Gastrointestinal Tract: Disorders of Motility

Disorders of Motility
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DISORDERS OF MOTILITY
Motility is the contractions of the muscles in the stomach that mix and pushes contents in the gastrointestinal tract (GI). The term motility is commonly used to refer to numerous gastro disorders where the gut has lost the ability to control over muscular activities as a result of exogenous and or endogenous triggers (McPhee, & Hammer, 2012). These disorders may be primary or secondary. They may show up in different ways including recurrent obstruction, constipation, abdominal distention and abdominal colicky pain (Huether, & McCance, 2012). An alteration in the process of digestion and moving of contents and secretions in the gastro tract is considered as gastrointestinal motility. There are various motility disorders. However, in this paper only three are analyzed namely gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease (PUD), and gastritis. The paper examines the relationship between these motility disorders based on age factor o f the patient and the pathophysiology of each disorder.
Gastric parietal cells are the cells responsible for producing acid in the stomach. This acid is used in aiding the digestion process. These cells are contained in a region referred to as secretory canaliculus. This is the region with the highest level of acid of about ph-0.8 in the entire human body. From this cellular region acid is released to the gastric lumen. The release of the gastric acid is triggered by several hormonal, neurocrine and paracrine inputs (Huether, & McCance, 2012). Gastrin is the primary trigger of gastric acid production. It is located in the stomach’s pyloric mucosa and G-cell are responsible of producing the gastrin. Paracrine and neurocrine are triggered by secretions including histamine that is released from enterochromaffin-like cells and acetylcholine released from neuronal synapses.when gastrin is secreted in response to food it sticks to cholecycystokini (CCK) receptors found on enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells and pariental cells (Huether, & McCance, 2012). This causes the release of intracellular calcium and the activation of the proton pump (H+, K+-ATPase). Histamine that is provoked by the gastrine binding on the ECL receptors binds to H2 receptors found on the pariental cells. Therefore the production and release of cyclic AMP preceded by activation and translocation of proton pump in the canicular membrane. In a normal and healthy individual, the above mentioned process is accompanied by the stimulation of antisecretory mechanisms countering the acidic equation thus maintaining intragastric pH at an average level of 1.4 (Huether, & McCance, 2012).
Peptic ulcers disease (PUD), gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), and gastritis have similarities though they are quite different (McPhee, & Hammer, 2012). The difference between GERD and gastritis may be well understood with the help of anatomy. The place where the esophagus meets the stomach, there is valve known as the esophageal sphincter. It allows the food contents to pass through into the stomach and it prevents the backwash of the same. This also prevents the gastric acid from getting into the esophagus. When the acid that is relea...