for Teachers for Schools for Working Scholars
for Teachers for Schools for Working Scholars
Course Navigator
Small Intestine: Nutrient Absorption and Role In DigestionNext Lesson 

Movement Through the Small Intestine: Peristalsis, Segmentation & Pendular Movement

Chapter 5 /  Lesson 8   Transcript
Try it risk-free for 30 days
Movement Through the Small Intestine: Peristalsis, Segmentation & Pendular Movement
Coming up next: Small Intestine: Nutrient Absorption and Role In Digestion

You're on a roll. Keep up the good work!

Take Quiz Watch Next Lesson
 Replay
Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds
  • 0:05 Digestion
  • 1:05 Enterogastric Reflex
  • 2:02 Peristalsis
  • 2:45 Segmentation
  • 3:40 Pendular Movements
  • 4:28 Lesson Summary
Add to Add to Add to

Want to watch this again later?

Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course.

Log in or Sign up

Timeline
Autoplay
Autoplay
Speed

Recommended Lessons and Courses for You

Lesson Transcript
Instructor: Rebecca Gillaspy

Dr. Gillaspy has taught health science at University of Phoenix and Ashford University and has a degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic.

The small intestine is an important organ for digestion and absorption of nutrients. In this lesson, you will learn about the enterogastric reflex. You will also learn how intestinal movements, such as peristalsis, segmentation, and pendular movement, improve digestion and absorption.

Digestion

In order to maximize digestion and absorption, your digestive tract regulates how much food can enter the small intestine at one time. In this lesson, you will learn how the digestive system regulates the amount of food entering the small intestine, and how food is propelled through this section of the digestive tract.

The pyloric sphincter controls the flow of chyme from the stomach into the small intestine.
Pyloric Sphincter

We previously learned that the pyloric sphincter controls the flow of chyme as it passes out of the stomach and into the small intestine. Chyme is the name given to the partially digested food mass. The pyloric sphincter is a tight valve, and, therefore, very little chyme is allowed to exit the stomach at one time. Because so much digestion happens in this first section of the small intestine, this tight control gives the small intestine adequate time to complete digestion. However, this is not the only mechanism by which the digestive system regulates the flow of chyme through this section of the digestive tract. There is also an important reflex that kicks into gear.

Enterogastric Reflex

When the first part of the small intestine is filled with chyme, its wall is stretched. We also see that the presence of chyme in the small intestine makes the environment acidic due to the acid secretions from the stomach. These factors trigger the enterogastric reflex. The enterogastric reflex inhibits gastric motility and the secretion of gastric acid. The prefix 'entero' refers to intestine and the suffix 'gastric' refers to the stomach. Therefore, you can think of the enterogastric reflex as a reflex that starts in the intestine and affects the stomach. An even better way to think about the enterogastric reflex is to think of it as a way that your digestive system puts on the brakes. When the brakes are applied, the stomach motions and secretions slow down, which causes the stomach to empty slower. This gives digestion within the intestine time to catch up.

Peristalsis

Peristalsis is a series of muscular contractions that propel food through the small intestine.
Peristalsis

These kinds of controls help you get the most nutrients out of your food. Yet, the food remnants must keep moving through the small intestine to avoid a traffic jam. Food is propelled through your small intestine by peristalsis, which is a wavelike series of muscular contractions. You might recall that peristalsis is also how food moves through your esophagus as it travels from the throat to the stomach. During peristalsis, the longitudinal muscles within the small intestine wall contract, and then the circular muscles contract, pushing the food down the tract. This coordinated contraction of smooth muscle keeps food moving on its one-way path through your digestive system.

To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account

Register to view this lesson

Are you a student or a teacher?

Unlock Your Education

See for yourself why 30 million people use Study.com

Become a Study.com member and start learning now.
Become a Member  Back
What teachers are saying about Study.com
Try it risk-free for 30 days
Description

Earning College Credit

Did you know… We have over 160 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.

To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page

Transferring credit to the school of your choice

Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.

Research Schools, Degrees & Careers

Get the unbiased info you need to find the right school.

Browse Articles By Category

Browse an area of study or degree level.

Recommended Articles
You are viewing lesson Lesson 8 in chapter 5 of the course:

 Back To Course

Biology 105: Anatomy & Physiology

16 chapters | 179 lessons | 15 flashcard sets

Ch 5. Digestive System
Ch 6. Urinary System

Movement Through the Small Intestine: Peristalsis, Segmentation & Pendular Movement Related Study Materials

Create an account to start this course today
Try it risk-free for 30 days!
Create An Account

Explore our library of over 75,000 lessons

Browse by subject
Support