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Cross section of the gut. The lumen is the space in the middle also known as the volume. Normal histology of the breast, with lumen annotated at bottom right [1] In biology, a lumen (pl.: lumina) is the inside space of a tubular structure, such as an artery or intestine. [2] It comes from Latin lumen 'an opening'. It can refer to:
This facilitates transport of numerous small molecules into the enterocyte from the intestinal lumen. These include broken down proteins, fats, and sugars, as well as water, electrolytes, vitamins, and bile salts. Enterocytes also have an endocrine role, secreting hormones such as leptin.
From the inner cavity of the gut (the lumen) outwards, these are the mucosa, the submucosa, the muscular layer and the serosa or adventitia. The mucosa is the innermost layer of the gastrointestinal tract. It surrounds the lumen of the tract and comes into direct contact with digested food .
Intestinal glands are found in the epithelia of the small intestine, namely the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, and in the large intestine (colon), where they are sometimes called colonic crypts. Intestinal glands of the small intestine contain a base of replicating stem cells , Paneth cells of the innate immune system , and goblet cells , which ...
Intestinal villi (sg.: villus) are small, finger-like projections that extend into the lumen of the small intestine.Each villus is approximately 0.5–1.6 mm in length (in humans), and has many microvilli projecting from the enterocytes of its epithelium which collectively form the striated or brush border.
The duodenal bulb is a remnant of the mesoduodenum, a mesentery that suspends the organ from the posterior abdominal wall in fetal life. [10] The first part of the duodenum is mobile, and connected to the liver by the hepatoduodenal ligament of the lesser omentum. The first part of the duodenum ends at the corner, the superior duodenal flexure.
The junction between the foregut and midgut occurs directly below the major duodenal papilla. [3]: 274 The major duodenal papilla projects less than a centimetre into the lumen of the duodenum. [4] It appears rounded and is often covered by a fold on the uppermost side of the papilla; that is, the side which receives contents from the stomach. [4]
Gastrointestinal physiology is the branch of human physiology that addresses the physical function of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.The function of the GI tract is to process ingested food by mechanical and chemical means, extract nutrients and excrete waste products.