STOMACH BODY

Histology of Stomach

• Mucosa – gastric glands, two or three layers of muscularis mucosae & an intervening lamina propria.
• Smooth muscle of the muscularis externa is arrarnged in three layers – outer longitudinal, middle circular, and inner circular.
• submucosa of the stomach is made up of loose connective tissue. It has a rich vascular and lymphatic net work.
• Slight variations in four major regions – cardia, fundus, body and pylorus.
• Serosa composed of a thin loose connective tissue covered by a smooth wet, simple squamous epithelium.

Cells of Stomach Gland

• Mucous neck cells (columnar) - produce a soluble mucus that lubricates the chyme, reducing friction as it moves along the digestive tract.
• Regenerative (stem) cells (columnar) - they replace all the specialized cells lining the fundic glands.
• Parietal cells (eosinophilic cytoplasm,round basally located nuclei) - manufacture hydrochloric acid and gastric intrinsic factor.
• Chief (zymogenic) cells (columnar, basophilic cytoplasm,basally situated nuclei) - apically situated secretory granules containing the proenzyme pepsinogen (rennin and gastric lipase). Most of these cells are in the base of the fundic glands.

Histology of Fundus & Body of Stomach

• Gastric glands known as fundic glands – shallow pits(1/3rd of the mucosal depth) and long glands.
• Fundic glands contain abundant – parietal and chief cells.

Histology of Pyloric Region of Stomach

• Glands are known as Pyloric glands.
• Deep pits and short glands.
• Large pale staining mucus secreting cells with basal nuclei predominate, parietal cells rare.