Duodenal glands

The intestinal juice is mostly water but also contains some mucus that is secreted by the duodenal glands and the goblet cells of the mucosa. Blood pH is usually in the range of 7.35-7.45 (Ignatavicius and Workman, 2002), whereas urine has a typical pH of 4.2 (Hansch and Leo, 1979). The body has many mechanisms that ensure minimal changes in pH. Many microbial processes are inhibited by acidic conditions. For a standard ionizing compound ... 

Figure 3.15. Structure of small intestine. In small intestine, the mucosa contains villi or surface projections, lamina propria, and muscle fibers. Submucosa contains duodenal glands, and the muscularis contains muscle fibers.

Two peptides that have received attention for their potential role in barrier maintenance are epidermal growth factor (EOF) and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha). EGF is secreted in saliva and from duodenal glands, while TGF-alpha is produced by gastric epithelial cells. Both peptides bind to a common receptor and stimulate epithelial ceh proliferation. In the stomach they also enhance mucus secretion and inhibit acid production. 

Duodenal glands that secrete mucus which protects the mucosa from irritation and erosion by the strongly acid... 

Enjalbert, F., Nicot, M.-C., Bayourthe, C., Moncoulon, R. 1998. Duodenal infusions of palmitic, stearic or oleic acids differently affect mammary gland metabolism of fatty acids in lactating dairy cows. J. Nutr. 128, 1525-1532. 

Calcium Absorption. In animals, excess strontium indirectly suppresses the activation of vitamin D3 in the kidney, which severely reduces the expression of calbindin D mRNA and the translation of calbindin D protein in the duodenum (Armbrecht et al. 1979, 1998 Omdahl and DeLuca 1972). As a result, duodenal absorption of calcium is reduced. The reported inverse correlation between the amount of strontium that is absorbed and the levels of parathyroid hormone (Vezzoli et al. 1998) suggest that changes in parathyroid hormone levels mediate this effect. While there are no data on strontium-binding to the calcium receptor of the parathyroid gland, it is likely that strontium binds in place of calcium, mimicking calcium and thereby suppressing parathyroid hormone levels. A reduction in parathyroid hormone levels will decrease the level of 1-hydroxylase available to activate vitamin D3. 

The pancreas is a gland that lies in the duodenal loop and has two secretory functions the endocrine process for the production of insulin and the exocrine process for the production of digestive enzymes (from the acinar cells), water and electrolytes (from the duct cells), which together form the pancreatic juice, which is secreted into the duodenum through the pancreatic duct. The proportions of the different enzymes change in response to the nature of the diet. 

Gutman AB, Swenson PC, Parsons WB. The differential diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism. JAMA 103 87-94,1934 Rogers HM, Keating FR Jr, Morlock CG, et al. Primary hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the parathyroid glands associated with duodenal ulcer. Arch Intern Med 19 301-32X, 1947. 

Pancreatic carcinoma most frequently involves the head of the gland and usually presents with obstructive jaundice. About 10% of patients with pancreatic head cancer develop duodenal obstruction, usually quite late on in the course of their disease. Therefore most patients developing duodenal obstruction from pancreatic cancer will already have a biliary stent in... 

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