejunum, giving it a deep red appearance.
Ileum

The ileum is the small intestine's final and longest part. The small intestine's walls become
weakened and narrow, and blood supply is not abundant. The ileum is where food spends the
most time, absorbing the most water and nutrients.

What is the importance of the villi in the small intestine?

The small intestine has villi. From the beginning to the end of the small intestine, the number of
villi decreases. Villi faces the lumen, which is the intestine's internal open space. A muscular
strand in each villus causes it to contract and expand.

The villi wobbles back and forth. This improves nutritional absorption. The villi in the small
intestine are capable of absorbing over 2 gallons of liquids every day.

The villus has several distinguishing characteristics:

● The villi has one cell thick walls. This permits quick chemical absorption through
diffusion.

● Each villus is a network of blood capillaries that carry glucose and amino acids into the
bloodstream.Lacteal refers to the villus' interior structure. Each villus transports nutrients
from the colon to a capillary and lymphatic channel network.

Lacteals are a type of lymphatic vessel. Excess fluid, fatty acids, and glycerol are
transported from the small intestine into the bloodstream through the lacteals. Glycerol is
a substance produced during the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids.

A mucous-membrane layer makes up the epithelium (outer layer) of villi. The layer contains
several cell types.

● Microvilli cover the tall, narrow columnar cells of villi called enterocytes. The villi cells'
microvilli are about 1 micrometer long. A villus is 1,000 times shorter than this. Each
columnar cell has around 600 microvilli. These columnar cells are in charge of absorbing
chemicals into the bloodstream.
● Goblet cells are the second type of cells that cover each villus. The end of goblet cells is
round, and it secretes mucus into the intestinal cavity. Mucus protects and lubricates the
intestine's surface.

Villi's Function in the Small Intestine

The small intestine villi protrude into the intestinal cavity. It increases the surface area available
for food absorption and adding digestive secretions.

References

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2022, from https://www.britannica.com/science/parietal-cell

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